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riverdale-retread · 3 years

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Riverdale S4 E15 (Spoilers) (Oh and it’s extremely long, sorry)

The episode opens with this:

“LIfe’s not an Agatha Christie novel, it’s a lot messier.” Forsythe “Jughead” Pendleton Jones III (born Oct 2, 2001 - died March 18, 2020). This could be read in two ways: that this is a haha-funny jokey-joke about ‘dying’ at the Ides of March at the hands of the Stonies, or it could be Jughead, looking back on this date, the day he had to give up being a Stonewall student and give up going to Yale and giving his spot to Betty all in the hopes of having a Forever with Betty, and digesting that later as DEATH.

Betty takes Jughead’s spot at Yale, because Yale calls her in particular to convey this. This is sometime in April and I call fucking bullshit, because NO.

And because Jughead is dead, Alice really wants to do a big flashy project and ropes in Kevin to make her ‘documentary’ about murder in a small town. Alice is so happy. I am infuriated, immediately, because imagine what FP is feeling. Alice is undeniably excited to make a project out of his son’s death.

Thank God for Nana Rose, who makes something very clear. The town of Riverdale was never ever a good place - Jughead just wanted it to be. She looks appropriately disgusted by Alice, does Nana Rose,and then spits out that Riverdale was born and bathed in blood! Hear hear.

Cheryl is worried about Betty (and kind of pleased that the Blossom curse applies to Betty as well). She thinks Betty will harm herself because something bad has happened to Jughead. But Betty has hated Jughead ever since he got into Stonewall, so Betty and I mutually laugh off this absurd suggestion, that Betty would ever do anything that costs her even a smidge for Jughead of all things. But!! Cheryl is on to something. She calls Betty and Jughead the “Hamlet and Ophelia” of Riverdale - and I think this casting choice is immaculate. It’s Betty = Hamlet, and Jughead = Ophelia.

Cheryl is a genuinely lovely person, by the way, when it isn’t to do with Toni. She puts Betty under suicide watch, to give her the kind of close contact care that she must’ve yearned for when Jason was killed. She drives Betty to Stonewall.

We then get a reprisal of that scene from a couple episodes ago, where Bret comes to sneer at Betty. So this is April, 2020. At this point Bret really thinks Jughead is dead, and he’s THE ONLY ONE who has cried about it, and mourned what Jughead has lost by losing his spot at Yale.

Hermosa, because she is not involved in any way in the documentary that Alice is making to exploit Jughead’s death, is my favorite person in the universe right now. She interrupts Archie and Veronica having early morning sex, and tells what she’s already figured out about why Veronica is considering ‘deferring.’

Alice is having a wonderful time torturing her boyfriend FP Jones, making him try to continue to look and act like a Sheriff on camera even though he’s talking about his own son’s death. I don’t recall if FP already knows that Jughead is not dead here. If only FP knows, whoo boy he does not respect Alice at all whatsoever, even less than he could be said to have respected Gladys. FP should’ve maybe thought about going into acting as a career. Alice asks about a lead, and FP says he has a new one.

Cut to Stonewall Prep’s dorms, where Bret tells Donna that “his Dad” is in her room. FP finds the tie pin with Jughead’s initials in Donna’s room. Why is FP being allowed to investigate his own son’s murder? And anyway Donna turns on the waterworks and accuses BETTY OF COURSE. So then she spins a yarn about how she and Bret “went into the woods to do what teenagers do” (with BRET??? LOL) and saw Betty holding a rock.

And FP arrests Betty, Veronica and Archie. They are in handcuffs, and Betty is in angelic pink and says “this is good” as they are being led away. I don’t care if FP is in on it or not - I’m thrilled that they had to do a perp walk, same as Jughead in S1.

Pop Tate is being interviewed by Alice, and says he suffers from seeing Riverdale be marred by violence all the time. I guess the one nice thing about Alice doing this documentary is that I don’t have to look at her much.

The three are in a prison cell and I am still enjoying myself. Varchie and Betty either mean it actually or play-acted a scenario, amongst themselves in the Blue & Gold room, that in a choice between Betty and Jughead, even when Betty has *murdered* Jughead, everyone will choose Betty without a second’s thought.

And I spoke too soon because we DO have to see Alice with “exclusive access” to the interrogations. Hiram stands behind Veronica and says she’s not involved ‘in this.’ Mary sits next to Archie and punctiliously refers to him as ‘her client’ and refuses to let Archie answer any of FP’s questions, which again, would make me a bit afraid that FP would just shoot me in the face because this is his son. And of course, Alice just straight up gets Betty the best treatment - she finagles FP (how powerful is her pussy??) into giving her no-camera alone time with Betty.

Alice says “I know you did it” to Betty, and she was “expecting something like this” and then she is very very disappointed that Betty is not the actual killer. But wait, so then she really doesn’t know that Jughead is not dead, and she’s enjoying making FP talk about this shit on camera, and she enjoyed saying that to her child.

