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raisinghellonstarbug · 28 days

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James Acaster x Reader - a tinsy bit of drabble... (accidentally angsty, oops!!)

Title: Best Person in the World

Basic plot: It's a Friday and it's your usual weekly coffee evening with your best friend James. James has some big news to share with you. You're not sure how to take it...

Tags: James Acaster x reader, fluff, angst, coffee shop, London, winter, heartbreak, unrequited love, but is it really unrequited?, almost lovers, best friends, mention of Ed Gamble

Word count: 2238

Work had been quite stressful, but no more than usual. Quite frankly you were just glad to get yourself out of there so you could head over to your favourite coffee stop on the corner and meet your friend, albeit, stupidly handsome friend James.

You, all rushed off your feet and almost panting from practically sprinting your way from the cold and drizzly rain, step in through the door of the coffee place and find your favourite seat where you knew that James would probably already be there.

He was there in fact and the sight of him alone gave you the butterflies. You just couldn't help feeling starry eyed every time - and incidentally, never about his fame of being on the telly. Just James himself. A friend for 5 years now.

Ed introduced you. It was a spur of the moment. You have been smitten ever since. You didn’t have the guts to tell him.

But there were moments when you wondered. Could he feel the same? It was too hard to confront such a thing.

It didn't occur to you straight away, not when you first met him. But over time, it built up bit by bit. Like laying it out - brick by brick. You were basically in love with him and you didn't know what to do about it.

And he is greeting you as he always does, with a goofy smile and a little cuddle and no matter how many times you have done it, the feeling still makes you swoon. How were you going to get over this? You wondered if it would just be easier rather than having to tell him how you felt.

You were out of your trance when he let go and gestured to you to sit.

"So, Y/n are you having your usual yeah or something else? It's my turn to treat us," he sat down and looked dead at you in the eye, a whimsical eyebrow raising.

But you start to argue, "No wait hang on I'm pretty sure it's mine you definitely paid last week-"

He fobs you off by shaking his head and putting his hand out, "Yeah yeah don't worry about it, honestly it’s no bother. I have something to tell you anyway and it's pretty big so I'm in the mood to treat us..."

You perk up at his words and look at him quizzingly, "What is it James? You ain't going to leave your best mate hanging already are ya?"

He was looking at you now with serious intent and it unnerved you slightly. Suddenly, nerves were climbing up to the surface again. You watched him as he rubbed his hands together.

"Ok, so... this is pretty big right, and I have been trying to figure out the best way to tell you but-"

"Oh for goodness sake James just bloody tell me already!"

As you say this he responds in unison, "I've met someone."

You went totally silent. You were speechless. You wanted the ground to swallow you up. You blinked hard and asked him to repeat those words you wished he hadn't said.

"I've- met someone... as in she's er, well, she's brilliant actually and I think it might be serious," he looked down shyly at his napkin on the table, fiddling with the cutlery.

You decided that all you can do is feign happiness. Be delighted for him. It was all you could do, you couldn't be mad at him for finding someone.

But the words were not coming. You felt like you were going to be sick. Maybe you had to get some air but you couldn't arouse suspicion. James knew you well enough after all.

"Uh-" you tried to say something. Still nothing.

"Y/n? Are you alright? Did I say something bad? I did say it was big..."

You put your arm out, trying not to alarm him and wanting to avoid him getting close to you so that he couldn't hear your heartbeat or your stomach churning. You stood up from your chair and managed to finally stifle up some form of words.

"Sorry, James, I don't know- I think I might be coming down with something? Sudden headache! I think. Might need to go home actually and you might have to tell me all the deets of how you met the lucky lady over the phone later. But yeah, I think I need to leave..."

"Y/n wait are you sure you don't just need to eat or take a break outside for a minute? I was looking forward to seeing you and I don't want you to leave. Maybe I could come back with you to yours instead I-"

Suddenly, without thinking, your voice became sharp and you looked at him sternly, "No! No James, please. Don't take me home, it's fine really. I'll be fine."

And you headed for the door, essentially storming off like a petulant child. You instantly started to regret your attitude at that moment, but it was too late now so you just had to turn away and leave.

Or at least you tried to leave, but it appeared James wasn't having it as you got to the door and he stopped you in your tracks. It would appear that a row was about to form, with anger splashed across your best friend's face. He rarely ever looked at you like this, but it had to happen occasionally. Fighting on the busy streets outside a cafe was not what you had planned for today.

He had grabbed your arm and was frowning, looking at you confused and annoyed.

"What the hell Y/n? Why did you snap at me like that? I was opening up to you about something really important to me and you just try to storm off and feed me bullshit about feeling ill? Tell me what's the problem now. I am not letting you go off and sulk..."

You groaned and looked away from him. Why couldn't you just be a decent friend and be happy for him? Why couldn't you just lie properly instead of wearing your damn feelings on your sleeve?

You crossed your arms and tried to explain it, trying to come up with something plausible.

"Look fine you’re right, that was shitty of me I know. I didn't give you a fair warning. But I guess it just really shocked me, you saying you met someone. Took me off guard I suppose," you still couldn't quite look him in the eye.

"I get that Y/n but you're my best mate. You're supposed to be straight with me. I mean you usually are! But I guess it wasn't fair of me either to spring this on you like that. I finally met someone and I just wanted to share my excitement with my favourite person in the whole wide world..." He started getting a little fidgety, you knowing he wasn't one for expressing admiration or being open about feelings. This was just all around uncomfortable for both of you.

And then you felt really bad. You looked at him with pure remorse and started to apologise while fiddling with your hair, "Shit James I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have reacted this way, period. It was really wrong of me. I am absolutely ready… to hear all and share your happiness with you," your teeth almost gritted with those final words. Some part of you wondered if he could tell that you still weren't being totally genuine.

He squinted his eyes and pointed his finger at you somewhat accusingly, "Hmmmm... there's something off. What are you hiding from me, hmm?"

You looked up at the sky and sighed heavily, praying for a flying saucer to grab you in that moment and take you to a distant land far away from here. But alas, no such luck.

You decided you had to be at least a bit more truthful. How you were going to word it though was tricky.

"OK ok James, you caught me. I guess, perhaps I am a little pissed that you didn't tell me that you were dating someone at least. I mean, how long have you waited to tell me? Why were you keeping it for so long?" You almost felt a bit smug for turning the tables on him. You also felt like such a prick too.

He nodded, accepting your answer and responded accordingly, "Ok yes, that's a fair point. But now you're giving me a chance to explain... I didn't want to tell you until I knew it was a bit more, well... serious. I didn't want to get excited before it was even anything real, you know? Her name is Clara, by the way."

Hmm, Clara. Sounds like someone he would date. Probably long legged, skinny and beautiful too. Your voice in your head sounded so pathetic. You hated feeling jealous. You didn't expect to be so overwhelmed by it.

"Clara, eh? She better be the real deal. She better not break your heart, otherwise I will find her house and kill her. You know that, right?"

James then laughed and his face softened, looking relieved that you weren't fighting anymore.

"James. I'm dead serious here. I will fucking murder her-"

He continued laughing and put his arm around you, dismissing your supposedly empty threat. Both of you started to stroll down the street to wherever it would go.

But you knew that despite appearances, you would do anything for this man - including attacking a woman who might cause him any sort of harm. And you insisted to yourself internally that Clara better step up to the plate. They had to be fucking dynamite; because the man you loved ought to match up as his equal of being the best person alive. Even if you knew that wasn't you.

To think, you were almost going to tell him how you felt that day.

He then looked at you dead in the eye, grabbed your hand and said with such sincerity and with those glittering, beautiful eyes, "Don't think this means that you won't be less important to me, Y/n. I don't want to become one of those people who becomes all consumed by their relationship. Clara will have to understand that I'll still make time for you. Especially when you need it."

You wanted to believe it but you knew that life doesn't work that way so you smiled sadly, almost a tear forming and shook your head, not expecting anything like that.

"No James, don't make promises like that. If Clara is really the right person for you, you prioritise that. You can't be closer to me than your potential future wife, or whatever. She could bear children for you, I can't do that."

You noticed a chord struck in James as you said that and he faltered, gently letting go of your hand. The penny had dropped. You knew your words must have really sunk in. You watched as he turned away from you, despite knowing his reluctance.

But just as quickly he turned back to you and with desperation, "Y/n, really. I don't want to lose you. You still can be just as important-"

You stopped him and put a finger on his lips. You then smiled genuinely at him, fighting every urge to kiss him then, knowing how amazing he was to even be so considerate to your feelings in that moment. You couldn't believe you hadn't started sobbing yet.

"You don't need to say anything James. Please. We are friends. We are nothing more..."

But he frowned at that, looking at you with sadness. And you didn't know why. Perhaps a fleeting moment? A slither of hope that could so easily be taken away? What was he thinking then?

He scratched his head and continued to frown, even though he still kept his eyes on you. In fact, you swore for a second that he looked down at your lips(??), but again must have been going mad. It was a strange day after all.

He then spoke so quietly, his voice practically whispering, "Yeah... friends. I guess that's better than not having you at all..."

And then you frowned at him, realising that you both were standing so awfully close to each other, his body just millimetres from touching yours. And you could feel that sickness again, but for a different reason. What the fuck did he mean by that?

And you wanted to ask him but instead you're frozen in time, his hand reaching out to cup your cheek. You look up at him in a complete standstill, slightly gasping at the feel of his touch and you squeezed your eyes shut.

You then felt his lips touch your forehead and you opened your eyes to see him, his lips parted as he lifted his head back away from you. But soon you found yourself capturing his lips just that once, so gently and fleetingly. A quick peck. You couldn’t resist it.

He was surprised, quite rightly, his eyes darting around you and beginning to realise what had just happened. He pulled back and it honestly felt like a chain yanking at your heart. The waves were sinking you to the bottom.

You wondered if you might have to give up on your friendship with James to save yourself the worst heartache to come.

Note: OKAAYY I'M SORRY I DIDNT KNOW WHAT CAME OVER ME but somehow this became an unrequited drabble??? It was jsug improvised honestly like I just could imagine this happening and now I feel bad because the reader doesn't get a happy ending and I don't normally write angsty stuff like this but yeah here we are though I guess?? Please don't hate me!!

It's just drabble honestly. I think I wrote it OK? Let me know what you guys think! This is also just FYI nothing to do with Stumbled Into Laughter, Stumbled Into You so don't panic about that.

Peace x

P.s And noooo of course not, not me at all posting a fic on a Sunday night at nearly 1am in the morning - pfft, what am I like?

#james acaster #james acaster x reader #unrequited feelings #unrequited love #unrequited requited #heartbreak #lost love #almost lovers #best friends #james acaster fanfic #mention of ed gamble #london #winter

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butterflykisses86 · 2 years

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So Joseph Quinn not only is a maniac for bread, a wine afficianado, but can also speak Italian...He will be now known as Guiseppe and I want to marry him.

#joseph quinn #joe quinn #off menu podcast #off menu with ed gamble and james acaster #eddie munson stranger things #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #guiseppe #italian #stranger things netflix #st4 #stranger things

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ncis-nerd · 2 months

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long cases

Ship: Olivia Benson x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, SA mention and description briefly, cuddling, pet names.

About: A case gone wrong leaves y/n upset and to make matters worse, y/n can relate to the case so she blames her self but her girlfriend, liv, provides a shoulder to cry on and consoles y/n.

"cmon baby, stop being so shy. it's just me. just mommy, sweetie. lemme see your pretty face, hm?" liv cooed, in attempts to get her little lovie out of burying her face into liv's shoulder. y/n slowly begins to pull away, her teary-eyes met liv's. "Oh honey.." liv sighed sadly. she knew that this last case had taken a toll on y/n. it went so wrong and liv can tell y/n is blaming herself. "livie" y/n's voice broke. the fragile girl began to sob, covering her face with her fingers to spare liv the effort of attempting to console her. there was nothing liv could say to change the outcome of the case but what liv could do, was talk to y/n about it. liv knows that y/n was abused sexually in the past so this is why she relates to this case so deeply.

A few minutes passed, liv was giving y/n the space to cry and let it all out before talking to her. Y/n stood limp in liv's arms, tears stopped flowing. Y/n began to trace circles on liv's back. Liv took this as a sign that y/n was in a slightly better state. "Honey?" Liv gambled. Y/n hummed in reponsed. "Are you ready to talk about it, my love?" Liv asked, not removing the girl from her lap just in case. Y/n and Liv had this agreement that they'd always talk about it. If someone was bugging the other, they would not let it cause an argument or fight. To talk about it and dispute the problem before it gets worse.

Y/n scooted over, leaving some space between the two, but not much. Y/n clutched onto liv's hand, not that liv minded. She knew it helped y/n to talk, grounded her. Knowing that liv was real and she would be okay eventually. "I think the reason this case is getting to me so much is because this has happened to me. Not this exact situation but I was SA-ed. A-and I've told you about it briefly but..." Y/n's voice broke, drawing intense circles on liv's hand. With her other hand, liv reached out to rub y/n's back. Giving her a hint to breathe. Y/n takes a deep breath in response, getting the hint. Liv fixated on y/n's story, nodding at her to continue when she's ready.

"P-part of me wished someone had came to save me, but no one ever did. It got worse but you know what? I grew up, and got the hell out of there." Y/n exhaled, feeling a huge weigh lifted off her chest. "That's right my love. What you experienced, is horrible, I have no words. But you're right, you got the hell out of there and I'm so proud of you for that. Shows how strong you are, look how far you came. You help people everyday, you are amazing, my gorgeous, generous, girlfriend." her voice softened with affection.

Y/n let out a soft giggle in response. Liv, obviously confused, gives y/n a puzzled look in response. Furrowing her eyebrows. "That all started with g's, I just thought it was funny." Y/n squeaked in a happier sounding voice. "Oh? Hm? Funny am I?" Liv pushed, climbing onto y/n, trapping them beneath her. Y/n raised an eyebrow towards Liv. Liv attacked y/n with tickles. "l-livie!" She squealed. "How funny am I now? Hm, sweetheart?" Liv teased. Y/n squirmed beneath her, out of breath "l-liv i can't breath!!" Y/n giggled. "Oh, can't you now baby? " Liv inched closer towards Y/n, pressing her lips against y/n's.

Liv fell beside y/n, her hand caressed y/n's face. Their eyes met, and y/n leaned into liv's touch. "I love you so much, babe." y/n whispered quietly. "you are so perfect, angel." Liv whispered in response. They gazed at each other with nothing other than love. They laid in silence, clutching onto one another, falling asleep tangled up in quiet.

a/n: like, reblog and comment for more!!

#my writing #my fic #olivia benson x reader #olivia benson x you #olivia benson #law and order svu #svu #svu fic #svu x reader #svu fanfiction #law and order special victims unit #Olivia Benson angst #l&o svu #law and order fanfiction #Olivia x reader #hurt/comfort #angst #mentions of sa

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burgundybmw · 2 years

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Munson's Mixtape

Masterlist

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Cunningham!Reader

Word Count: 3,342

Warnings: ED mention, Mrs. Cunningham being the worst mom ever, mention of Eddie's shit dad, angst, funeral mention, hurt/comfort.

Summary: Chrissy has been acting weird, and like a good big sister Y/N drives to Hawkins from Notre Dame to check in on her. Only to find out she has plans to meet up with Eddie Munson. Things take a turn for the worse and now Y/N gets wrapped in to the horrors of Hawkins. Hey, at least she has the company of the guitarist she was sweet on back in high school for comfort.

Author’s Note: A mutual trauma dump can be something so special. I promise this is going to be the last of the angst for a minute, until I get to the episode 9 stuff that is. Just a warning, it will be angsty. But this is a fix it fic! So... take that with what you will. Hope you guys enjoy!

Track Nine

They should have left Hawkins when they had the chance. If only she had gotten her shit together after Chrissy died. They could've been in Canada by now, made their way into Alaska or something. It was only the Hawkins police, the FBI or the CIA wasn't involved then. Eddie would have been a wanted man sure, but they wouldn't have found them. They weren't even looking for him, but now they were.

A million and one regrets came tumbling through Y/N's mind. Why didn't they run? Why didn't she try talking to the police first? Before they started pointing fingers at Eddie? She knew they would do that. Knew it from day one. But she didn't do that, she decided to waste precious time. Eddie had to take care of her, because she was a mess. This whole goddamn thing was a mess. Y/N couldn't understand it. How could anyone look at the state of Chrissy's body and think Eddie would do that? How any human being could do that? Didn't they do an autopsy? See how there was no weapon involved? Why were they going after Eddie? Sweet innocent Eddie?

She was pacing around the boathouse trying to come up with a plan. Y/N tried to have faith in Dustin, Max, Robin and Steve, she really did. They had experience with this sort of thing before, the Upside Down, monsters and mayhem. But they weren't familiar with people, those who didn't know about what was beneath. Y/N was. She feared that even if they did win, if they succeeded in killing Vecna, that Eddie would still get thrown under the bus. How could they make the people of Hawkins believe that an inter-dimensional monster was behind Chrissy's death? The government wouldn't allow the truth to come out, so how could they cover it up?

"Y/N stop pacing, you're going to make yourself sick." Eddie had been trying to get her to relax for the past hour. After they heard the police sirens, Dustin and his friends left to go see what was going on. Y/N had been pacing ever sense.

"I can't Eddie. I need to think. I need to come up with a plan." Could they pin it on someone else? Some random killer? Maybe they could contact the government doctor who helped that Eleven girl disappear. What did Dustin say his name was? Dr. Owens? Yea, he could help. They could create a fake serial killer, surely Vecna was going to strike again, that could work. She could say that Eddie and her had been kidnapped. They could get their stories straight, but this plan entirely depends on the help of one man, if they could even find him. Y/N didn't like those odds.

"Dustin has a plan Y/N, we just need to sit tight while they do their thing." A plan? What plan? Find Vecna, kill him, and boom Eddie's safe? That's not a plan, it's barely an outline.

"I don't want to gamble with your life Eddie! We are in some serious shit right now!" She didn't mean to yell at Eddie, but he was playing fast and loose with his life. She wouldn't stand for that.

"Dustin might have plan A in the works, but I'll sure as hell have plans B-Z worked out solid. Then I'll start working on the greek alphabet, maybe throw in some fucking Egyptian hieroglyphs in the mix. Whatever it takes to make sure you don't get blamed for this mess!" Y/N could feel the tears falling down her face, she didn't realize she was crying.

Eddie stood up and wrapped his arms around her. She could smell the weed they had smoked earlier, and the cheap detergent they used to wash their clothes. It was soothing, familiar. He didn't say anything at first, just held her as she cried. She was so sick of crying.

"I don't know why you're so worried about me sweetheart. You're driving yourself crazy trying to find a way to save my sorry ass." Y/N didn't know why he wasn't worried. This was his life on the line.

"I just can't lose you too, Eddie. I can't go home after this and see my fucking parents knowing Chrissy won't be there anymore. I can't go back to Notre Dame knowing you're rotting in some prison cell or worse. I just can't." Eddie was rocking Y/N back and forth as she cried. He didn’t know how the hell he earned the loyalty of Y/N Cunningham, but he wasn’t going to have her shed tears for him anymore. His heart couldn’t take it.

“Everything’s gonna be fine Y/N. I’m not worried, you know why?” Y/N looked up at him then, her beautiful eyes glassy and wet.

“Why?” She sniffled, the tears finally stopping.

“Because you’re right here with me. You’re fucking brilliant Y/N, and if Dustin’s plan fails I know yours won’t. You’ve never let me down before, hell, you’re the one who defeated Vecna first!” Y/N laughed, her face shoved into Eddie’s shirt.

“That was a just a game Eds…”

“Just a game she says. DnD is not just a game Y/N. It’s a lifestyle.” She lightly flicked the side of Eddie’s head before she took a step back from him, getting a better look of his face.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Yea yea, you still love me though.” He pulled her back into the hug, not willing to let her go just yet.

Y/N stayed silent, she didn’t trust herself not to spill her heart out to him. To say that yes, she did love him. She was falling in love with Eddie Munson. It made her sad to realize this now. The first person she would have told was Chrissy. She likes to think her sister had an idea about her feelings for him. Back when Y/N was still in high school she would talk about Eddie to her after their tutoring sessions, back when she didn’t acknowledge the affection she had for him. Chrissy would tease her, ask her to bring Eddie home with her.

“He looks so scary, Mom would totally drop dead if he took a step into the house.” Y/N just laughed it off, told her not to threaten her with a good time.

“I don’t know about him, but if you like him he can’t be all bad.” Y/N had rushed to defend herself, said it wasn’t like that. Chrissy had a look on her face then, like she knew something her sister didn’t. As if she knew that when they would talk about their futures, Y/N hoped it was Eddie who was with her in the end. She hopes that one day she’ll see her sister again, tell her about what happened after she died. Y/N never really believed in a heaven or hell, but after learning about the Upside Down, she hoped that her sister was out there. Somewhere peaceful, that somewhere over the rainbow.

“Now come on, dry those crocodile tears. I want to listen to that mixtape I made you. I’m sure Rick has some spare of headphones lying around this shit hole somewhere.” She separated herself from Eddie and went to go sit in the boat. Eddie left to go sneak into the main house, leaving her by herself. She grabbed her walkman and headphones, gently placing the cassette tape inside, and let the sounds of Iron Maiden fill her ears.

Hours passed like that, Y/N and Eddie laying on the boathouse floor side by side, listening to the old mixtape. When Rainbow in the Dark started playing, Y/N started crying again. She told Eddie that it reminded her of Chrissy. He asked her if she wanted to skip it, but she didn’t let him. She said it was good to think about her, let her memory live on in her. If she forgot about Chrissy it would be like she died all over again. Eddie held her hand as the song played, both of them seeking that small comfort in each other. They didn’t notice that the walkie talkie Dustin gave them was going off at first. It wasn’t until Eddie went to switch the cassette over to the other side that they heard him.

“Dustin?” Eddie responded after he untangled himself from the intertwined headphones.

“Christ Eddie, I’ve been yelling through this damn thing for that past 10 minutes. Over.” Henderson had such a little attitude problem.

“Whatever man, you’ve got us now. What’s the situation?”

“We found out how Vecna chooses his victims. Over.” That got their attention.

“What did you find out? Why did he pick Chrissy? Did he get anyone else?” Y/N was shooting one question after the other. She had the walkie in an iron grip, Eddie thought it might break.

“Woah woah slow down. One at a time, the reception on this thing sucks. Over.” Y/N took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for whatever Dustin was about to tell them.

“What do you know?”

“We went through Ms. Kelly’s files at school. Apparently Chrissy and Fred both were seeing her.” Fred? Who’s Fred? Another one of Vecna’s victims?

“According to Ms. Kelly’s notes both of them were experiencing the same symptoms. Headaches, nosebleeds, trauma. Does that sound familiar to you Y/N? Did Chrissy tell you anything like that? Over.” Dustin continued.

“Headaches and nightmares yes. She didn’t mention nosebleeds, but she probably wouldn’t have worried about it too much. Wait, what do you mean by trauma? What happened to Chrissy??”

“Um… I don’t know how to tell you this Y/N… But according to Ms. Kelly’s notes, Chrissy used to make herself throw up... Over.”

“I know, but what trauma are you talking about?” Y/N didn’t see the shock on Eddie’s face. Chrissy made herself puke? Why would she do that? Y/N knew about it?

“Oh. Well, Chrissy told Ms. Kelly that her, I mean your, Mom was always harping on her about stuff like that… She also said that-”

“Don’t tell her that Dustin! She doesn’t need to hear that!” That was Max’s voice in the background.

“Tell me what.” There was radio silence for a moment.

“Tell me what Dustin.” More radio silence. The silence was thick, nearly choking her.

“Chrissy said that it got worse after you left for college. That you always took the heat from your Mom when you were there… but after you left Chrissy was the only person left for her to unleash her wrath on… Over.” Y/N passed the walkie over to Eddie, her eyes distant and cold.

“Anything else.”

“Robin and Nancy have a lead they’re going to check out tomorrow. We’ll give you another update then... Tell Y/N it wasn’t her fault, Chrissy didn’t blame her. She talked about her all the time… Ms. Kelly underlined multiple times that Y/N was Chrissy’s favorite person in the world... Over and out.” Eddie put the walkie back on the floor and turned to Y/N and her thousand yard stare.

“Y/N?” She didn’t respond.

“Are you alright?” Radio silence.

She stayed like that for awhile, staring off into space. The next words out of her mouth scared Eddie half to death.

“It should have been me. Chrissy died because I wasn’t in Hawkins. It should have been me.” Eddie didn't know what to think. Is brain was in information overload. What happened to Chrissy, why it happened. How it could happen to Y/N.

"Y/N..."

"You heard Dustin. Vecna only goes after people with trauma. The Upside Down is only in Hawkins right? He couldn't reach me at Notre Dame... If I was here Chrissy would still be alive." Eddie thought he was going to be sick. The idea that Y/N could have been the broken body in his trailer, he didn't want to think about it.

"Why would Vecna go after you? Chrissy was the one who used to... do that. I mean, I get your Mom, but if every kid in Hawkins with shitty parents got Vecna's curse there'd be hardly anyone left." Eddie didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe Y/N could be next.

Y/N looked to Eddie then, like she was begging him to understand. She wanted him to understand something she couldn't say out loud. Eddie tried to, he really did, but he just couldn't think that something so horrible had happened to her to cause Vecna to inflict his curse on her.

"Chrissy wasn't the only one." A rock settled in Eddie's stomach.

Chrissy wasn't the only one. Chrissy wasn't the only one. Chrissy wasn't the only one. Chrissy wasn't the only one. Chrissy wasn't the only one. Chrissy wasn't the only one. Chrissy wasn't the only one. That one sentence was banging against the walls of Eddie's skull over and over again.

"What..." It was barely audible when it left Eddie's mouth. He could hardly bring himself to speak.

"It was both of us. We both did that. Our mother did that to us." Eddie was never a hateful person. There were people he didn't like, people he couldn't stand even. But there weren't many people he hated, but he sure as hell fucking hated Mrs. Cunningham.

"Chrissy and I used to lock ourselves in the bathroom. I would sing to her and run my fingers through her hair while our mother would bang her fists on the door. Shouting at us, telling us we were fat, disgusting, pigs... Just horrible awful things." Eddie's fist was clenched so hard he'd thought he'd break the skin. His whole body vibrating with anger. How could she do that? To her own fucking daughters. How the fuck did Eddie not notice. How did he not notice something was wrong. How many times did he watch Y/N during the lunch, watch her walk out the doors of the cafeteria 10 minutes before the end. He was angry with himself. He paid too much attention to how her skirt swished around as she walked to put the pieces together. He was startled out of his thoughts when Y/N started laughing. It wasn't her normal laugh, bright and cheerful, it was crazed, nearly manic.

"I mean Jesus Vecna! What are you doing! I'm the bigger fish! You have soooo much material to work with!" She was pacing again now, shouting at the ceiling of the boathouse.

"What do you want to start with huh big guy? Gonna have mother show up in my dreams next? Show me the same shit you showed Chrissy? Or do you want to mix it up? Huh? Be fucking original! Gonna show me mother dearest threaten to give me up again? Tell me that she wished she never bothered to adopt me? That I wasn't even her real daughter? Maybe that's why you don't bother to show your face to me! I've dealt with monsters my entire goddamn life! Lived with them under the same fucking roof! Who the hell do you think you are? Have we not suffered enough! Fuck you!" She wanted to scream. Scream until her lungs collapsed. She wanted to break things. Destroy.

Eddie watched her unleash her anger. His heart ached for her, but he could feel it too. Not at her, never at her. Everything else. Vecna, Mrs. Cunningham, fuck, even his own parents. Who gave them the goddamn right?

"Yea! Fuck you Vecna!" Eddie shouted into the ceiling. This wasn't a good idea, people could hear them. But in the moment he didn't care. Didn't care about any of the consequences.

"Fuck you Vecna!" Y/N shouted again.

"If you think you're next on the chopping block, then I'm following you right through the depths of the Underworld baby. You hear that Vecna! Wanna take a peak at my psyche next?!" Y/N watched as Eddie joined her in the screaming match against the boathouse ceiling. He was glorious.

"Gonna show me dear old dad next! Have him call me some pansy ass satan worshipper! Like he's so high and goddamn mighty sitting in federal prison! Gonna show me Jason fucking Carver and his laundry basket bunch call me a freak every chance they get! All the people of Hawkins looking at me like I'm nothing but trailer trash! Come onnnnn Vecna! You know you want to, you self righteous piece of shit!"

Eddie and Y/N just screamed after that. Screamed at nothing. Screamed at everything. Just got it all out of their systems. After awhile they just stood there, facing each other: hearts pumping, adrenaline rushing, throats aching. Y/N didn't know when they got so close to each other.

Eddie had a wild look in his eyes, like he was determined about something. Y/N had the same look, but she knew what she was determined about. She was going to kiss Eddie Munson. She was going to kiss him till she couldn't breath anymore. She's was going to kiss him like the world was about to end.

Right when she was about to close the distance, finally get her hands on him, the sound of the walkie went off.

"Eddie? Y/N? You there? Over." The sound of Dustin's voice breaking the spell between them. Eddie cursed under his breath and snatched the walkie from the floor.

"Yes Henderson?" He gritted out.

"I just realized I forgot to tell you both something else about Vecna. Over."

"Can it wait?" Eddie loved Dustin Henderson, he was like the little brother he never had, but right now he wanted to shove that walkie up his big mouth.

"Can it wait, pssh, like you guys are busy. Over." Why yes Henderson, Eddie was busy, busy trying to have the balls to kiss Y/N Cunningham.

"What is it Dustin?" Y/N asked, her voice much calmer than it was before. The moment was over, Eddie lost his chance.

"Vecna had another victim, Fred Benson. I mentioned him earlier? Over."

"I gathered that Dustin. Anything else?" Y/N asked. She tried not to sound annoyed with the kid, he didn't know what was happening before he called. Maybe it was a good thing Dustin interrupted, stopped Y/N from making a fool out of herself.

"Yea, Max. Vecna is going after Max next. Over." Eddie and Y/N looked at each other, why was Max cursed? She's just a kid.

"How do you know? Is she safe?" Y/N didn't know Max, she just met her the other day, but she was so young. Too young to go out like that.

"She's safe for now. Max has been having the same symptoms as Chrissy and Fred. She has a bit of time, Vecna follows a pattern with his attacks. Hopefully we can figure something out soon. We'll keep you posted. Over."

"Sounds good man, ugh, let us know." Eddie sighed, it seemed like every time they spoke to Dustin all he had was bad news. Eddie was tired of bad news.

"Oh and Y/N? Over."

"Yea Dustin?"

"Chrissy's funeral is tomorrow. Over." Her funeral. Her sisters funeral. They were burying her tomorrow.

"Oh... Thank you Dustin... for letting me know." Did she want to go to the funeral? See her mother's face? Knowing she was the reason why Chrissy was dead? Could she do that alone?

"Yea well, that's everything. Over and out." The walkie went silent. Y/N slowly sank to the ground, she was exhausted, all of the energy in her body slowly bleeding out of her. Eddie followed her to the ground, just as tired as she was.

"Are you gonna go?" He asked.

"To what?"

"Chrissy's funeral?" Was she? Would Chrissy want her to? To dress up in black, look at her casket, watch her slowly descend into the cold hard ground. Have people come up to her, tell her that Chrissy was in their thoughts and prayers. Tell her how much of a tragedy it was, that someone so young and beautiful be taken so soon. As if she didn't already know that. Y/N knew what she was going to do, she just hoped Chrissy would have approved of her decision.

"No."

Taglist:

@imchangkyunned , @creativedogs , @nightless , @kik51199 , @thecraziestcrayon , @dabzzallday420 , @science--hoes , @efvyqrs ,

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x cunningham!reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #stranger things eddie munson #stranger things #stranger things fanficton #stranger things fanfic #stranger things s4 #stranger things fluff #stranger things angst

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gonzo-rella · 1 year

Text

Two Sides of the Same Coin | Lucius Spriggs

MASTERLIST | AO3 | KO-FI

Requested by: @sherazyjade

Hello! First, I want to say I love your personality. I read your introduction, and I just think you're great. :p

If you don't mind writing it, I'd love to read an one-shot with Lucius x Nonbinary!Reader. I imagined they could have a best friend kind of relationship, which would slip into a romantic one - with Lucius staying poly, of course! ^.^

Thank you in advance, and thank you for your writing, I love your style and art! ^^

Relationship(s): Lucius Spriggs x nonbinary!reader (romantic), Lucius Spriggs x Black Pete (romantic), Black Pete x nonbinary!reader (platonic), Edward Teach/Blackbeard x Stede Bonnet (romantic; mentioned)

Summary: A series of vignettes that show the progression of your relationship with Lucius.

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, mentioned gambling, reference to nausea and vomiting. (Let me know if I need to add any)

Word count: 0.8k

(A/N: I wrote this in a similar style to my Frenchie fic ‘I Will’, where it has a similar word count to a one-shot, but would be best described as a series of vignettes. Hopefully this is alright! Thank you for giving me a massive ego boost with that ask, by the way. You guys need to send me more asks that compliment my wonderful personality. Everyone bangs on about how great my writing is (you’re not wrong; keep those asks, comments and reblogs coming) but not enough people tell me how I’m a(n) [insert flattering adjective] person. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this, @sherazyjade!)

"I’ll admit they’re incredibly cute together, but I can’t say I’m a big fan of spending most of my day third wheeling them.”

You glanced up at Lucius as he took a seat beside you on the steps leading to the quarterdeck. A smirk tugged at your lips.

“I take it you’ve been relieved of your duties for the night?”

“Not exactly.” He rested his head on your shoulder. “I’m pretty sure they forgot I was there, so I sort of... slipped out.”

You chuckled and rested your head on top of his.

“Aw, poor Luci.” you cooed teasingly, wrapping an arm around him. “Hopefully Stede’ll become so invested in Ed that he’ll forget you exist and you'll be able to retire for good.”

“I can only dream.” he sighed faux-wistfully. “So, what did I miss?”

“Izzy sent Pete, Wee John and Roach to the brig for not doing their work.”

His brows knitted and he looked up at you, his head still on your shoulder.

“We have a brig?”

“We do now.” you answered. “I’m pretty sure it’s just one of the rooms below deck, with the added security measure of Ivan standing guard."

Snickering, he glanced around the deck.

“Where’s The Spewer now, then?”

“Seething in his room, I’m guessing.” you shrugged, eliciting a grin from Lucius. You glanced down at him. “Fancy trying to rescue your boyfriend and his fellow inmates? No one can resist a knight in shining armour.”

“You just want to get Roach out in case you’re the one who gets stuck with the cooking, don’t you?”

“Maybe.”

“Alright.” Lucius agreed, rising to his feet. You did the same and seized his arm.

“Let’s go get your boyfriend, and Roach.” you declared enthusiastically, leading Lucius below deck. “And, Wee John if we can.”

Lucius chuckled and shook his head.

━━━━━━━━━

It had been at least an hour since Captain Bonnet had finished reading to the crew, if Lucius (seemingly the only one on the main deck who was still awake) had to guess. For all he knew, it could have been 10 minutes. Sandwiched between you and Wee John, he stared up at the crescent moon that hung overhead. It would have been a nice, tranquil moment, were it not for the chorus of snores.

Lucius glanced over as you rolled over in your sleep. With a content hum, you wrapped your arms around his waist and rested your chin on his shoulder.

He smiled to himself and rested his head on top of yours. Careful not to wake you, he moved his arm and draped it around you, then reached up to play with your hair.

His eyelids became heavier. The final thought that popped into his mind before he drifted off to sleep was that he couldn’t wait to tease you about cuddling up to him again.

━━━━━━━━━

Much to the delight of most of the crew, the ship was docked at the port of a pirate-friendly area, and you were all given shore leave. Fortunately for Lucius, Stede and Ed wanted a day to themselves, meaning the scribe was temporarily freed of his duties.

The rest of you (bar a few) had decided to spend the day at a local tavern. Your boisterous party ignored the glares of fellow patrons and the bartender (who was only tolerating your presence because of the money you were pissing away on alcohol).

At some point, you and Lucius were left alone at your table while the others went to gamble over a game of cards with a group of strangers.

You callously placed your now-empty glass onto the table and slumped in your seat slightly, resting your head on Lucius’ shoulder. A quiet groan escaped your lips as nausea settled in your stomach.

“Has someone had a bit too much to drink?” Lucius teased.

Sensibly, he’d stopped drinking a while ago (and he’d advised you to do the same, but to no avail).

You hummed in response.

“Well, if you’re going to be sick, don’t do it on me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Luci.” you mumbled with a smile.

“The last time you drank too much, you threw up all over my shoes.”