Donna to Bret, “I don’t know, I have to think.” I just keep seeing Donna and Jughead as being so compatible - this is what he says (“Let me think!”) when he comes upon Tall Boy’s corpse, for example. And Donna goes right into the Jughead mode of telling the person who is doing something she dislikes what she’s figured out, directly, in one long, smug, sing-song monologue. I SHIP DONNA AND JUGHEAD - GIVE ME DUGHEAD. And just like Jughead tends to be, Donna is *mostly* correct but critically wrong about the most important bit, and it’s because she doesn’t know the existence of Charles, I think. Donna thinks it’s FP and Betty colluding, rather than Charles and Betty first, and then bringing in FP and all the rest.

The next scene is Betty coming down to breakfast, where FP is looking at documents and Alice is pouring coffee. When I saw this the first time I just wanted to know what the heck was going on, but now I have time to consider how twisted these terrible Cooper women are. Betty has just seen that her mother was really pleased to think her a murderer. FP has had to arrest, release and then drive back to their shared residence the daughter of his live-in girlfriend, a girl who is half sister to one son and girlfriend to another son (OMFG this is so weird), for the murder of one of those sons (I KEEP FORGETTING THAT CHARLES IS A SON OF FP AND SO HAS THE SHOW). He’s also having to live the reality that Alice is excited that something terrible happened to him because it gives her material to exploit. And then the first thing this girl says is that she wants to organize a funeral. FP puts on an excellent level of ‘upset’ performance for Alice. FP hates Alice by this time, he has to.

Thank GOD For Hermosa. Hermosa comes through for Veronica and obtains a fake passport for her half sister and the two have a confrontation about Hermosa’s potentially bad motives. And Veronica rips up that fake passport. The two of them look stunning, and I love the creamy light in Veronica’s room.

Archie says, “I swear to you, I would never hurt my best friend” when asked about Jughead. ... I’m just gonna leave that there. The kids at the Center say that nobody is coming, to Archie, because of his murder arrest. Since Jughead has only been to this center for the dedication to Fred, these kids have probably never seen Jughead, and they’ve really only ever seen Archie with Munroe, Reggie and lately, Hiram. Oh boy.

Toni is interviewed by Alice about Jughead and takes a most interesting approach: that they spent ‘a night’ together and that this ‘moment’ cemented their friendship. And I’m really surprised because she called it PG13 and also it was when Jughead was a virgin, plus … have they talked a single time this entire season? Cheryl is not threatened by this revelation because she is for some reason the only person in Riverdale who has never felt attracted to Jughead Jones. Chery is sorry that she called Jughead a hobo that one time. LOLOLOL. I worship Cheryl.

Jughead’s funeral photo as chosen by Betty (?) is of course one where he’s not in the Stonewall uniform that he loved dressing up in so much but I can let that go because SWEET PEA IS HERE. He immediately knows who the Stonies are, and Sweet Pea and Bret size each other up in a pretty intense way. Who are you and why are you here sort of a thing. The (fake, right?) speech that FP gives on behalf of his son, where he’s so upset he can’t finish it, is expert acting by FP for the benefit of Donna. Are we going to get a later flashback episode down the line where FP was fantastic at being Macbeth in high school or whatever? Why is FP Jones so great at acting?

Betty reads a passage that is absolutely horrendous for a funeral, about Moriarty and Sherlock’s death. I don’t understand.

Hiram finally steps in and suggests that FP should not be investigating the murder of his own son. And FP ‘quits.’

Donna accosts JB and asks her directly, “He’s not really dead is he?” to which JB has no answer because nobody told her what to do if this happened. Donna is smart. Betty calls her a bitch again and shoves her out. Donna yells at Bret to “do it” and Bret tries to open the casket (which is empty, I think) and Sweet Pea is right in Bret’s face immediately to prevent him. Archie also brings the muscle. Sweet Pea follows the preppies to the door and again, Bret and Sweet Pea share intense looks. (That go nowhere - they never meet or talk again.)

Hermosa is wonderful and has investigated properly by approaching all the parents separately. And she knows how to be effective at getting the answers - that she will sit the parents in one room and let them talk.

Kevin asks Betty if Jughead is alive, which she denies and he doesn’t believe. Kevin and Reggie all make an appearance on the documentary. OH wait sorry, it needs to be like this:

REGGIE PROVIDES THE ONLY TRULY JOYFUL PART OF THIS EPISODE.

He’s mad that Jughead may have faked his own death, because “that weirdo” has bested him by pulling off “the most epic senior prank of all time.”

OK so after this, after Donna has announced confidently to people that Jughead is faking his death and that this is an elaborate ruse, and at least two different people who both know Jughead and have no stakes in this game are willing to go on camera to say this is so something he would do, THIS is when Betty calls Archie to sit with her in a booth at Pop’s while she weeps about missing Jughead so much because he is not coming back and Archie and she fondle each other’s hands. So this is revealed to be for the benefit of Cheryl but it’s also exactly what I thought - a Barchie sex game where the main ingredient for arousal is the (imagined) death of Jughead.