“’m sorry, Luci.”

Immediately, he realised you were being earnest. He supposed it had something to do with your drunken state. The sincerity in your voice caused him to grin.

“Do you want me to take you outside? Get some air?”

You nodded.

“Come on, then.”

He rose to his feet and helped you up, holding you by the waist as he steered you to the front entrance of the pub. As you stepped outside, you hissed, much to Lucius’ amusement. It must have been a difficult adjustment, going from the dim light of the tavern to the... slightly less dim light of the early evening.

Although you spent a good five minutes dry heaving, hands on your knees as you hunched over the cobbled ground, your urge to upchuck your innards didn’t go beyond that. Lucius rubbed your back, keeping a foot outstretched behind him in case he needed to avoid a stream of vomit. Though, when you realised that- for the time being at least- you were safe, you turned to look at your companion through your heavy eyelids, while a lopsided smile graced your lips. He grinned back at you.

“I love you, Luci.” you slurred.

He chuckled.

“Aw, babe,” he cooed, lifting your chin with his index finger. “I love you too.”

#lucius spriggs x reader #lucius spriggs #ofmd x reader #our flag means death x reader #ofmd #Our Flag Means Death #x reader #x nonbinary!reader #x nonbinary reader #x enby!reader #x enby reader #x gender neutral!reader #x gender neutral reader #x gn!reader #x gn reader

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willowwhispersspeakeasy · 2 years

Text

Obey Me menu below

“Hello there little one! here's our menu for you demon lovers~ oh and all MC’s are gender neutral unless stated otherwise! and anything with that little star (*) is a house favorite.” -Onyx, the bartender

Onyx’s notes: links marked [18+] have explicit or semi explicit content. some unmarked posts have suggestive content. please read individual warnings and proceed according to your comfort level.

neurodiverse and disabled MC series

autistic! mc w/ demon bros

autistic! mc vocal stims + major stimming w/ demon bros

Tourette’s syndrome! mc w/ demon bros

DID! mc w/ demon bros

C-PTSD mc w/ big bros

C-PTSD mc w/ dateables

dyslexic! mc w/ demon bros

ADHD mc having a breakdown w/ Mammon + Barb

blind! mc w/ demon bros

deaf! mc w/ Lucifer, Satan, Solomon

epileptic! mc w/ big bros

insomniac! mc w/ dateables

binge ED! mc w/ little brothers

mc age regresses w/ all love interests

mc’s mood swings vs big bros

mc unmasking w/ Solomon

chronicly ill mc w/ Mammon

mc with eczema w/ Asmo

affection reactions

physically affectionate mc w/ demon bros

mc’s platonic kisses vs demon bros

mc’s goodnight kisses vs demon bros

mc’s cheek squishes vs demon bros

“zing” soulmate au w/ demon bros

“zing” soulmate au w/ dateables

touching their wings or tail w/ big brothers *

demanding mc w/ all love interests

steeling demon bro’s candy w/ a kiss

sentimental mc w/ demon bros | pt 2 w/ little bros

mc who loves aegyo w/ demon bros *

mc’s burial request w/ big bros + Dia

little brothers w/ touch starved mc

aftercare w/ Mammon, Levi, Satan

physical things abt mc reactions

goth mc w/ all demons

chubby mc w/ demons

mc’s tongue piercing vs demon bros [18+]

mc’s split tongue vs demon bros [18+]

bimbo mc (headcannons)

shenanigans reactions

turned into catboys w/ demon bros [18+]*

turned into bunnyboys w/ dateables [18+]

dogboy masc! mc w/ demon bros

dogboy mc w/ dateables

skateboarding mc w/ all love interests

mc turning 18 in the devildom w/ all love interests

mc vs devildom spiders w/ demon bros

love interests vs mc’s “weird” kinks [18+]

mc using their pact to make them *nut* w/ demon bros [18+]

mc sings Gods A Freak w/ Lucifer, Asmo, Belphie

demon bros vs mc’s frustrated growls

mc scared of intoxicated people w/ demon bros

mc calls Lucifer “Satan” by mistake w/ Lucifer, Satan, Belphie

angel! mc falls from grace w/ demon bros *

demonic zookeeper mc w/ demon bros

clumsy mc w/ demon bros

blunt mc w/ little bros

exorcist mc w/ all love interests

lowerclass mc w/ Lucifer, Satan, Belphie, Simeon

crafty mc w/ Satan, Solomon, Simeon

disney princess mc w/ Mammon, Levi, Satan, Asmo

neurodiverse demon bros series

ADHD! Mammon

Autistic! Levi | tag

general nerodiverse demon bros

other headcannons

what they smell like: demon bros | dateables

what their kisses taste like: demon bros | dateables

who's lived through history | all love interests

who likes kpop? : demon bros

monster cocks: demon bros [18+]

what makes them cum instantly? : all love interests [18+]

who's willing to get pregnant for mc? | demon bros

subby quotes w/ | Mammon

gentle male! mc w/ Mammon

calling him “my little crow” w/ Mammon

if you asked their pronouns | all love interests

cuddles w/ dysphoric! mc | Belphie

rejected for another brother | Levi *

surprise proposal ruined | all love interests

drabble games and one shots

prompt lists: 500 followers | 1k followers

poly :

poly ‘zing’ soulmate au | demon bros x mc (angsty)

Lucifer :

pomegranate | Lucifer x mc (nsfw) [18+]

helping Lucifer preen his wings | Lucifer x mc (fluff)

teasing w/ dom! Lucifer (queer nightclub + nsfw) [18+]

failing classes w/ Lucifer x masc! reader (queer nightclub + hurt/comfort)

oral sex w/ prince! Lucifer (highrise penthouse + nsfw + au) [18+]

Mammon :

birds of a feather | Mammon x mc (fluff)

homework vs headache | adhd Mammon x adhd mc (fluff)

sugar baby! Mams x masc! reader (queer nightclub + nsfw + hurt/comfort) [18+]

card games w/ Mams (abandoned cabin + fluff)

arm candy w/ gambling Mams (underground speakeasy)

hanahaki disease au w/ aromantic reader

masc! dragon! reader x mammon

Leviathan :

best friends don't do that | Leviathan x mc (angst)

helping Levi w/ his tail | Leviathan x mc (fluff)*

bad dreams | Leviathan x fem! mc (smut) [18+]

making cosplays w/ Levi (fluff)

Satan :

ghost hunting w/ Satan (broken down theater + horror + fluff)*

Asmodeus :

none requested

Beelzebub :

finger sucking w/ Beel (seasonal carnival + nsfw) [18+]

monster loving w/ Beel (haunted mansion + fluff)

Belphagor :

yandere! Belphie (abandoned cabin + horror)

Diavolo :

cockwarming w/ softdom! Dia (abandoned cabin + nsfw) [18+]

Barbatos :

monster fucking w/ Barb (highrise penthouse + nsfw) [18+]

eldritch horror! Barb au (haunted mansion + nsfw + au) [18+]

powerplay w/ switch! Barb (broken down theater + nsfw) [18+]

memories with Barbatos

Solomon :

horny softdom! Solomon (seasonal carnival + nsfw + fluff) [18+]

unrequited love (haunted mansion + hurt/comfort + fluff)

Simeon :

Simeon’s fall | no pairing (angst)*

oral sex w/ Simeon x fem! circus performer! reader (seasonal carnival + nsfw) [18+]

occult coven w/ Simeon (underground speakeasy)

#masterlist #obey me masterlist #obey me #drabble game #moodboard

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sinswithpleasure · 2 years

Text

Series Masterlist

Series

All covers to the respective series were edited by the wonder @panchatea.

—————————————

Bucket List (ft. TWICE’s Nayeon)

Im Nayeon, Seoul U’s It Girl—rich, beautiful, intelligent, and confident, hides a burning secret and desire, and with her graduation from university coming at the end of the school year, she has requests that aim to fulfil the burning desires she keeps within her heart.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Interlude—Experiment Five.5

Interlude—Workout Five.8

Interlude—Five.Six [Queen & Princess]

——————–

Queen (ft. TWICE’s Nayeon)

The Queen-Imperial Im Nayeon demands your presence in her Throne Room privately and for reasons unknown. With your close involvement in her past, just as she is with yours, what could be her motivations?

Queen (ft. TWICE’s Nayeon) || Companion Short: Queen’s Past

Queen (ft. TWICE’s Nayeon) - [Part 2]

Queen [Part 3 - Reminiscence] (ft. TWICE’s Nayeon)

Queen (ft. TWICE’s Nayeon) [Part 4 / Finale]

——————–

Gamble (ft. TWICE)

An ill-fated gamble lands you into the worst position you could have in life—delegated as the new fucktoy for use by the Student Council, led by Hirai Momo and her counterparts.

Gamble (ft. Momo)

Gamble (ft. Momo & Sana) [Part 2]

Gamble (ft. Dahyun) [Part 3]

Gamble Part 4 (ft. Jihyo)

Gamble Part 5 (ft. Chaeyoung)

Gamble Part 6 (ft. Mina) [Finale]

———————

The Playgirl (ft. LOONA’s Yves) [Female Reader]

When you’re forced to tutor the bane of your existence/your seatmate/the campus fuckgirl, you naturally expect the toughest of experiences. After all, she is your polar opposite—she gives no fucks, and you give a lot. When she offers you a deal you cannot refuse after testing limit after limit of yours, she takes you on a journey where you learn how opposites attract, how shared experiences form strong bonds, and how she can become a lover from an enemy.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

——————

Caught In 4K

A collaboration between me and the wonderful @worldsover.

Im Yeojin—student by day, camgirl off hours for fun. You're her best friend, secretly in love with her, and very aware of her side job she has. This is your story as much as it is hers—the journey that leads the both of you closer together.

Chapter 1

—————————————

JHJX-(CODE)

A collaboration between myself and the wonderful @midnightdancingsol.

Interrupted during your self-love session by the very target of your fantasies results in a sexually filled weekend between yourself and the Class President Jeon Heejin.

[JHJX-210] "My Class President Caught Me Masturbating, But Instead of Stopping Me, She Made Me Touch Myself So Hard That I Came All Over Myself!"

—————————————

Worth Your X

One unfortunate (well, maybe fortunate) encounter between you and Council President Jo Haseul results in your new role as the Student Council’s new boy toy.

Worth Your While (ft. Haseul)

Worth Your Time (ft. Kim Lip)

Worth Your Risk (ft. Kim Lip)

—————————————

A Family Affair

‘Taboos meant to be broken.’

You’re well aware of the more-than-familial sisterly bond between your girlfriend and your sister, but when Kim Chaewon brings you into that relationship and into her family, you soon learn that her entire family has no qualms with breaking the incest taboo.

Sisterly Bonding (ft. Chaewon & Winter)

Parental Guidance (ft. Taeyeon & Winter)

Familial Ties (ft. Taeyeon, Chaewon, Yeoreum, Karina)

—————————————

To-Do List

Minju is an angel that really likes sex.

To-Do List: Cream & Coffee

—————————————

After School Sex-Ed

The After School "Student Entertainment" Club is officially the school Gaming Club, but unofficially, it's not that at all—it's more of an excuse for certain students to have a room for sex at all times in school.

This collection details the world and relationships that the club members have with each other.

The After School "Student Entertainment" Club [ft. aespa's Karina & Giselle]

The After School "Student Bonding" Experience [ft. aespa's Winter & Ningning]

#masterlist

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sweetdreamsofgelato · 3 years

Text

Midsummer Misadventures: Chapter 5

(Henry pic credit. The rest are Google.)

[CH 1] [CH 2] [CH 3] [CH 4] [CH 5] [CH 6] [CH 7]

Pairing: Henry x Female!Reader (you)

Word count: 5740

Warnings: RPF; Abduction (sort of? not really but tagging to be safe); Enemies to Lovers. Slow Burn Smut (not yet). Snark. So much snark. Adult language and themes, etc. Somewhat arrogant Alpha-male Henry because I have questionable taste in men. Plot holes and predictability abound

Disclaimer: Henry is probably nothing like this IRL. Don’t take it seriously and don’t come at me with hate.

Summary: Henry hires you as his property solicitor and you go on a misadventure in Scotland.

A/N:

*yeets chapter into the hellscape and runs*

Unbeta-ed. All mistakes are my own.

Reposting my works on other sites or platforms is prohibited. Reblogs, likes, and comments are, as always, greatly appreciated.

“Looks like the dinner rush is in full swing.”

Henry stopped short and stared grimly toward the terrace, focused on the crowd spilling from the lounge doors. Coming to a stop at his side, you both let out twin sighs and exchanged glances that plainly said: well, fuck.

There was no way of knowing if the crush of people—and now you definitely considered it a crush—was normal Friday evening business for the pub, or if the word had gotten out about The Sheep’s Tail’s special guest.

Your guess was the latter, and sadly, there was only one way to find out.

“You just had to let it out that I was an actor,” muttered Henry, sounding more exhausted than upset.

“Don’t you dare try to pin this on me.” Sure, you’d mentioned it to Caroline when exacting revenge for Henry’s constant provocations, but there was no way that he was blaming this entire mess on you. “Didn’t you say that you were recognised this morning?”

Henry merely grunted in response. Your gaze shifted between him and the inn, and you quickly hooked your arm around his elbow and pulled him behind a sprawling oak on the edge of the path. Refuge from prying eyes—human eyes, at least. The sheep meandering on the other side of the fence stopped to watch with interest.

“Should we sneak around front?” you asked.

Henry rested his back against the trunk, humming uncertainly as he chanced another glance at the crowd. “You go around front and I will fight my way through the back. If anyone is lingering elsewhere, the commotion will likely draw them away and you can sneak upstairs.”

There was a natural inclination to take him down a peg for assuming his mere presence would cause a commotion, but you’d experienced firsthand the sort of chaos he could attract. Just the thought had your nerves on edge.

You leaned to the side and followed his line of sight, frowning and squinting toward the indistinct figures milling about the terrace. It was hard to tell from this distance, but you didn’t see anyone who stood out as paparazzi, though just because you didn’t see them didn’t mean that they weren’t there. The best ones were quite adept at remaining well-hidden, skulking in shadows until the prime opportunity arose to strike.

Given his behaviour, you were well within your rights to leave him to the wolves, but you still felt you didn’t have the karmic allowance to gamble on it.

You sighed. Damn it all.

“No,” you shook your head after a moment of contemplation, “it’s better if you go around front.” Out of the corner of your eye, you saw the line of Henry’s body go rigid, a sign of impending protest, but you insisted, “It’s our best option to avoid us both getting caught up.”

He tugged you back behind the protective shield of the tree. “If this is a result of a well-oiled rumour mill, we ought to assume they think you’re my wife.” With a particular air of hesitancy, he added, “A wife I’m not supposed to have.”

Henry had the grace to look apologetic about it now, but certainly, it was more for having to deal with the fallout than for having done it in the first place. You didn’t hesitate to cut him a look that read I told you so.

He promptly rolled his eyes. “If that’s the case, you won’t slip through unnoticed or unhindered.”

“I’m aware,” you said irritably. It was true, and despite your nerves, you were going to use it to your advantage. Besides, there wasn’t much in the way of alternatives unless you both felt like camping in the fields. “I’m betting on Mrs Cavill being enough to draw their attention but not interesting enough to keep it, which will hopefully mean a quicker escape for me and a clear path for you.”

With any luck, they won’t care about you at all.

He straightened and crossed his arms over his chest, likely in an attempt to look domineering. “I don’t like it.”

“You’ve never liked when you don’t get your way, but now’s not the time to be a child about it.”

He gave you a flinty look. “You’re not used to dealing with this like I am.”

“And who’s the one who dragged me into it?” The arch in your brow mirrored Henry’s, and you weren’t disappointed when, in his silence, his jaw twitched with annoyance. “I’m perfectly capable, thank you very much.”

Henry’s mouth pressed into a thin line and he scratched at the fresh stubble darkening his jaw; he looked thoroughly unconvinced and more than ready to continue arguing, but as if on cue, his stomach rumbled loudly.

“The sooner we get through, the sooner we can eat,” you added coaxingly. There were few things more motivating to Henry than the promise of a good meal; this much you knew of him. “I’ll stop by the bar on the way and see if I can have dinner sent to our room.”

Henry dropped his head back against the tree and angled you a look that you couldn’t quite decipher, but that made the skin on the back of your neck tingle. “Sacrificing yourself for me?” he chuckled, and a small, amused smile twitched at his lips. “Noble.”

“Don’t read into it. I just prefer to avoid a scene.”

“I fear we may be trying to avoid the inevitable,” he murmured bitterly.

It physically pained you to agree. “I’d like at least a bath and a bite to eat before I truly run the gauntlet.”

If this was what you were facing after only a day, then it was just the tip of the iceberg and that blasted play was only going to make it worse. How much worse was anyone’s guess.

Henry was nothing if not persistent in his attempt to dissuade you. “There might just as much a crowd at the front.”

Your patience was visibly wearing thin. “True, but based on the information we have, it seems the best plan to avoid the worst of it.”

“Just come around front with me and hope for the best.”

“I’m the diversion, remember? If I go with you, then we have no recourse.”

“I’m not going to talk you out of this, am I?”

Henry held your gaze and your shoulders squared reflexively. “There’s a reason I’m the lawyer and you’re the actor.”

After a moment of thought, his expression turned with displeasure and he grumbled, “Fine, we’ll do it your way.”

Your face lit with satisfaction. Not wanting to give Henry time to change his mind, you gestured for him to get moving. He hitched his bag on his shoulder, gave a mocking salute, and quietly ducked around the other side of the tree. Crouching low on the gently inclining lawn running up against the border wall, he hastily followed it around the far side of the inn.

Once he was out of sight, you sighed bracingly and glanced back at the sheep who stopped grazing just long enough to bleat gently in your direction.

You accepted its commiserating look because you needed all the support you could get, even from the livestock.

“Onward to glory.”

---------------------------------------

You made your way across the terrace as quietly and unassumingly as the crunching gravel allowed, but you already felt them.

Eyes. On you.

You hadn’t outright lied when you said you were capable of handling this, but your severe dislike of being anyone’s focal point meant that it was going to be neither easy nor enjoyable. Your throat constricted and flop-sweat dampened your skin as anxiety steadily tick upward.

Regardless, it was your idea and you were committed, like it or not.

Weaving through the tables, you forced your attention away from increasing noise levels and the curious stares and whispers of the dining patrons and instead focused on the delicious aromas wafting from their plates. Perhaps, if the food tasted as good as it smelled, then maybe the majority of the crowd was here for food instead of gossip. You rode that wave of unexpected positivity right into a small break in the crowd around the doors into the lounge.

A voice rose over the barely-contained revelry beyond the threshold. “Guid evenin’, Mrs Cavill.”

Damn.

You stopped and turned with a wince—despite having expected it, you still hate that you involuntarily answered to the title now.

A middle-aged man with shaggy salt and pepper hair, friendly eyes, and an expectant smile raised his pint in greeting. He turned to his ruddy-faced companion, who after a murmur in his ear from the man who’d caught your attention also spared a moment to give you an enthusiastic hello.

You glanced around warily to find complete strangers, who must have overheard, watching you with uncomfortable familiarity.

Unless...had someone managed to get a picture of you and Henry together? There had been opportunities, now that you thought about it. If photos and the inevitable speculation that goes along with them were already circulating the internet…with the added “Mrs Cavill” fiasco…

This was a disaster.

Trying to avoid the inevitable indeed. Failing magnificently more like.

You willed your mind not to spiral as you frantically rolled over how best to proceed. Logic seemed the best course: you didn’t want to make a bad situation worse by inadvertently slighting anyone, but you also didn’t want to stick around and invite conversation from anyone who might be watching and using the interaction to measure their chances.

You acknowledged the pair with a weak wave and awkward smile because you honestly couldn’t think of any better way to handle it.

With a deep, steadying breath, you shoved into the lounge.

Enthusiastic greetings cut through the steady pump of music and chatter. Greetings that were not unkind but held some air of expectation. Unsurprisingly, they were just as suffocating as the crush of bodies and the ambient cacophony beating against your ears.

You hastily jostled your way toward the entrance to the main pub on the other side, implications of your circumstances crashing around you all the while. The voices calling out remained faceless blurs; the further the tide pulled you in, the more panic divested you of polite pretence. You struggled to ignore the mobile phones following your movement and the invitations to drink and chat. With clipped apologies, you shoved past. All you could think through the haze of sensory overload was: nod and smile.

Nod, smile, and fucking move.

There was no correcting anyone about who you were or weren’t; any notion to do so was swallowed by the stifling heat and endless noise. Drowned by the alarming need to get out right now.

Henry might’ve been right.

He can never know about it.

You gracelessly elbowed through another group blocking the doors and stumbled into the main bar, releasing an audible gasp when cool fresh air slapped you in the face.

You didn’t stop to enjoy it.

Urgency hastened you through the main pub. This room was only slightly less crowded than the lounge; more curious glances followed as you bolted around the reception counter toward the stairs. Through the corner of your eye, you spotted Gavin trying to flag you down, but you didn’t stop. Couldn’t stop. You gave him a vague wave as you blurred past; whatever it was could be dealt with later.

When you could breathe.

You took the stairs two then three at a time, legs and lungs burning up to the second-floor landing, your heart pumping fast from the exertion and overwhelm. You moved to turn the corner to the corridor that led to your room when you suddenly felt hands on you. Around you. Covering your mouth as you spun into darkness.

Instinct reared; you twisted and flailed, but a vice-like grip pinned your arms to your chest. The large hand clamped over your mouth muffled your screams as you were shoved farther into the dark, cramped space.

A grunt of shock caught in your throat when you were hoisted up and dropped clumsily atop something hard and cold. Your eyes pinched shut as something bit sharply into your spine. You leveraged your body, trying to kick away your attacker, but they pressed so close into you that your legs were folded and jammed up, and you couldn’t do more than feebly knock your knees against their sides.

Too big, too closely wrapped up in you that struggling only made it worse, but you refused to give them even a second of reprieve. You thrashed when they drew closer.

God, your lungs ached.

“Stop,” a deep, familiar voice breathed low in your ear. A hand splayed over your knee to still your movement. “Breathe.”

Your eyes flew open, not that you could see anything, and your heart hammered so hard you worried it might break a rib.

The grip loosened slightly but didn’t move away. “It’s only me,” the voice said again. “Breathe.”

A tall order when there was a hand over your mouth, you thought bitterly. Nevertheless, your pulse ticked down a few notches and the ache in your chest eased slightly as you drew shallow breaths through your nose.

“Hrrmmy?”

“Do not bite me,” Henry said.

You fixed him with a glare—for completely terrorising you, of course, but also for somehow managing to read your mind—but the effect was lost in the pitch blackness of...wherever you were.

“Calm?”

Absolutely not, but you nodded anyway.

“And don’t give me that look.” He slowly removed his hand from your mouth, and air poured into your starved lungs.

You gasped, “How did you know—” Naturally, the first question you would have after being forcibly abducted was how did you know I was glaring at you? It must be the effect of oxygen deprivation.

“I can feel it.”

As terror subsided, your senses sharpened. The hand on your knee slowly slid away, inexplicable tingling left in its wake. Henry’s hands may have moved, but the rest of him remained firmly wedged in your personal space.

Your eyes began to adjust to the darkness, and though you couldn’t make out many details, Henry’s unmistakable silhouette towered over you. Your body piqued to awareness; inhaling sharply at the shock of it, you felt so flustered that you barely made out the lingering, delicate fragrance of fresh linen.

Your mind immediately snapped back. “Where are we?”

“Some sort of storage cupboard,” whispered Henry.

You let out a colourful curse. This was like a bad novel. “Explain yourself.”

“I told Gavin to stop you at reception if he spotted you,” Henry said defensively.

Double damn.

“I was in the office when he told me you bolted upstairs,” he added. Even in the darkness, you felt the weight of his gaze. “Looking spooked.”

Indignation fought through the ebbing panic lumped in your throat. “I meant,” your voice rising, “why did you abduct me into a cupboard!”

“Keep your voice down,” and he dropped to barely a whisper. “People are lurking on all the floors.”

“You’d think they’d have better things to do with their time than chase after the likes of you.”

“Yes, yes, absolutely zero points for stealth, subtlety, or taste,” Henry said sarcastically.

He paused, grunting as he attempted to shift his weight back and to the side. Something clattered noisily to your left and he swore under his breath as he settled back into the awkward cradle of your body.

Henry reached up and rested his forearms somewhere above you. The solid weight of him pressed in and you struggled to breathe for an entirely different reason. The air hung heavy and humid and his scent permeated everything. Warm, smokey, and undeniably masculine.

“It’s a miracle that I was able to grab you unseen. There’s no way to get to our room without giving away which is ours,” Another low grunt and defeated sigh, “which is something I’d like to avoid that at all costs.”

Brain fog rolled in, and it was all you could do to keep your head as awareness flickered to life. “R-right, but a cupboard?”

“Options were limited,” Henry replied dryly.

You sighed heavily and felt your chest brush against his. Electric sparks jolted straight to your toes, making you desperate for a distraction.

“How bad is it?”

His hesitation was physical. “I’ve already got my team running damage control, but I recommend staying off the internet until it all blows over.”

You half-groaned but Henry’s side muscles suddenly tensed against the inside of your thighs, and you hastily gulped it back.

“When did you manage to call your team?” you asked shakily, trying your best to sound testy rather than completely unnerved. If there was any justice in this world, they’d given him a good verbal thrashing.

“I took advantage of the few minutes I had when I was waiting in the reception office.”

“Hiding,” you chirped. Squeaked? Your voice had taken on a definite mousy quality.

“Excuse me?”

“You were hiding, not waiting.” You cleared your throat but your answer sounded too rushed even to your ears.

Silence stretched a moment, then Henry said, “It takes a staggering amount of arrogance to insult the person who just saved your arse."

“By rugby-tackling me into the tiniest cupboard in Britain!” There, that was better. Rage was far preferable to everything else you were feeling at the moment.

“Quiet or you’ll give us away!” he hissed.

“Who cares if anyone sees? Especially if the damage is already done.”

You shifted ever so slightly side to side in search of any space to negotiate your way around this mess, but you were well and firmly locked in place. Perhaps it was cowardly, and you would agonise about it until the end of time, but you didn’t dare try to wiggle around him.

“If it gets out which room is ours, we’ll never get any peace, and—” He stopped abruptly.

“We’ll never get any peace anyway,” you cut in stubbornly.

“Shh.”

“But—”

“Shh.”

“Honestly, Henry, I don’t care—”

He leaned. No, he loomed. He may have even growled when he came nose to nose with you, but it was difficult to hear around the incessant buzzing in your ears.

Henry’s voice dropped an unnatural number of octaves. “Do you want me to put my hand back over your mouth? Because I will if you won’t be quiet.”

You gasped, not only from his words but what they did to you; awareness did a speedrun into desire. Hurtled straight to your core with a vicious ache. Henry’s breath skated across your lips, and the image of him capturing you in a rough kiss flooded your mind. You narrowly suppressed a shudder.

Nope. Not good. Bad. Very, very bad.

This was Henry. Henry, who in youth made it his puerile mission to vex you into insanity, and when grown—to do the same, but mostly avoid you like the plague. Neither inspired anything other than animus and disinterest.

But now his presence overwhelmed everything. You felt every minuscule movement, every brush of his body against yours, and you were receptive in ways that were wholly inappropriate and completely confusing.

You were not and never had been attracted to Henry. Not even in the most superficial way. Absolutely not.

If your body could get on board with your brain, that would be fantastic.

Your mouth snapped shut. He tipped his ear toward the door; your breathing faltered, eyes squeezing shut as you swallowed back a whimper when his roughly stubbled cheek scraped against yours. You’d never been so thankful for the lack of light; one look at you would undoubtedly give you away.

One look at him and...you didn’t even want to entertain the thought.

Faint footsteps grew louder, pausing outside the door. More footsteps joined, louder and quicker this time. There was some animated chatter, though you couldn’t make out the actual conversation, and more footfall back and forth before it finally faded away.

“For once, can you just trust me?” he whispered once the coast was clear.

In a desperate bid to regain control of yourself, your mind lurched away from base sensations running rampant. You shoved everything you were feeling into a dark, forbidden corner of your mind, never to see the light of day, and willed your voice steady. “Someone from the staff or another guest is bound to let it slip anyway.”

“Even so,” it was obvious the words were forced through clenched teeth, “we can’t risk anyone getting photos of us emerging from a cupboard looking...” He trailed off. “It will be fuel to the fire, and we are under strict instructions not to make it worse.”

“Who’s fault is it we’re in a cupboard?” You felt a pang of sympathy for his management team; the man seemed incapable of anything other than bad decisions.

He didn’t answer, yet you sensed his heat levels rise and patience drop like a stone.

“What do you suggest, then, because we can’t stay in here all night. I’ve already lost feeling in my toes.” Your circulation was the real victim here.

“We wait for the signal.”

“Signal? What, like a Bat Signal?”

“Now you’re just being offensive.”

You smiled despite your inner turmoil.

“Jack,” Henry explained in hushed tones, “is securing the inn and pub and will message me with an update. Glad he showed up. Poor Gavin is scarred for life, I think.”

He’s not the only one.

A charged silence settled in the cupboard and without the distraction of conversation, you became fidgety. Your legs were cramped and twitchy, but no matter how much they ached, you didn’t dare to try to let them dangle.

Your balance was already precarious, held in place by Henry’s inability to move, and whatever you were perched on was too shallow. Moving your legs down would send you straight into Henry’s...lap?

Was it considered a lap if he’s standing?

Not the point.

Your legs weren’t long enough to reach the door or wall, not with—you swallowed—Henry wedged between them. The only alternative was to wrap them around his waist.

The lingering heat coiled in your belly unfurled at the thought and nearly sent you back into a wild panic after only just managing to exact some semblance of control.

No. Not going to dwell on Henry’s hips, lap, or nether regions in general.

Henry broke the silence. “I need to move my arms down.”

“Sorry?” you croaked, prying your thoughts away from dangerous territory.

“Pins and needles in my arms,” he said with a tone that suggested he was repeating himself. “I’m moving them down.”

“Down?”

“Down,” he echoed slowly, sounding distinctly unsure why this was hard to grasp.

“I can rest them on the shelf behind you,” his voice sounded strained, “or around you, but that means invading your personal space.”

“I’m fairly certain that ship has sailed,” you muttered.

“Just giving fair warning this time.”

“Fine, but I need to move my legs before they fall off from lack of blood flow.”

“Wrap them around me.”

He hadn’t even hesitated, but your brain stuttered like a faulty kick start. “P-Pardon?”

“We both know it’s the only option.

“You’ve thought this through?”

“Why is that so surprising?”

The last two days weren’t exactly a masterclass in overcoming impulsivity, but a detailed account of everything leading up to your current circumstances seemed a moot point.

Henry growled again and it helped absolutely nothing. “It is what it is. Just do it.”

“And here I thought things couldn’t get worse...” The attitude was a defensive manoeuvre. Your body and mind were warring again and it was a full-on melee, but you were determined to rein it in. Your emotions may have already frayed many times over today, but you were a mature, capable adult in complete control of at least her hormones.

This would not unravel you.

It all happened in fluid motion: you hooked your ankles around his waist; his arms stole around you, forcing your back to arch. It drew your body flush against his, and Henry’s head to drop into the curve of your neck. There was a collective groan.

Of circulatory relief, surely. Yes, absolutely no other reason anyone would be moaning.

“Steady?” he asked hoarsely.

Not in the fucking slightest.

Time slowed to a crawl; what had to be mere minutes felt like hours filled with nothing but his fingers digging into your sides every time he shifted. His breath hitching, and arms tensing and releasing around you when your legs moved against his sides.

“So...” your breath stuttered when his palm drifted to your lower back and anchored your weight against his thigh.

It was definitely his thigh.

Had to be.

“...how long for that signal?”

“Soon, hopefully. Depends on how long it takes to clear the place out.”

You nodded, trying to ignore Henry’s warm breath on your neck and how it quickened your pulse. Or was that his? You were melded so closely together you couldn’t tell.

You felt the buzzing before you heard it, firm against the back of your leg—dangerously close to the apex of your thighs, and you very nearly leapt from your skin.

“Fuckssake,” Henry cursed at the jarring movement. Your bodies tangled and he lurched back; there was a loud thud when his back hit the door. He clumsily juggled you in his arms, his grip tightening around your back when he pitched once again toward the shelves. Your collective weight shook the entire cupboard. Linens tumbled around your heads.

Your breath escaped with an audible rush. “Sorry!”

“It’s fine—” Henry sounded breathless as well. Clattering and banging, more items tumbled from the shelves as he fumbled to centred your weight again.

Right on top of his buzzing phone.

“Jesus, sorry!” Henry apologised when you jerked and squealed. Everything around you rattled again “I-just, for the love of God will you stop flailing!”

“Just get your bloody phone!” you shrieked.

“What do you think I’m trying to do?” barked Henry in return.

With your legs still locked around him, he leaned back against the door. He pressed your shoulders against the shelves and angled you as far as possible in opposite direction, which admittedly, was not far at all. There was a sliver of space between you now, barely enough to fit even a small hand; if he reached down, you were certain he wouldn’t get into his pocket without touching...

You yanked his hand up by the wrist and hissed, “Don’t you dare.”

His gaze flickered down from your face then back again, and you barely made out how his eyes widen. “I’m just getting the phone.”

“I know,” your voice was verging on frantic, “I know, but…”

“I promise I won’t.”

“You will.” Not intentionally, but his hands were too large to not feel everything on the way down. Worse, your joggers were thin and you would feel everything, and you were already strung taut enough to snap. “Can’t you just reach around another way?”

“Do you think I’ve not already tried that?” he bit back impatiently. He paused a beat, a short silence of nothing but rhythmic vibrating. “You do it.”

“What!”

“If I’m not allowed, then you do it.”

You were in disbelief for having to say this for the second time in as many days. “I am not reaching into your pocket!”

“I can’t believe we’re arguing about this!” Incredulity laced every word. “Someone’s got to, and there’s only the two of us!”

He hadn’t moved his hand but your grip on his wrist tightened anyway. “But…”

“Make up your mind!”

“Okay, fine! Fine, I’ll do it!”

With a deep breath and a prayer—and not daring to look, you released his wrist and thrust your hand down toward the relentless vibrating.

Just as your fingers brushed against his phone, the world suddenly tilted.

There was no time to react, but you felt Henry tighten his hold on you before landing hard and with an audible groan. The light in the corridor scorched your vision, and when you finally cracked an eyelid, you found Jack smiling down at you.

He wiggled his fingers in greeting. “Well, isna this cosy.”

Jack knelt and looked to Henry, who was heaving beneath you, to the cupboard and then back to you. He angled his head to the side and that knowing little smile, the same one that followed your breakfast comment that morning, twitched at his lips.

He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to; his amused expression said it all.

It was the worst sort of deja vu. “This is not what it looks like,” you muttered weakly.

“Is no?” Jack’s wondered teasingly.

His eyes trailed downwards, and your gaze dutifully followed.

Your hand was still in Henry’s pocket.

Now would be the perfect time for the earth to crack open and swallow you whole. Anything to escape the embarrassment.

You yanked your hand out and scrambled off Henry with no mind to where your knees and elbows landed.

“Glad you found us,” Henry wheezed to Jack. “Had a bit of trouble getting to my phone.”

Your foot may or may not have caught him in the ribs, and you didn’t feel sorry for it.

“Aye, wisna so difficult.” Jack gently caught your elbow to help you stand. “Juist followed the bickerin’.”

Your eyes cut to the side and exchanged a heated look with Henry, who was now upright and leaning heavily against the opposite wall. He looked wild: panting, hair mussed and damp with sweat, and his skin deeply flushed.

Thoroughly dishevelled, and the image of it struck a new, startlingly raw nerve. The existence of which you wished to ignore completely.

The weight of everything dragged you further into exhaustion. The wall was the only thing keeping you upright at this point. You must’ve appeared flustered as you felt because Jack cast you a reassuring smile.

“Dinna wirry. Clear’t the inn except for registered guests. Naebody’s lurkin’ aboot.”

“Thanks, mate,” Henry cut in, leaning forward and extending a hand to Jack. “How’d you manage it?”

“Told ‘em they drank the taps dry.” Jack turned and grasped Henry’s hand in one and clapped him on the shoulder with the other. “Isna far off the truth, and most locals left withoot complainin’. Chase’t off the rest of the stragglers myself.”

“Sorry for the trouble,” you added with a guilty glance at the debris spilling forth from the open cupboard. Towels and linens littered the floor, and a teetering broom finally gave up the fight. You winced when it clattered to the floor.

Jack shrugged easily. “It’s the least I coud’dae efter ye saved me from ma aunty.”

Had that happened today? Lord, you’d nearly forgotten. This was the longest day in the history of ever.

You acknowledged his gratitude with a gracious nod. “I hope no one was too put out.”

“Nae, they coudna be happier. Most excitement they've seen in ages.” Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He motioned to follow as he turned in the direction of your room. “Imagine ye need a bit of peace tho, so I’ll send dinner up.”

This man was a saint and no one would ever convince you otherwise.

Jack unlocked the door, and Henry hung back, giving you a wide berth to pass. You slipped into the room without a word to him; you just...couldn’t. Not with lingering thoughts that made you feel foreign in your own mind.

“I need to get our bags from downstairs and make a few phone calls,” Henry said and relief rolled over you like a wave.

You needed space to process everything that had happened, but it would be impossible with him in the room. His presence would only be a persistent physical reminder of everything you felt in that dark, cramped space.

“Feel free tae use the reception office.”

Henry thanked Jack again, and when you turned around, Henry was gone.

With a quick glance toward the stairs, Jack tucked a hand in his back pocket and leaned against the doorjamb with that easy, elegant grace you’d admired that morning. For all the excitement of the evening, he seemed generally unaffected. Relaxed, even. Perhaps slightly rumpled and weary around the eyes, but calm and collected. It was enviable.

Of course, if he’d been stuck in a cupboard with Henry and an overabundance of inappropriate thoughts, he might look a little worse for wear too.

“Quite a nicht.”

You sighed wearily, resting your head on the edge of the door. “One for the books.”

“So…” Jack tousled his hair as he cleared his throat; he watched you warmly, but with concern. “Yer situation isna ma business.”

“Situation?” He was going to have to clarify because you were juggling at least a dozen thanks to Henry.

“Wi’ yer husband.”

Your head snapped up and despite your exhaustion, it took all of your restraint to not grab him by the shirt and shake. “I swear, we are neither married nor in a relationship. He signed that blasted guestbook as a joke, with no regard to his celebrity.” You pressed at the ache forming behind your eyes. “Needless to say, it backfired enormously.”

Jack skimmed the side of his thumb over his lips, seemingly processing that bit of information, then smirked. “The murderous look ye haed this mornin’ is makin’ more sense.”

“Thank you,” you laughed. A tired but genuine laugh that you really needed. It was nice to feel understood.

“I ken I teased a bit, but are ye awright?”

You blinked owlishly and blew out a long breath. Maybe. Probably not, but you would be eventually.

“Nothing a long bath and an early night won’t fix.” That, and lots and lots of professional media spin. Maybe a healthy dose of booze too.

Even though he’d asked, it felt intrusive to burden him with your problems. Dealing with the drama of your presence seemed already too much to ask of him, so you dismissed his worry with a wave of your hand. “Just a long day. I’ll be fine, but thanks for asking.”

Jack accepted your answer with a nod. “I’ll bring dinner in a bit, but...” As he turned to leave, he held up his hand and between two fingers was a slip of paper.

“...if ye need a friend.”

#henry cavill #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill fan fic #rpf #henry cavill rpf #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill x you #sweetdreamsofgelato writes #fic: midsummer misadventures

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wowpindrop · 6 months

Text

Unavoidable | Doctor!James Acaster (& others)

For: anon

Request:

Basically for this first request, gonna be a little strange but I had a dream that James Acaster was Doctor Who and his companions were Josh Widdecombe and Ed Gamble and I was the Doctors child and was wondering if you could write something including fluff based on it? But instead of me it’s the Teen!reader obviously, I’m 18 and Gender-Fluid and use all pronouns, any and all pronouns would be great in regarding the reader.

Notes:

Hi anon! I'm so srry this has taken me so long to do, but I lost the first draft so I had to redo it :[. But it's finished now! I literally love the idea sm, James as the doctor would be so hectic I cannot. I've decided to keep Ed and Josh's names the same so it isn't confusing but James is obvs referred to as the doctor. I hope it's alright. Also if you wanna be tagged in future fics that i post, dm me n ill add u to the list. Happy reading!

Tags:

@frankieray

Summary:

The doctor makes a foolish mistake leading to you getting injured on an adventure, he is quick to make sure you're alright and to assure you it won't happen again.

TW: SLIGHT BLOOD AND INJURY (BUT ITS ALL FLUFFY AT THE END)

It was unexpected when you heard the bullet go off behind you. Yes, you knew the aliens you were currently facing weren't cowards- it wasn't as if they were too scared to shoot.

It was just surprising that they shot you.

You weren't in their direct line of fire, it would've been simpler to maybe shoot Josh, or even the Doctor, but yet here you were.

The Doctor. Your doctor.

He had found you on one of his adventures, complete coincidence. It just happened that he was your biological father, not that you has any idea.

The gangly man had a very different personality to your more serious, stoic nature. You wouldn't have guessed, not by looking at you both anyway.

His, happy, bubbly nature. Constantly bouncing around the TARDIS, occasionally bumping into the control panel, and swearing under his breath, much to the enjoyment of Ed and Josh, the two men who the Doctor had decided to travel with as companions.

That's why it was so surprising that the aliens didn't shoot the Doctor, the amount of attention he was bringing to himself on the deck of the spaceship anyway.

The ringing in your ears began to subside.

You looked down.

Your raised a shaking hand to eye level, to see it coated in a dark shade of your blood.

Your breathing quickened as you realised.

Then your legs gave way.

The last thing you saw before the darkness was the Doctor swearing loudly before yelling orders at Ed and Josh, flailing his limbs frantically.

You could feel the blood slowly oozing out of your wound as your eyes began to close. The Doctor rushed to your side, kneeling. His hand finding the side of your face.

"Stay with me. Fucking hell please stay with me."

Your eyes fluttered open to bright white lights. They made you squint as you began to sit up, wincing at the pain in you side. You leant on your elbows as you looked around the infirmary of the TARDIS, somewhere you had gotten acquainted with after dangerous adventures with your father.

None had been as severe as this.

They were usually minor things: cuts, grazes that sort of thing.

Ever still, the Doctor would stress, worrying about every tiny injury you had. Long slender fingers plastering up even the slightest paper cut.

You turned to your left, to see the Doctor asleep in a chair. Messy auburn hair covering his eyes as he snored, out of place. The outfit he wore was dirty with dust and grime.

He was snoring lightly, his mop of hair shaking slightly with each inhale. Just another one of his many quirks.

You attempted to stand, throwing your legs over the side of the hospital-esc bed. As you did the Doctor stirred, waking.

He saw you trying to get up and started to panic a bit.

"No, you have to lie down, you took a heavy blow out there man."

You huffed and lay back down, looking up to see his blue eyes laced with concern and worry.

"Dad I'm fine. Its only minor."

"Minor? You were bleeding out, you were lucky you didn't end up with any more damage that was already done."

You rolled your eyes in defeat as the Doctor began to check the gauze that covered the wound.

"I don't know what I would've done if you didn't make it back kid." He said after a while, slender fingers pulling back down your shirt, which now had a fairly large red rimmed hole in it.

"Well I'm fine aren't I." You responded with a slight smile.

"It should've been me, I wasn't paying attention, I put you in danger I'm so sorry-" he began to reel off apologies until you grabbed his hand to make him look at you.

"Dad! I'm ok. It wasn't your fault. None of us could've guessed that would've happened. Don't blame yourself."

A little while later, Ed and Josh entered, worry plastered on their faces. They were relieved to see you awake.

"Bloody hell y/n." Ed chuckled darkly "you got pretty banged up."

"Yeah well, I'm good as new now." You responded, chuckling.

"And im so glad you are." The Doctor whispered, squeezing your hand.

#james acaster #britcom #ed gamble #taskmaster #off menu #british comedians #british comedy #josh widdicombe #doctor!james acaster x reader #james acaster x reader #companion!ed gamble #companion!josh widdicombe #quinn's fics

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raisinghellonstarbug · 2 years

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Here we go! This is the currently official poster for Stumbled Into Laughter, Stumbled Into You - a James Acaster x Reader (and slightly Rhys James x Reader) story.

Summary: The year is 2019, and life has been quite dull for you since working in various jobs that you hate after graduating from university back in 2011. You used to do stand up comedy at uni but you’ve been putting off pursuing it properly due to lack of confidence and motivation. Your best mates decide to encourage you to try a comedy mic night for the first time in years and it is then you stumble across your old friend Rhys James again. That’s when your life gets turned around as you dive into the world of the comedy circuit and become close with famous comedians. In the midst of it all, you end up meeting a particularly distinctive red headed fellow who could become the very thing that brings meaning to your life again.

If you haven't had the opportunity yet to read it yet then here is the Ao3 link to all 3 chapters so far: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33748507/chapters/83886967

#james acaster #rhys james #ed gamble #nish kumar #josh widdicombe #james acaster x reader #james acaster fanfic #british comedy

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ourmondobongo · 3 years

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Zeke Yeager and the life of an Eldian of the Continent (and a few parallels with Erwin, Hange, and Levi)

Like many AOT characters, Zeke is both appreciated and hated.

The things he went through when he was a little kid made a lot of people pity his adult form. The things he did to the SC and Levi were definitely horrendous and hurtful, and for sure made a lot of people absolutely hate Zeke for all he did to our favs.

I don't follow either of these takes, though. I like the complexity of Zeke's character. And as a fan of his story, I don’t pity him or see how his character really needs it (except while he was a kid abused by his parents). Also, rationalizing Zeke’s character is not about finding ways to forgive him, but rather delving further into AOT’s storytelling. Which is why I’m writing this post: to see things through non-Paradisians perspectives.

Zeke Yeager was the Captain of the Warriors, and it's said he was written to be the equivalent of Levi's mighty soldier character to the Eldians of the Continent. But we have many hints that Zeke is not only like Levi's other side of the “hero” spectrum but also Hange's and Erwin's too.

Putting it simply, Zeke had within his character building the most known traits we’ve seen in the SC Veteran trio:

- Like Levi, Zeke was born with inhuman power hidden in his blood, had a unique grow up (and not only because of Grisha), but he became his country's 'Boy Wonder' (chapter 93) and was even considered their strongest Warrior (according to Reiner);

- like Hange, Zeke had the biggest knowledge of the Titans' powers and biology, and he was one of the most intelligent characters of AOT (with 11/10 smartness stats according to the 1st AOT guidebook);

- and like Erwin, Zeke got his father tortured and sentenced to death for conspiracy against the government, carried a secret dream shared his 2nd father (Ksaver) and that he had no one he trusted completely to share, and had a smart way of dealing with high-up military figures as well as of gambling and manipulating events and people to achieve his ultra-secretive goals and dream.

At the same time though Zeke also had some of the most antagonistic characteristics of the veterans post-RtS alive:

- he saw death/non-existence as a type of people's “salvation”, liberation, or some kind of freedom - opposing Levi;

- he was adamant he had the best and only solution to save both the whole world and his people - opposing Hange;

But these few points don’t even scratch the surface of Zeke’s character. And while the Vet Trio is thoroughly dissected in the fandom, that Zeke is their particular main antagonist but hardly "meta-ed" is something kinda strange. Especially because ignoring Zeke leaves some events in the manga lacking some important and intriguing discussions!

Like, how nicely written was to have a glimpse of Zeke’s mind right after the chapter of Erwin's last passionate speech and sacrifice (chapters 80-81). And how nice it's to parallel chapters 136 X 137 - where Levi is almost on the verge of "giving up" on killing Zeke but struggling heartbroken at the thought of the Devoted Hearts' meanings still left open X where Zeke, the man who saw everything as meaningless, lets himself be killed by Levi (being probably aware of what that action meant to his archnemesis).

So, it will probably sound like I'm playing the Devil's advocate, but there are some very interesting things to highlight about Zeke’s journey!

Since interpretation varies from reader to reader though, I just ask anyone who may join the discussion to keep the talk civil even if you fully hate Zeke. Or Levi. Or Isayama.

1. Zeke Yeager was one of the TWO last Royal Bloods of King Fritz’s lineage alive

Much like our special bloodline-born Ackerman duo, Zeke and Historia were the last two living Royal Bloods of AOT. This might sound pretty obvious, but I see the implications of this fact are quite overlooked.

Zeke and Historia were the only characters still capable of making use of AND giving others some access to the Founding Titan’s powers. But out of the two last living Founder “Controllers”, the 29 years old Yeager was also:

1. the one with the most knowledge about Ymir Fritz and the Titans powers + the Eldian history

2. the only one possessing a Titan Shifter

3. the one who had lived his whole life in the “real” world

4. the one about to die (had less than 1 year alive)

5. the only Royal Blood who could be used as the full mediator between the Founding Titan possessor and Ymir's powers

6. the only Royal with access to Titan serum (which means that even if Historia becoming a Pure Titan could help, Paradis wouldn't have the means to turn her into one without Zeke. So he was the last Royal end game indeed.)

Besides these points, though, remembering Zeke as one of the last Royal is also important because while Historia held responsibility for the Eldians of Paradis Island as their Queen by bloodline inheritance, we could kind of say that Zeke held some responsibility as a never known “king” of the Eldians of the Continent.

In fact, the Eldian Restorationist group was putting faith in Dina's royal lineage to change the Eldians’ fate (chapter 85). And if the Eldians of Marley and other countries wanted, they could have established a new ruler or king for them. This because at the moment King Fritz left the Eldians in the continents to die, their nation was divided in two: there was the Reiss family - who subsided to the Non-war Vow, and their fake Heaven in Paradis; and there was the Fritz family - who hated the flee of ancestors to Paradis, decided to stay on the continent, and wanted to save the Eldians left.

So it is pretty easy to imagine that if the Restorationists’ plan ever worked, Dina’s family with Grisha was definitely going to be placed among their people’s new rulers - with Zeke as their primal hope, and even as a prince and future king. Thus, since conception, Zeke was thought, taught, and raised to be his people's savior. The "God-Savior complex" people say he had is not just a joke LOL.

And raising a perfect Restorationist Savior was what Grisha mistakenly thought he was doing by fuelling the infancy of his firstborn with doctrines and responsibilities of adults, to say the least.

But while these facts had the utmost impact on Zeke’s life, his family's abuse during his childhood still feels oddly weak as the main reason to drive Zeke into walking down the path toward the euthanasia plan of an entire race.

And now things will get interesting...

2. What Zeke witnessed while living as an Eldian of the Continent

Contrary to well-known main “good” characters who had arcs dedicated to showing their backstory directly by their viewpoint, Zeke Yeager had the context of his life shown through other characters’ POV and multiple chapters since the beginning of the Marley arc (as well as some scenes from previous arcs, like Grisha's POV in his journals during the revelations of the basement).

But we know Zeke had his own reading of the events that happened with his parents. And after becoming older and becoming a Warrior, Zeke was also the most secretive of all characters. So Reiner, Porco, Pieck, and Colt had no real understanding of the true Zeke, nor how far he was in keeping up his pro-Marley facade. The Warriors could never even have imagined that he had been building up the stage for his Eldians' eradication plan for around 13 years.

The only thing they all genuinely had in common was the critical life of an Eldian of the Continent (EoC) and Warrior. And I want to highlight this part because it's something that furthers the implications of Zeke's statement in chapter 114:

"We never did learn to trust one another. But I can't blame you. The world I've seen was just too different from what you've all seen."

What Zeke saw as an EoC:

The Eldians of the Continent were cowardly abandoned and forgotten in the hands of their enemies by Zeke's direct ancestors, so he was born and raised in a Marleyan internment zone, a place limited by tall Walls too (chapter 94). But more than that, since he was a kid, Zeke witnessed every day how his people had been living the last 100 years being indoctrinated by the Marleyan Government (and the rest of the planet) about the unforgiving sins of their ancestors and how the Eldians were descendants of the Devil - cursed for existing, cursed to die, cursed for continuing to be born into their world (chapter 114).

ALL Eldians were seen as this:

(chapter 87)

Besides being seen as inhuman, as monsters in human skin, all generations were also stigmatized that the Eldians of Paradis were "Devils who turned the world into hell and built their own utopia on top of a mountain of corpses" (chapter 94). And the Eldians of the Continent (EoC) also had to indoctrinate their descendants into doing the same with their children and other members of their families. That, OR they would pay the price for disobeying and betraying Marley by being sent to “Heaven” in the form of horrible undying monstruosities (chapters 86 to 92).

So throughout his infancy + 10 years as a warrior candidate + 12 years as the Beast Titan, Zeke watched his people being heavily brainwashed into believing how they all should do everything they could to repent for Eldia's past crimes by:

being used over and over again as Marley's disposable soldiers in their many wars (mentioned in chapter 136), and in the trenches (dangers and consequences seen in chapters 91-92, 94);

offering their own children to the Marleyan Military so they would become cursed-13 years long-suicidal pawns while being turned into giant bioweapon warriors;

being turned into and used as mindless maneater monsters in the Marleyan wars, and bringing an infamous glory to Marley by spreading utmost terror over other nations (chapter 94)

At the same time, the EoC were seen as the Devil’s spawns themselves for any other non-Eldian person. Kid Zeke sees the "light" version of it in the enraged eyes, words, and harsh treatment his family receives at the top of the building (chapter 114). Future Warrior Zeke hears it as candidates are called many names during training (descendent of pigs). But Marleyans’ utter prejudice, hatred, and animalistic view toward the Subjects of Ymir are dramatically shown in the way the Marleyan Police fed Faye to dogs, which might have been told to Zeke by how he reacts talking to Grisha about the possibility of him dying like her (chapter 114).

Then, the Marleyan's hatred was horribly reinforced when we learn Eldian’s blood was considered such an abomination that Ksaver’s wife killed herself and their child when she discovered he was Eldian (chapter 114). Through Ksaver’s memory, Zeke certainly saw (and felt) the pain of that to his adopted father.

After inheriting the Beast Titan, and during his last 12 years alive, Zeke saw that not even after granting victory to Marley for so many years against multiple enemies the look of unhappiness and disgust in the Marleyan civilians' face became a bit sympathetic toward his people. Like, when the Warriors come back to Paradis after fighting for them in Fort Slava, the surviving soldiers were stared down with hate and disgust, as if they were utter indeed shit (chapter 94).

The Eldians living in the internment zones outside Marley were treated worse than the ones in Marley according to what Udo says in chapter 98. And the world was so paranoid about Eldians that they kept doing constant blood tests on the population to spot Devil’s blood right away, and everyone suspected of being one certainly were in grave danger (chapter 123).

This chronic aversion to Eldians certainly turned increasingly worse as Marley used to send back to their enemies their psychologically traumatized soldiers who had survived the horrors of facing the Pure Titans after seeing their fellows being crushed, dismembered, minced, eaten alive, and etcetera. And, at the same time, the other nations used these survivors as “mascots to show the whole world how inhumane titan weaponry is”. (chapter 93). And if a 12 yeard-old kid like smart Udo knew that, Zeke definitely was aware of that too...

*One side note: Far from the war zone, we reader also saw a Marleyan soldier mocking the minds of traumatized Eldian soldiers who dug the war trenches, making fun of them with the sound of bombs and guns, and guffawing as the sick soldiers fall scared and scattered on the floor (chapter 94). Later, in the same hospital that Zeke's grandfather is treating his mental illness, Eren mentions, "I've been thinking every day since coming here. How did things turn out this way? Ruined minds and bodies... People with no freedom left... People who have even lost themselves... What kind of person would want to go to war... if they knew they were going to end up like this?" And again, if Eren - an outsider - noticed this, imagine Zeke - who grew up in that war zone environment... *

BUT something BIGGER than this all was the growing tension over the horrible upcoming destiny of the Eldian race as the time was approaching when Titans would have no more use for Marley.

In chapter 93, Udo questions the other Warriors Candidates about what will happen with their special group and the rest of the Eldians of the Continent as the anti-titan artillery was soon going to overcome both the Shifters’ and Pure Titans’ power, almost implying the reason why the humans still let Eldians alive would thus be over. Zeke also discusses this in chapter 95 with the Warriors, reaffirming that the entire Eldian race was in danger and that the world had already set their mind in that “it’s meaningless to speak about the human rights of Eldians”. Pieck, Colt, Reiner, and Galliard agreed with him that the present future was a real threat to their race.

In chapter 98, after the Marleyan Military group humiliates all Warriors in the discussion about how to invade Paradis, we see Pieck questions the same thing Udo did, and tells further that the Eldians are in danger because soon they will lose their value to Marley as bioweapons. And this is also why the Tybur finally cared to join the “party” and tried to act as Eldia's saviors-world mediators. Willy just did what he did because he saw that their race was truly in grave danger. Meaning that the living future of all Eldians of the Continent was at stake even before Zeke’s plan of euthanization.

So after seeing all of this depicted in the manga - and without even digging into the personal and familiar struggles of Reiner, Annie, and the other warriors - it doesn't seem "far fetched" to see that what Zeke witnessed beyond Grisha and during his whole life also had some impact on his mind.

But there is still more to see! And now we will dig into Zeke’s personal life.

What Zeke lived:

Another side of the demented world in which Zeke lived, witnessed, and actively participated is the one where he was raised to become one of the most important figures of the Eldians of the Continent as the Titan Shifters’ Captain, and Marley and Eldian's Boy Wonder: The Warrior Program.

But first, a little resume:

Zeke was enrolled in it by Grisha at the age of 07 years old. In the beginning, Zeke didn’t want to be a Warrior or fight for Marley (chapter 114). He couldn’t care less - to the point he was failing the Warrior Program despite the high expectations Grisha and Dina had in him. Magath and Ksaver saw this clearly too, and this lack of will catches the bespectacled Beast Warrior's attention.

But Zeke was already a very smart kid - he understood well the weight of the consequences of his actions at that time. So kid Zeke acted as a double agent: pretending to his grandparents and the Marleyan Government that he was fully loyal to Marley, and pretending to his parents he was fighting for the Restoration of Eldia. At that time, though, his true self was the one who just wanted to play with his father. Yet, kid Zeke could only have mental and emotional breakdowns silently and by himself in his room.

This lasted until Zeke found someone with whom he could finally trust and be himself, Mr. Ksaver. But Ksaver changed Zeke’s life forever not only by saving him when he would become a Pure Titan in the Island of Devils, but also by wrapping the final shackles in Zeke's depressing view of life. (If you want to see this perspective, there is this incredible meta post done by @.yaboilevi here.)

So, for the greatest part of his life, Zeke was never "purely" seen or treated as someone with intrinsic value. He was born to become an instrument to save Eldians from a 2000 years world hate war; to the government, he was a sinful devil that should fight for Marley’s sake; he was first "adopted" by Ksaver to replace the loss of his son that died because of Ksaver’s lies; due to his blood, he was the key to someone else use the Founder's power; the final tool of Eren's plan of Rumbling.

And cementing this life of you've no intrinsic value in you, you are just a manipulated tool for ends beyond you with Zeke's already growing nihilistic view of the world and Ksaver's influence over never being alive was the answer… it doesn't surprise Zeke sees nothing but meaninglessness in life.

Resume done

Now, let's see what is interesting is the life of Zeke and Ksaver as Warriors and Beast Titan inheritors: the manifestation of their Animal Titans.

It’s a known fact that we don’t have conclusive information about how the animals of the Beast Titan are defined, but we definitely have some big hints as to what could be the reason for them. So in this part, I’ll take a more particular view/interpretation while listing the facts.

It's possible that the Beast Titans' bodies were linked with the inheritor’s strongest desires and qualities manifested in their animal forms. Falco is the one who is cleared as to hint this since he wasn’t the actual Beast inheritor, BUT through Zeke's blood mixed with the Beast, Falco's Jaw form became a bird. And besides the foreshadowing in his name, Falco's Titan form manifested something really deep within him, shared in chapter 91: he sees the bird flying over the Marley warzone and tells it to use its wings and fly away. Falco wished for a way to find freedom from the place/situation where he was, and birds are a very strong symbol of that in AOT.

In Ksaver and Zeke’s case, the manifestation of their titans doesn’t seem to be so different from what they desired to do the most.

Ksaver’s Beast: The Bighorn Sheep/Ram

“I became a warrior... because I wanted to kill myself in the grandest way I could. That was all.” Ksaver, 114

From the beginning of human history, it’s been registered that rams were used as sacrificial animals in many cultures. But as we know there are some Hebrew references in AOT, it’s also nice to point out this bit: the people of Israel (ancient biblical time) had different rules for animal sacrifices. Lambs (babies), sheep (female), and rams (male) were sacrificed to symbolize different things. Lambs were for fellowship offering (Leviticus 3), while sheep were for a sin offering (Leviticus 4), and rams were for guilty offering (Leviticus 5).

“With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the LORD for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.” (Leviticus 19:22, New International Version).

So, since Ksaver decided to become the Beast Titan to kill himself out of his "sins" and guilty feelings, it is no wonder his titanic animal takes the form similar to one of a bighorn ram/sheep 🐏. Firstly, because he held a deep regret and pain for what had happened to his wife and son since his lies had led her to kill herself and the kid because of his “sinful blood''. Secondly, because, as he had told Zeke, there wasn’t much sense in devoting his life to die for the Marley country. So as Ksaver also had no real will to fight, his Beast accordingly turned out considered unfit for battle (114). And thirdly, Ksaver wanted to kill himself in the grandest way he could. Being a mighty war bioweapon, cursed to die in 13 years devoured alive by the next Titan inheritor while tied to an altar of sacrifice surely counts a hell of an impactful way to die. His Beast made the perfect sin/guilty ram in its ritual of sacrifice.

As a side note, there are three random curiosities that we might pick up from the bighorn Ram Titan:

This version of the Tarot Card Number 15, aka “The Devil”, reminded me of this scene:

While the animal in the Devil card is a goat, though, in the manga we have the ram, which is very fitting even though Isym must not have done this intentionally. But if it was a goat titan, it would immediately be associated with the real Devil, and indirectly mean that the Eldians were but pure demons after all. On the other hand, if it was a male lamb titan (the baby/young ram, without horns), it would be 100% opposite to the goat/Devil in religious Hebrew meaning as the lamb represents Jesus.

But if Isym picked more subtle references than just Levi’s Hebrew name (and the indoctrination of children) from that documentary Jesus Camp, choosing the ram for Ksaver with his bloody backstory in mind was a nice choice. Everybody in AOT had “bloody hands”, and holy purity can’t actually be attributed to Ksaver, the Beast Titan itself, nor any other AOT character.

Ramzi was the one to whom Eren confessed and cried over killing people and later smashed horribly under the Colossus Titan’s feet in chapter 131. His name is written in Japanese as ラムジ. The katakanas ラム also seems to be commonly translated as lamb in English. Ramzi was a literal “sacrifice” in Eren’s plan, huh?

The ram is often associated with the Zodiac Sign Aries. So some people noticed how there were similarities in the way Japanese Zodiac Animals were featured in sequence (the sheep/the monkey/the rooster = the sheep-ram/the monkey/the bird = Ksaver/Zeke/Falco).

Zeke’s Beast: The Monkey

“Even if I can't leave the internment zone, I'll still be alive…” Zeke, 114, (7 years old)

“It'd be stupid for you to become a warrior. You'd shorten your lifespan, invade other countries, and kill its citizens for Marley? Why would you bother doing something as stupid as that?” Ksaver to Zeke, 114

"I will inherit the Beast Titan. Not for Marley’s sake. I'll execute the plan to retake the Founder. And I'll succeed. After I steal the Founding Titan from Marley… I'll save the world. Just you watch. I'll free the people of the world from their fear of the Titans… and I'll free the Eldians from their suffering." Zeke, 114, (17 years old)

The Monkey has many symbols for the Japanese people. In their Zodiac, it's the 9th animal. The number 9 in AOT represents the total number of Shifters, the number of points in the symbol of Eldian of the Continent arm bandage/crown of King Fritz. (And it was also the total years Eren had his titans and the time it took him to end the Titan curse = 5 pre-basement revelations + 4 after RtS battle.)

Also, in the Zodiac, it is said people who are born under the years of this animal are clever and smart. They can come up with solutions to the problems they face. However, other cultural interpretations vary a lot with time and context. In summary:

monkeys were once considered heralds or physical manifestations of God; there was a monkey God of Crossroad between Heaven and Earth; and like priests, monkeys could mediate between the humans and deities; some were to protect especially the children;

then later the monkey became a "scapegoat symbolizing dislikeable people and trickster", the negative side of human nature; it was a "lowly animal trying to be human", imitating other people, and in some proverbs, they mean "undesirable humans that are to be ridiculed";

One worldwide known proverb involving monkeys is the "Three Wise Monkeys" 🙈🙉🙊. They are known in many cultures as "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil", and two main different takes are: 1. don't give yourself to evil thoughts, and 2. be aware that you're lacking morals when you turn a blind eye and do nothing about the wrongness around you, feigning ignorance.

So, in Zeke’s case, the monkey is indeed fit to his narrative: he had a unique God-like power; for a long time, he had endured all the deadly secrets of the insurrection plans of Eldia’s Restorationists, and faked and tricked his feelings, actions, and beliefs to his parents, his grandparents, and the Marley Government to survive each situation. And his goal while inheriting the Beast Titan was to retake the Founder from enemies in order to put into practice his and Ksaver’s idea of salvation - saving non-titanizable people from the fear of Titans, and titanizable children from the pain of being born into that world. Also, Zeke's particular throw/aim skill was his best physical ability. Thus, his Monkey Beast Titan really embraced both his life luggage and the physical form required to achieve his biggest goal.

As a curiosity, The Wise Monkeys can be seen in Zeke’s life (art by perok - special permission granted for this post. DO NOT REPOST!) :

Maybe... If Zeke hadn’t seen the world in the way Grisha showed him... If Zeke had refused to listen to things the Ksaver had said in their lowest times... Then maybe Zeke wouldn’t have made use of his screams and talks to manipulate and kill people for their deadly goal.

And just as a curiosity: Isym made the design of Zeke’s monkey with darker eyes so as to make it purposely more difficult to predict where he was looking at (and why not to say also making him scarier and a little harder to read his thinking/feelings since the eyes are the windows to our souls).

What Zeke lived in the Warrior Program

Way before Levi, Zeke’s main enemy had been life itself. To be born meant to live manipulated by engraved biological drives/ actions/ reactions (chapter 137). As part of a titanizable race, it also meant that the whole world hated and feared your existence, and wished for your to vanish for good. The dangerous DNA in your body was also used as a way to manipulate the mentality of Eldians of the Continent that they were descendants of the Devil who should atone for their crimes doing anything for Marley. These two formers issues were absurdly complex problems that the Paradisians post-RtS arc also faced, and I think this gets forgettable as Zeke is actually constantly taken as the "main villain" of AOT… When in fact, he was not.

Anyway, Zeke was a kid who was failing the Warrior Program for the blonde didn't find any will to devote himself for Marley’s wars or country, contrary to the kids who wanted that to either achieve a slightly better life (as Honorary Marleyan) or to atone for the crimes of long-dead ancestors. The one thing which made him become the best was his goal of ending the existence of his people. So while paving his path as a future Titan Warrior Inheritor, Zeke spent his whole youth being harshly trained to become an important tool in Marley wars, just like Reiner and etc...

During the 10 years the Titan Curse allowed Ksaver to live, he was Zeke’s only friend, and the only one he could trust. We have no confirmation of what happened to Grandpa Yeager as to which point his mind broke, but in chapter 98, he says to Eren that the families of the Restorationists who proved that weren't involved with the plan had to devote everything to the military. And in chapter 81, Zeke also mentioned that he didn't doubt the King of the Walls would be sending "children and elderly" to death manipulated by an idea of honorable sacrifice. So it's possible he himself was pushed into the trench wars, maybe, as he was a known patient in the hospital treating other survival soldiers. Whether going or not, surely the weight of his regrets over Grisha had long broken his mind, and Zeke lived that. Zeke himself never got over his own deeds of denouncing his parents...

When he finally became a Warrior, Zeke witnessed firsthand both his people being continuously used as killing-machine tools in Marley’s wars, and by default spreading even more terror over humans about the “true nature” of the Subjects of Ymir. But another question we don't have much clarification on whether or not the Eldian were already used as Pure Titans in some of Marley’s battles. I suspect they were because after a century of battles against so many countries, the Marleyans highlighted the ability of the Beast and Female Titans to control and call the Pure Titans respectively. Also, while training to Retake the Founder, the Warriors in their Titan form must have fought against recently transformed Pure Titans to make sure they had the control to fight them.

Either way, Zeke is again used as a tool as he must have undergone scientific experiments to enhance and improve his Titan powers as it is said that the Titan Society (Marley Scientists) was out of ideas (chapter 93) to explain how the Beast could control the Pure Titans made with his spinal fluid. Colt’s specific remarks about the Beast's Pure Titans, and the fact that in the forest Levi’s titanized soldiers were faster and could climb trees - as well as the titans who attacked the Utgard Castle-, make me wonder if the biggest part of the Abnormal Titans were actually related to Beast Titans' blood in general. These types of pure titans were more unpredictable, sometimes moving more animalistic...

Also, after only one year of inheriting their Shifters, 4 out of the 6 Titans Marley possessed got trapped within the Walls in Paradis (aka the Colossus, Armored, Jaws, and Female). What resulted in only Zeke's Beast and Pieck's Cart Titan fighting in the human wars on the continents too for those five years. This certainly worsened the fact that Marley scientists used Zeke’s spinal fluid like it was juice in many battles tells that Zeke had to constantly undergo spinal cord/lumbar punctures, which is a hell of a fucking pain if you have ever had to make it for examinations.

[Another thing is that by the talks of Pieck (recognizing the 9 Titans of all times in the last arc), and Ksaver, Zeke, and Colt about the Scientific Society of Titans in Marley, as well as Eldia’s long history of playing with biogenetic and enhancing experiments, we can fill out a lot of what might have happened with all of them (Eldians and Warriors). But I know, these experimental bites will wander to the realm of headcanons, so I’ll not further it here. Imagination can roll to pretty dark places, though.]

Lastly, something that the manga depicts is that Zeke was frequently put under constant surveillance. Commander Magath stated this when he surprised both Zeke and Colt talking secretly on the rooftop in chapter 93 - “Eldians didn’t need privacy”. In chapter 95, we also see that Zeke’s rooms had wiretaps hidden inside the gramophone. And by how Porco also questioned the absence of Army soldiers in Zeke’s room, it suggests that the Yeager was most likely kept in frequent surveillance. When talking to Reiner and Berth before the battle of Shiganshina, we also see Zeke talking to his fellow Warriors with a Marleyan soldier in the room with them (chapter 115). And every time before a mission, the Warriors did an ideology checkup, as Reiner remembers in chapter 95 too.

Despite this all, back on the rooftop talking, Magath said he had watched Zeke for 20 YEARS, yet the blonde was “still as enigmatic as ever” to him. And Magath was both an experienced Marleyan Commander and Zeke’s former Warrior Trainer. So Zeke really learned how to keep his guards up and hide his thoughts and feelings.

Thus, from 07 to 29 years old = about 22 years of his life, Zeke lived everyday conscious, taught, and being reminded that:

he was born with a demonized cursed blood;

he and his people were let alive and in the internment zone because of their possible use as bioweapons and soldiers in Marley wars;

he was hated and feared by the whole world (both as a cursed Eldian and more as the infamous Beast Titan);

he lived under heavy military surveillance (that worsened as he got the Beast Titan) and in the constant risk of being turned into an almost undying maneater monster (or be eaten after inheriting the Beast) if he ever slipped up in his fake devotion, rebelled, or disobeyed Marley;

in the worst hypotheses (that will be put in the “wondering” horror thoughts) of being forced into any kind of crazy Titan experiment he would surely be submitted in the hands of Marley scientists;

he had no one to trust his Royal secret until Yelena appeared (and "enthroned" him in her own view in her own desire to be a relevant part of the Human story - discussed in chapter 127).

Then, I think it's a bit difficult for me to say that Zeke’s life was easier or less full of horrors after Grisha went to "Heaven" (which was also during the time Zeke just wanted to be quietly alive, in chapter 114). If anything, growing up in the Warrior Program, everything about the world and what it meant the worth of being an Eldian just became worse and escalated to Zeke’s character, contributing to solidifying his "Eldians need to cease existing" mentality.

Still, Zeke fought in many wars for the sake of climbing up in Marley's military ranks to retake the Founding Titan from Paradis. And as someone out of the scope of a "hero", how did Zeke survive for more than 2 decades in that damned real world? The short answer is pretending, deceiving, detaching himself from people, and lying. Traits that are morally condemned most of the time for the "heroes" tabs, and thus not by accident some of the most blazing characteristics that Zeke is known for.

3. So, considering all the things, can Zeke really just be the topmost asshole and evil character of AOT who simply wanted to bring an end to his entire race ONLY because of the abuse of his father?

Well, yes. He can.

However, there seems to be that Isayama has left these many explicit and implicit impactful layers in the life of Zeke’s character to not make him just plain made “100% good or evil”, nor only driven by a suddenly self-inflated ego born from his hate for his father Grisha. And narratively speaking, Zeke’s background was indeed unique.

Aside from his childhood with Grisha and sending his own parents to "Heaven" and become Pure Titans, there was no other aspect of Zeke's life that could be paralleled with any other character in Paradis because the life of an Eldian of the Continent was definitely different. Notice that when comparing/ contrasting Eren and Zeke’s characters, they focus more on what they had in common: their childhood with Grisha. Because except for what they both had lived at home, there wasn’t really any deep parallel to do since the power of Eren's Titan represented the freedom for Paradis, while the Warrior Shifters and the mere fact of being an Eldian were the ultimate nightmares for the entire planet.

What is more, it seems there is an overall erasure of the Eldians of the Continent's suffering narrative. Which, if not expressed through Zeke's euthanization intentions, doesn't seem to be noticed as a really heavy issue besides the personal pain it inflicted on loved characters (aka Reiner e Falco). That's why I think it's somewhat strange to believe Zeke’s character would have all that it took to become the "Devilish Savior" he ought to become (turning into a 13-years-cursed-to-die-Warrior, spending all that 22 years of his miserable short life trusting no one while also pretending to be many things he wasn’t for the people around him, and sticking to his own version of a genocidal plan) only because of what happened between him and Grisha.

Yams might have not explicitly drawn Zeke reacting to each one of the specific horrors during his Warrior times but - given what we saw through the eyes of Gabi, Falco, Udo, and the other during chapters 91-100, and in the struggles of Reiner, Annie, Berth, and Marcel - I think that if Isayama had done that, it would be kind of redundant. The Marley Arc and all Eldians of the Continent we got a close-up had already shown in different ways how ultimately horrible it was to be an Eldian of the Continent, a Warrior candidate, and a Marleyan Titan Shifter - either by just fitting into one of these classes or all at once.

In a more personal take, I also think that if we had seen more of an empathic or suffering Zeke before the events in the Paths with Grisha and Eren, it could have also added more unnecessary pity and a sense of helplessness over his character. After all, Zeke was wrong in his euthanization plan for MANY reasons. So much that he knew he couldn't even trust people "close" to him with the idea. BUT looking helpless is definitely something Zeke's character fought his whole life not to be. And his nihilistic and instrumental view of the world holds a very important point in AOT's narrative because:

Why be born and live in the world just to be forever demonized, robbed of true freedom, imprisoned in physically and mentally walled internment zones, abandoned by the only one who could help (The King/Founder), and be used as human-eater monsters or powerful bioweapons for wars that only worsened the global over your "cursed" race? And probably being allowed to live only until the Eldian race lost their instrumental use as a bioweapon and finally the world would kill you and everyone else of your race anyway?

And after everything we have seen him go through, I don’t see Zeke not being mindful of what was happening with his people and the rest of the world, or not thinking about it. Especially since with his Royal blood, Zeke knew he was the only one who could actually do something if he ever got his hands over the Founder Titan. And knowing the King's vow of "we accept to die by our sins when the World comes mercilessly judging us", Zeke opted to go for his and Ksaver’s own idea of freedom.

4. But if as an Eldian of the Continent and the last Royal capable of anything, Zeke wanted to do something for the sake of his people, why did he turn into this destructive role and come up with this murderous plan?

Because the story needed it and Yams wanted it LOL!!

Because Zeke did believe that not existing in the damned world they lived in was the painless/merciless/best option (chapters 114 and 137).

That's why on the verge of death, Zeke is finally sincere about his intentions and worldview to us readers and Levi. And I don't think this moment was another farce or trick of his character because Isym stated in the 2nd guidebook that the true nature of a human is exposed when they are in the face of their death.

By looking into the context of Zeke's backstory, in his mind, never being born meant never having to go through that unbreakable rollercoaster cycle of existence, of that inescapable human x Devil DNA dilemma. In the context outside Paradis life, it meant not being brainwashed into being seen as a demon or used as a bioweapon, nor being used as just a tool, and not living in constant fear. To Zeke, not creating more life (aka reproducing) would lead to the end of species problems (chapter 137). It would be the end of the entire race being the host of their cursed blood and the endpoint of the global horrors/fears imposed by the existence of the Subjects of Ymir and the Titans (chapter 114).

In fact, Zeke has been affected so deeply by what he lived and saw as an Eldian of the Continent that while he is killing the SC troops in the RtS arc, he gets enraged assuming that the Eldians of Paradis were going down the same path as Marley’s Eldians: with their minds wiped out and controlled by others, the SC soldiers were riding to their deaths being fooled into believing in governmental ideologies of self-sacrifice for a “greater good”, and embracing their “meaningless” death driven by a false sense of duty and honor filling their hearts.

(Zeke goes as far as mentioning that the government would send the elder and children to war, which makes me suspicious his grandpa Yeager might indeed have been forced into fighting for Marley after Grisha's betrayal…)

Interestingly, in chapter 80, Commander Erwin Smith had given the "kamikaze" Survey Corp soldier almost exactly what Zeke had imagined at that very moment. Just before this POV of Zeke in chapter 81, we had seen Erwin revealing to Levi his deep wish to just going to the basement, and how many things he had done - including sacrificing many comrades - were not purely for humanity's sake but for a hidden selfish desire to prove his father's theory was right (and all the "My father was right and innocent" validation that would come with it). And Commander Erwin had also told Levi that he would need the skills of a first-rate con man to convince all recruits to go to charge against the Beast Titan and die without him leading them. So this shows how strong it was the ideology necessary to move 200 soldiers to their horrible and certain death.

In other words, Erwin confessed to Levi that he had done many things as an SC Commander (high government position) lying and manipulating the growing pile of dead subordinates into believing that his hard and ruthless orders and actions were ALL and ONLY for the pure sake of Humanity when in reality he had his own little share of selfish dream driving him. So up until this specific part, Zeke was NOT completely wrong in believing that this SC "suicide charge" is a parallel with the rest of the world's reality. Considering ALL that Zeke had seen and lived as an Eldian psychologically manipulated by the Marleyan Government, Zeke was sure he was yet again facing another cycle of Eldian people being brainwashed, manipulated, and used as tools for other's sake.

Purposely preparing that narrative to be assertive with Zeke's mind, we see Marlowe riding to his death not thinking about some glories of sacrifice, but how cozy Hitch would be in her bed, then questioning why the heck he thought it would be honorable to sacrifice for humanity. Horror is all written in the faces of the soldiers as they ride to their apparent meaningless deaths. And Floch, the little shit, made sure to say that to Levi and the others on the rooftop, as he almost killed Erwin himself for using their lives like that.

"None of them died thinking how noble their sacrifices would be… I'm sure all they felt, at the end was... fear…" Floch, chapter 84

However, behind this all, we know things were different too. Thanks to the final talk with Levi, Erwin ended up being clearly shown walking into the right path. And Erwin’s passionate final speech is definitely something every AOT fan will probably never forget: while it clearly encouraged the soldiers into riding to their certain death, Erwin's words were visceral, beautiful, meaningful, wholeheartedly, and honest. Which means Zeke did end up missing and failing to understand the powerful force he was facing at that moment - in the sacrifices of the Survey Corps. But it's not like Zeke could ever expect something different. The world they have lived their whole life was way too different.

And, damn, that's why I think the way Yams works the worldview contrast between chapters 80 and 81 is even more BRILLIANT when revisited from Zeke's perspective more clearly now that we know what was his background. Even more as we think the way Isym makes the parallels between Zeke’s character and the Post-RtS arc last two Veterans: Levi and Hange Zoe.

With his range of philosophies, Zeke is like the antithesis of life in AOT. He embodies the extreme opposition to all that the manga had shown us about how people were great just for doing nothing but being born into this world (Carla’s beautiful speech in chapter 71); how sacrifices and deaths had meaning (Levi’s special life quest); and what it meant true freedom (not existing versus the whole dilemma of Titans and Eldians’ 2000 years cursed existence. And this last one was the hellish problem Hange - and the Survey Corps post-RtS arc - was trying to figure out an answer for!).

Of course, there is more, but just these three points already create an amazing duality that I can’t help but find fascinating. Especially their connections between Zeke, Hange, and Levi. I've written a bit into life philosophies backing these 03 characters to post here too, but as Tumblr doesn't let more than just 10 pics/post, I'll make another with the rest of my analysis of Zeke's character!

For now, I hope this has made some sense up until here, and thank you for reading it!

#snk meta #snk analysis #zeke yeager #the vets #hange zoë #levi ackerman #erwin smith #the life of an Eldian of the Continent #who was the true enemy of Paradis #who was the true enemy of SnK #wonderings

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fumingspice · 3 years

Text

andante

Pairing: Cordelia Goode x Reader

Prompt: oK so how about like?? Delia x reader and they're both in love af but they think the other has no feelings for them so they're both tripping over themselves to make the other love them and then madison comes in and she's just like 'stop being dumb' and they finally realise how much the other loves them.

I’m sorry but my ed crept back in and im not horny enough to put more thought into writing so just ignore the massive time skip at “---”. enjoy, you strange people xo

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*(*❦ω❦)*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

It's crazy. Falling. You see? We don't say "rising into love". There is in it, the idea of the fall. And it goes back to extremely fundamental things. That there is always a curious tie at some point between the fall and the creation. Taking this ghastly risk is the condition of there being life. You see, for all life is an act of faith and an act of gamble...

Between Cordelia Goode's ears were pretty brown eyes and a mind full of thoughts. Brown eyes were never really your favourite until you saw them on her. You knew yourself that somehow, over the years you got to know Cordelia; working with her, befriending her, carrying her home from the bar one night when she got far too drunk, letting her cry into your shoulder when her job became too real and she could feel her mother's words hanging over her head.

When you started falling for the woman with those beautiful brown eyes.

Somehow, her eyes were now your favourite colour.

Not brown- brown wasn't simply the word for the colour. Cordelia's eyes were the colour of aged whiskey. Sometimes they were the only two safe shots of tequila that you could see. Sometimes they were a beautiful milk chocolate dotted with exposed honeycomb. Once when she had asked you to help her decorate the garden for the Summer Equinox- she had given Zoe enough money to take the girls on a field trip for the day so she could give the girls a little party. You stood watching her in her denim shorts and her white button up. When she had stepped back and put her arm around you to admire both of your handy work you could have sworn her eyes were glowing like fresh magma.

Her hand lay on your waist a split second too long.

You had fallen in love with the Supreme.

"Yo, bitch!" Madison Montgomery's usual entrance phrase disturbed you from your imagination. You raised your brow and smirked.

"Yes, Madison?"

The blonde took her sunglasses off her face and closed them with a slight snap. "The girls want to know if you wanna come to play Pysch! with us," she said. Her lips were curled in what could almost be described as a friendly smile. You were one of the few honoured to know that under Madison's bitchy white girl facade there was actually a very sweet someone lurking under there.

You thought for a moment and put your pen down. "I won't be long- I just have to log these last few names and I'll be there," you tell her. Madison rolled her eyes and waved her hand, the pen lifted itself and wrote the last thirteen names within seconds. "You're done. Let's go, Y/N."

Madison didn't even give you a minute to say anything before she walked out of the room. "Come on, bitch. Don't make me use my powers!" she called from the hallway, finally motivating you to move.

The girls sat in a circle in Zoe's bedroom. Lights off. Candles lit.

Zoe, Queenie, Mallory, and Coco were indulged in their phones for the game. Madison turned to you and held up her phone to show you the question. "What is Zoe's deepest, darkest secret?" she read. "You gotta answer it and the person with the most votes wins. It lasts for ten rounds and it can be fucking hilarious."

Zoe's face was red with laughter at the answers. "She's not actually a witch- that's not even funny," she gasped through cackles. She then sobered slightly. "She likes to watch Danny Devito movies while masturbating and screaming 'I am a dirty man'."

Madison was the only one who chortled at that.

You joined the game and got your best answers ready in your head. "If Madison got arrested tomorrow what would it be for?"

Madison rolled her eyes and muttered something about knowing exactly what everyone was about to answer. You smirked slightly, sensing her slight apprehension.

Prostitution.

Murder. Third-degree.

Fucking up the brakes on a bus full of frat boys.

Public Nudity.

"Gosh, you're so original," she muttered, glaring right at Zoe, who just shrugged.

"It's the rules of the game, bitch. Go all in, don't get offended," she replied.

The game pinged for the next question.

"What is on Y/N's mind right now?"

Coco gave a loud "Ha!" and typed quickly, along with the other girls who were all typing as quickly as possible to get their answers in first.

A quiet knock came from the other side of the door and Cordelia poked her head around. "Sorry to interrupt, girls. Y/N, could I borrow you for a moment?" she asked, voice sweet and angelic. You bounced up as soon as she finished the sentence and obliged straight away. You were met with a sweet smile.

Madison flicked her brows. "Speak of the devil," she muttered, winking at Delia's slightly confused face. As you left, your phone pinged to announce the results just before you left the game.

Cordelia 🥵🥵🥵

Delia. I ship it <3

Getting knuckle deep finger fucked by the HWIC

French fries

You quickly shut off your phone screen before Cordelia could see.

"What's the matter, Delia?" You asked, practically skipping alongside her. There was a vibrant air of satisfaction between you.

Cordelia shook her head, her blonde hair bobbing with her movements. “I just wanted to know if you’d like to go out.”

You felt your heart stop. “Go out?”

Cordelia looked hurt by the confusion on your face.

“Yes. Would you like to join me in the garden?”

“Oh,” you realised, slightly disappointed. “I would love to.”

---

"For the love of Hades. Right, I don’t mean to sound rude or anything because I have some understanding that lesbians are fucking useless because of the fear of appearing to be predatory because the media is an asshole,” Madison continued. “But I don’t really think any of us can eat at this table anymore without choking on the fucking sexual tension between the both of you.”

Cordelia looked shocked. “It’s not that-”

“I’m a fucking mindreader! You do get that I can fucking hear the things that you say in your head about what you want to do to Y/N? I’m one gutter minded bitch and not even I’m creative enough to come up with that shit while I’m eating my fucking apple turnover!”

You blushed hard and chuckled.

Madison’s neck snapped towards you. “Oh, and don’t getting me fucking started on you! Do you know how fucking unsanitary it would be to carry out your little fantasies of fucking Cordy on the kitchen counter? Not even for us but the amount of fucking crumbs that would work into your nooks and crannies would be like trying to spring clean Myrtle's fucking hair! "

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Cordelia chuckled nervously. Her face turning a shade of red. “I’m sure Y/N’s got plenty of better options.”

Madison dropped her face in her hands and rubbed her temples. “God, you bitches are going to put fucking years on my skin.”

“Oh, give me a break, Madison.”

Cordelia stumbled foward slightly, having been tripped up by some unseeable force and sending her tumbling into you. Her hands lay against your chest for that split second too long once more.

Your lips parted for a moment and your breath hitched as you both watched Madison smirk and leave the room. It felt like your heart was beating at a thousand miles an hour. You surroundings were unnoticable to you now; replaced by unidentifiable whirls of colour and light. Your hand rested flat on Cordelia’s cheek. It was different this time. Not the spark, that had been there every time you touched. It was the fact that you were both too slow to ignore the ignition that started in your chests.

You saw her eyebrows falter from their previously confident expression, like all of her preparation and barriers and walls had fallen down and she was too slow to replace them. Cordelia pursed her lips, presumably trying to figure out what she should say to you. Again, she was too slow as you inhaled sharply and thrust yourself forward to catch her lips.

Delia was quick to mould herself to the curves of your front, hands falling to the small of your back on a collision course as she backed you into the dining room table. You smoothed your hands over the contours of her jaw, her collar bones, breasts, hips like you were a master pianist playing a brilliant concerto. Her body was the only instrument you longed to play; her moans the only melody that you longed to draw from her.

As her lips glided across your own, everything came together like pieces into place. You thought back one of those late nights in the kitchen. The way Delia’s fingers had so enthusiastically laced through yours during the late night in the kitchen when you had both stayed up until the wee hours of the morning talking about life. How the witch had turned the radio on and taken your hand while you danced to some song by REO Speedwagon. Twirling you through the night. “Can’t fight this feeling” was the song. Ironic, now that you thought about it. It seemed as though fighting her feelings was what she had been doing the entire time.

She twirled you around in the light of the dim television and the refrigerator when the songs were upbeat, even going as far as dipping you and pulling you up again. Bare thighs against your own in her shorts and oversized shirt. When the songs that were played were slower, she was more gentle. Until eventually you swayed in a slow two-step, your head against her chest, and hers against yours. The air was thick with something pure. Something untouched.

You had no idea why you ever just thought this was something two best friends did. More so, you had no idea why you didn’t lean back and dip into her lips and allow your souls to dance the waltz that they were so clearly destined for.

Cordelia’s thumb and finger lay on either side of your jaw as she continued to kiss you as if her soul depended on it. Her fingers interlocked with yours against the table.

She broke away, tears had fallen down her cheeks and made your heart melt. “Oh-ho,” you chuckled, mouth agape at her sight. “Why the tears, my love?”

Cordelia laughed, wiping away her tears. “I’ve longed to do that for so long,” she replied. “So, so long.”

You chuckled at her sweetness and the display of pure love that you were so unaccustomed to.

“I fell in love with you, Y/N. I don’t think I will ever stop falling in love with you. You’ve created this storm of beautiful chaos in me,” she continued. “Do you remember that night where I was really sleepy, so you let me just stay in your room? How I had fallen asleep on top of you by accident and you wrapped your arms around me and hummed a lullaby?”

You nodded, remember the feeling of waking up with the Supreme in your arms.

“I was wide awake,” she told you. A delicate smile arose.

You chuckled into her touch.

“Oh, sweetheart,” you replied, drawing her closer, her blonde hair twirled in your fingers. “I know you were.”

#ahs #ahs imagines #cordelia goode #cordelia foxx #cordelia goode x reader #cordelia foxx x reader #wilhemina venable #wilhemina venable x reader #billie dean howard #billie dean howard x reader #lana winters #lana winters x reader #sally mckenna #sally mckenna x reader

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princessmariaphiliper · 3 years

Text

THE SLEEPOVER FIC | Part 1 The Meeting

Notes: James Acaster, Ed Gamble (Platonic), and other characters to be added.

Pairing: James Acaster x Reader

Genre: Fluff with eventual smut, Slow Burn fic

Words: 1,951

Summary: You and James have put yourselves into trouble, but you think maybe it’s hotter that way.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9

It was a boring, cottage cheese Wednesday if anyone had bothered to ask you. The sky held a greyish tinge and the London air tasted like exhaust fumes as you made your way back home from the studio. It was 5:50 and you were more than ready to curl into bed, put on a podcast, and stare at your ceiling until you slept.

You’d been tied up in a project lately that stripped every brain cell out of you whenever you tried to think about it.

This wasn’t because you didn’t like it! Don’t get me wrong, you adored the concept you were trying to convey through your piece. It was just missing something. Hence, Wednesdays the past month had started to feel a little groundhog esque. You knew the fog would part soon.

Pulling your clattering keys from inside your coat pocket you unlocked the door to your flat. Upon entering you noted the new letters. A missed parcel, various pizza menus and an enclosed envelope from Ticketmaster. Grinning, you opened it up.

Ed Gamble, McDonalds Apple Pie, November 15th 2021. Sounded delicious, you pulled out your phone, texting Ed.

Hey! Just got your tickets through. Where are you rehearsing? Let me know when it starts and we can plan something :)

It had been a while since you and Ed had hung out. You lived on opposite ends of the city and for the most part you were usually busy when he was free ,or vise versa. That the trouble of being friends with theatre people, no matter how hard you try, the schedules don’t gel. However, Ed usually rehearsed his shows in the venue below your flat, luckily this time was no exception.

I start Friday, usual place. We can go for drinks after I finish at 7 if you like?

Yes :))))) would love that!! Can we say 7:15 though as I’ll have to get back from the studio and change

Yeah that’s fine, I’ll invite some people if that’s okay. We can meet you at the pub first?

Sounds perfect, see you then. Send Claire love!

Will do :)

You put the kettle on and made yourself a pot noodle. Getting ready to sleep before another day of making. Excited at least, with the knowledge that on Friday night, you were getting shitfaced with your mates.

And so Friday arrived. You started the day off right with a banana and a coffee to go on your way down to the youth centre. Fridays and Tuesdays were your favourite days of the week currently. On these days you worked with other women exploring the ideas of femininity within society. For many years it had been a passion project of yours, creating dialogues with women who’d gone through difficult times in their lives to convey their struggles through art.

Today you were hosting a dance workshop with a group you had been working with for a while. They had all been making tremendous progress over the past few months you wanted to hold a class in celebration.

“Good morning Y/N” a familiar face beamed from across the hallway.

“Good morning Olive!” Olivia was a petite lady, somewhere close to her mid forties. She had dyed fire colour hair that she always wore up in a headscarf. She was dance ready, wearing an outrageous and gaudy pair of printed leggings.

Olive had grown so much as a woman since the first time you had met her, in one of your first ever workshops. The two of you had become thick as honey ever since. She even occasionally helped you plan and run some workshops out of studio now. It gave you joy to know you helped her grow into her full potential in one way or another.

“How have you been?”

“Oh same old. Trying not to lose myself in projects. How about you?”

“Brilliant! Officially divorced on Monday. Sorry I couldn’t make it on Tuesday I was feeling the effect after a few too many champagnes” she laughed, her smile was contagious. Olive had been going through a complicated divorce for a good few years now, some of the reasons she started the project stemmed from such a relationship.

She was such a resilient woman, managing to smile through whatever life had put her through. You loved her distinct lack of care for what people thought of her being a single woman in her forties.

It made you really put your life into perspective when you had met her. Even encouraging you to drop ties with your ex partner four years ago, who simply, didn’t care for you as a person but rather as an stability object. You hadn’t been in anything serious since. Not that you didn’t want it, being single had it’s perks too. You simply hadn’t been searching. A “bold move” in your late 20’s.

“Congratulations, I’m so happy for you! I’ll have a few for you tonight darling”

“Out on the town are you?”

“Yeah I’m meeting an old friend and hopefully some new people too”

“Well don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she said with a wink.

“I’ll try my best”

It was 7:05 and you were definitely going to be late. You’d just set off from the studio, pushing your way through the crowds on the busy streets near your flat. It had been an intense day in the end, most of you and your class had gotten carried away with your choreography. Immersed in the music and memory you wanted to portray. In the end you had all learnt one another’s routines and combined them all to a jazz beat.

You were still in your sports bra, leggings and oversized shirt with the duffel bag over your shoulder when you reached the outside door to your apartment complex. You heard a voice boom at you from behind.

“Y/Nickname” you turned around, instantly knowing who it was by the stupid name.

“Ed!”

He was coming up from the basement venue staircase, there was another man loitering casually behind him. In an instant you recognised him from the telly. It was the one and only James Acaster, dressed in a deep green suit, white shirt and purple Oxfords. He had a peppering of stubble across his face that you hadn’t seen him sport on tv before. You noted it looked good on him. You made your way over to your friend and embraced him into the first hug you’d had in a long time.

“Sorry I just got back, I might be a little late. I need to have a shower. Very sweaty”

“Yes. Thanks for the hug” he said, making you chuckle. “We can wait around for you if you like. No one else is coming until later anyways. Oh! This is James by the way” James have a polite wave of a hello and smile at you then.

You didn’t quite know the etiquette of meeting people you’d seen on Dave for years. A simple, “Hi I’m Y/N” you decided was the most normal option. “You can come up if you like. I won’t be too long”

“Sure”

And so the trio of you braced the stairs and made it into your apartment. You moved rubbish around as you all entered. Slightly ashamed of how messy it was, moving open books into one corner of the living room to make space on the coffee table for some drinks. If they were waiting for you you’d at least fix them a little something as a thank you.

“What would you like? I’ve got vodka, gin or tequila. Lemonade orange juice and pineapple juice for mixer”

“Ooh vodka and pineapple sounds delicious Y/N” Ed said with some excitement, taking a comfortable seat on the sofa. James hung nervously by the door, as though he wasn’t sure of the etiquette this time.

“Same here” he agreed

“Please have a seat, make yourself at home.” You said with a smile, watching as he looked around the room. You became slightly anxious that his glaze was clouded with judgement until he spoke as he went to take a seat next to Ed.

“Nice place, where’d you get the paintings?” He asked genuinely as you began pouring three glasses of juice.

“I made them myself”

“Oh you’re an artist?”

“Sort of, I work in lots of art forms, mostly theatre and community projects. Not painting though, it’s just hobby and plus, home décor is expensive”

He chuckled a little at that as you brought the two of them their drinks over. “I’ll put some music on while you shower is that okay?” Ed said, taking his phone out after taking a swig of his drink. “That’s strong”

“Sorry might have given you mine” you said jokingly “let me disconnect my Bluetooth then” you said getting out your own and switching to Spotify. You played the music for a second or two just until you had it disconnected. It was the song you’d been working with all day at the studio with the jazz beat and hypnotic drumming.

“Is that Jon Bap?”

“Yeah, I was using it today at work” His eyes gleamed, visibly excited by the idea of it.

“I love ‘What Now’,” he took a drink and shaking his head to himself “Such good drums on that album”

“Yeah, you like the drums?”

“Was a drummer for years in my 20’s”

You were slightly shocked by his comment on his age, always assuming he was younger than 30. Although it made sense for him and Ed to be in the same age bracket.

“Hey, that's cool, I never made it further than level two recorder. Guess I just don't have musical genes, anyways I’ll hop in the shower. Won’t be long”

You made your way to the bathroom. Listening as the two men struck up a conversation. Giddy from the knowledge of their being pleasant conversation and good company tonight. You’d always admired James, never really considering the fact you may possibly meet him. You hoped that wouldn't mess up the possibility of a future friendship, by making a reference to something that he’d said on the telly before. Shaking the idea you stripped off, turning on the faucet and climbing inside.

After you’d felt refreshed you did a little, awkward, jig to your bedroom in your towel. You hadn’t considered the fact that from where James sat on the couch you could see all the way down the corridor. Your bathroom being on the right, and your room right on the very end. Embarrassment aside you dried off your hair and did your makeup quickly yet efficiently. Slowing down only to put on a red lip with care. You then got dressed. Choosing to opt for something a little fancy tonight as the other two had clearly made an effort. Even if you did end up somewhere at 4am, it still felt good to dress up for the walk of ‘platonic’ shame.

You chose a silky skirt with a slip down the leg in a champagne iridescent colour. Paired with a tight long sleeved polo in white. You slipped on a pair of socks with ruffles over the top of your rhinestone tights. You emerged from your room feeling a little more confident and ready for a boogie.

James smiled brightly at you when he noticed you’d come out. Something else was flashing across his face that you couldn’t quite pinpoint however. You brushed it off, blaming the triple vodka pineapple you’d been sipping through your ready-ing routine.

“7:28, not bad” Ed said looking at his watch when you fully entered your living room. Pulling on your white leather converse. You told him to shut up in response and book an Uber.

#james acaster x reader #james acaster #james acaster imagines #james acaster fanfic

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ghostwasfound · 3 years

Note

So I understand if it's too much of a touchy subject but could you write techno comforting reader (he/him) with(/helping him through) an ed and a history with s/h that he's dealing with a relapse of because of the stress he's dealing with.

Pairing: c!Technoblade x m!reader

Pronouns: he/him

Genre: hurt comfort (my favorite <3)

Summary: Technoblade knows you've been struggling and he's always here to help

Warnings: tw!! this story is very triggering. please please please dont trigger yourself by reading this :( triggers include: disordered eating, stress, anxiety, s3lf h@rm, relapsing. Please do not read this if its gonna trigger you <3 i love you and im so proud of you.

Some weeks are harder then others.

It sometimes feels like loving yourself comes at a price. Its a love you cant afford.

You pay with shed tears, and counted calories.

You gamble your happiness at the price of the numbers on a scale and sharp, shiny objects.

Its nothing to romanticize. Its not a dramatic movie scene with sad background music. Its just tiring.

Now you sat on the floor of the bathroom. The tile is cold and stings your knee's. The snow outside looks like an illusion of endless white. An empty world. The edge of the universe maybe.

Some days are harder then others.

A sick feeling swarms your stomach. A sudden hunger for comfort in uncomforting ways.

Finding warmth in cold crimson.

Longing for relief in strained tears.

Your reflection. You can see your reflection. It looks wrong.

Why does it look wrong.

I dont understand.

What am i doing wrong.

"Darlin'"

A voice rings through the house, bringing you out of your own sorrow. How could you reply to him?.. You dont want him to see you like this...

No.

He told you that he was here for you.

Its okay to reach out when you need it. You are worth being cared for and you are worthy of love.

"up here"

Your voice is weak. Almost pitiful

The large piglin hybrid follows your voice up to the bathroom where he opens the door. His face softening with concern when he see's your state. Saying nothing he brings you into his arms, holding you against his chest. The simple thudding of his heart beat reminding you that you're alive. And you're okay.

You're okay.

"im so proud of you, y'know. You've made it through everything you've been through and you're still here."

"its hard..."

"I know darlin' but you still did it. And so i'll keep loving you till you learn to love yourself. I'll keep showing you kindness untill you knows how to be kind to yourself."

"why..."

"because I need you to see yourself the way I see you. The way everyone else see's you"

Authors note:

im so proud of you <3

If i should take this down let me know <3 Ive been struggling pretty bad recently so i wrote this as a way to get stuff off my chest aha. But im back guys!! sorry i disappeared for a bit life got... confusing but yo im here again <3

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darling-i-read-it · 3 years

Text

Drink

Dale Cooper x reader

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: tension, its all tension, intense making out, drinking, gambaling, leading to smut and insituation to smut

Author’s Note: Not this being way longer than I intended it to be. Blame it on the fact that I was watching Euphoria and it filled me with inspiration because that show slaps. I got a little carried away so it’s probably a little ooc toward the end but I hope you like it lmao

Requested: by anon, You posted that gifset of dale cooper with the suit and glasses yesterday and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since so maybe you should write a fic inspired by it 👀? Like reader goes undercover with him and he’s taken aback by how beautiful she looks and there’s sexual tension between them the entire night until afterwards where he pulls her aside for a steamy make out session. Might be ooc but I’m thirsty so 🤷‍♀️

Summary: the request

Genre: tension? Almost smut but not quite?

I don’t own these characters. They belong to author/director

(not my gif) (the gif that inspired it all by @/myellenficent)

“You’re prepared for tonight?” Dale asked. You crossed your arms to protect from the chill in the air. You nodded stiffly.

“I am.”

“Remember, something fancy that isn’t too flashy. I’m sure you’ll be fine though,” he promised. You nodded again.

“I’ll throw something together. You don’t be too flashy though huh?” you teased. The two of you stopped in the hallway you were walking down. You were standing in front of each other's hotel rooms, which were separate.

“I’ll try my best,” he digressed. You nodded and leaned against your doorway before turning around and opening it, slipping inside.

You and Dale were new partners. You had been friends for ages but only in passing. It wasn’t until your partner died that you were able to actually work together. You had done a few cases together but this was the first one you had to go undercover for. It was odd, seeing Dale in this kind of setting. He was very good at what he did and you were very good at what you did. You should have been paired together years ago.

You looked through your suitcase for something to wear. You were going to go and try and seek out one of the murderers of Laura Palmer. Dale had a theory that he would be there tonight and you weren’t about to question him when he really got going.

The plan was to gamble, act natural, fend off any woman and get the information you needed. You weren’t that worried.

You picked out a dress that you had been saving for a special occasion. Just your style and the fit of it always made you feel good. You were kind of excited to wear something that wasn’t casual. You were also excited to hang out with Dale. You knew the other local police force would be there but you figured this was the closest you were going to get to a night out with Dale.

There was a knock on your door five minutes before you were supposed to meet everyone in the lobby. You ran your hands over your hair one more time, checked yourself out in the mirror and then opened the door.

Dale was wearing a fancier suit than usual, his hair slicked back and a pair of fake glasses over his eyes. You smiled, raising your hands to his bowtie to fix it as it was kind of crooked.

“You clean up nice Coop,” you admitted. “Not that you aren’t already clean most of the time,” you joked.

Dale was awe struck. He had thought he might have feelings for you but only in passing, never in actuality. But you stood in front of him, wearing that fancy dress, your hair done up all nice. He couldn’t help but feel his emotions come forward in full force.

“Cooper?” you said as he hadn’t answered you.

“You look absolutely stunning,” he admitted. You smiled and looked down at your outfit like you weren’t even aware you had been wearing it.

“You think?”

“I know.” His voice had a low grumble to it that you didn’t recognize. It made you let out a stiff shortness of breath. You had to look away from his face.

“Well we should probably go, Harry and everyone will be waiting.” He seemed to snap out of it then. He cleared his throat.

“You’re right. You have your gamabling cash?” he questioned.

“I can’t gamble. I figured I’d just be your arm candy,” you admitted through a laugh. He put his hand on his hip, creating an arm holder for you. You wrapped your arm around his arm and smiled, walking next to him.

Harry and Ed stood in the lobby. They eyed the two of you, especially Harry who had been hearing the end of both of your emotions.

“You look real good,” Ed said, eyeing your outfit. Dale almost got defensive but he held it down.

“Thank you very much Ed.”

The night started swiftly enough. You managed to strip away from Dale for a moment and walk around the room, eyeing the area as he started to play a card game. You watched him from afar and navigated through the room. Harry hung back and grabbed your arm gently, pulling you aside.

“If you don’t make a move tonight I’m going to lose my goddamn mind,” he said. You laughed gently.

“We’re on a case, Sheriff Truman,” you whispered. He raised an eyebrow.

“Fine. Look over at Cooper right now and tell me what you’re feeling about this case.” You rolled your eyes and looked back over at Dale. There was a girl on his lap, whispering in his ear. You couldn’t see his expression because she was blocking but you had to give it to Harry. It got to you.

“Just focus Harry,” you muttered.

“Only if you do.”

You walked back to the other side of the room and the girl was off Dale’s lap. You pushed it out of your head. You didn’t want to think about it.

Dale however, was only looking at you. He was trying so hard to focus on the task at hand but he felt the tension in the air. It wrapped around him like a present waiting to be opened. His eyes were always flashing back to you and you were always watching him until you weren’t.

Harry’s hand wrapped around your arm as he pulled you aside. Whispers between the two of you. His chest started to rise and fall and he was going to lose this game of cards and then there was a woman on his lap and he had to tell her to leave because he was only focused on you and he should have been focused on the case.

Eventually though he was able to talk to a man who knew more about Laura's death. He was able to get information he came for. And the second that conversation ended he walked up to Harry.

“I need a drin-“

“Cooper,” you called, standing beside the two of them.

“Hold on a second, I want a-”

“Coop,” you repeated.

“Y/N I-”

“Dale,” you hissed. You had his full attention. His eyes were back on you now and everything he had just been about to say was gone. “Please tell us what happened to Laura.” Harry raised his finger.

“Will you write it down in the report?” Dale nodded and let out a harsh breath.

“I’m going to talk to Ed,” you said and gave Harry a look. You walked over there and let Dale spit out whatever it was that he wasn’t able to say in one sentence. Harry seemed to appreciate it and he understood more about what happened to Laura.

“What are you doing over here?” Ed asked.

“Getting Dale a drink before he passes out from whatevers bothering him,” you muttered. You raised your hand and quickly ordered Dale’s regular.

“I think it’s you,” Ed muttered.

“Huh?”

“Listen, speaking as a man, I think it’s you,” he repeated. You furrowed your brows. Before you could ask for more clarification Dale grabbed your arm which surprised you. You were holding his drink in your hand.

“This is for-” you started and he took the drink, handed it to Ed and dragged you away. You had barely gotten out of view before his lips were on yours. He pressed you flush against the wall of one of the off rooms in the lodge he had managed to find. You pulled away to breath and he looked at you. You had never seen his eyes look like that. Filled with want.

You kissed him again with more fire behind your own lips and he took that happily. He picked up your leg and hiked it up on his side. You let him. After a few moments of the most intense make out session you had ever had you had to pull away.

“We have to go and follow up on the information you got from that guy,” you whispered. You fixed his glasses and he fixed your dress. He let out a long sigh and nodded, pulling himself together. He knew you were right.

“Later,” he promised. You walked back into the main room and grabbed Dale’s drink from Ed to hand to him.

“Drink up. I’m going to talk to Harry.” Dale watched you go and then quickly followed, taking a drink of the one you had gotten for him.

#dale cooper x reader #agent dale cooper x reader #dale cooper imagines #agent dale cooper imagines #special agent dale cooper x reader #twin peaks imagines

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