In any case, Cheryl thinks she’s seen the start of Barchie and flies into action, and suddenly spearheads a huge locker memorial (complete with a red rose … from whom, Ethel?) for Jughead.

Betty sees this, then takes off, looking upset, with Archie in hot pursuit. She says “I feel so alone” to which Archie says “You’re not” and she says she “wants to feel good, even if just for one moment”, oh and I realize she’s in the Archie Andrews Sex Room at Riverdale High (the music room) , and they kiss.

I FORGOT

THAT THEY

KISSED

HERE

I just … forgot. I thought the kiss was coming in the musical. I was bracing and dreading the impact of that. I must’ve gone into like, a PTSD Betty Fugue about when the kiss happens and so I was not ready.

So, I screamed.

And then Cheryl is taking photos, and sprays it all over because ...I guess because Cheryl just disapproves of straightness. But before we get there, Archie and Betty are really enjoying this sex game they’re playing. Because they could just as easily say to each other, “OK Archie can you see if Cheryl followed us?” “Yeah, wow she’s persistent.” “I knew she would, so we gotta kiss and make sure she sees it.” ‘Um, ok.” Or, you know the show could’ve left it to be the two talk, looking intense, and then they kiss and just shown it from Cheryl’s Peeping Tomasina perspective without giving us dialogue, but no. The show sets up that Archie and Betty really enjoyed playing this sex game, and Betty got off on the idea of Jugead being dead.

So after sending the message wide, Cheryl goes to find Veronica to show her the Betty - Archie kiss in person.

“Really, Archie, of all people, BETTY?” says Veronica. Veronica is play acting. Oh and Veronica has the same opinion I do about the Archie Andrews Sex Room but she doesn’t think Valerie and Archie made out in there. I’m gonna trust her memory, I guess. And Veronica tries to forgive Betty and Betty confesses that she made the first move, and then Veronica says, “You scheming two faced bitch, Betty Cooper.” For her exit, “Burn in hell, the both of you!” says Veronica, and Toni chimes in, You tell ‘em girl?

Taking a step back: This is scripted by Betty, I’m assuming or maybe by Betty and Jughead, and given to Veronica to ‘sell’ to their classmates. She says everything that she is within her rights to say, but ‘for pretend’ and then, what, within a month or two, this thing happens for real, but she’s already said all the things. It makes her ridiculous, and puts her in a strange deja vu hell of doing a reprisal of her own ‘performance.’ Veronica has to endure a double whammy to the heart, with a time delay. Like, like. like… so her heart has been pierced by the Barchie Betrayal arrow *here* but she just doesn’t know it yet, and then weeks later, a second arrow splits through the first arrow to hand in the exact same bullseye in the center of her heart *again*. No wonder she just doesn’t have the energy to speak or yell at Betty or Archie post Hedwig. What Betty and Archie did to Veronica (nevermind Jughead) is pure evil, absolutely diabolical.

Alice brings in Kevin to commentate on Betty and Archie ‘dating’ and her documentary is pure drivel, as we all knew it would be. Kevin is a Barchie stan. Why. The fact that they are making KEVIN say all this (“It was always supposed to be Betty and Archie” and “Bughead shouldn’t have happened”) is next level trolling by the show, but at this point, I mean, so much internet ink and cyber blood has been spilled about this so I’m sort of inured to it. And I think it’s kind of fun, from a tv-show crafting perspective, to poke your audience and polarize them, because the people who care will care intensely for years. I only find it unfortunate that they are reviving the gay best friend trope from the fucking previous century so that an alpha gay boy who gets all the hottest bi-gay boys in town is deeply invested in whatever the fuck the straights are doing. T*H*I*S is the thing that should never have happened.

Donna shows up to be horrendous to Betty about the sex tape - and Betty is correct, that Donna Sweett is an actual monster. But see, Donna is a monster, and when called a monster, she just accepts it, and moreover, the show keeps telling me, with creepy music and DOOM sound effects, that Donna is a monster. She is also really smart, and IS CORRECT and I enjoy that, when the villain is correct but still defeated. Anyway it’s this internal and external consistently that Donna has that makes me enjoy her. By contrast, Betty is a monster, but the show thinks she’s an angel, and she thinks of herself as an angel, and therefore she scares the absolute shit out of me, and also this makes her exactly like Alice. But anyway I think Donna’s disgust at heterosexuality being at Cheryl levels is what makes everyone keep insisting that she’s gay. I don’t think Donna’s gay. I think she’s a straight woman who hates other women, just like Alice.

Donna tails Betty to the Bunker, and Barchie pretend to have been hooking up there. Oh, and Betty is telling this story to Alice, who says that Barchie is nothing to be ashamed of. So at this point, THIS is when Alice knows that Jughead is alive. FP needs to get away from this woman ASAP. FP driving off from Alice as soon as he thinks his son has launched from home was a desperate act of self preservation. My god what an evil woman.

So the episode ends with Archie and Veronica being happy in bed because she’s the only girl for him, and they both are celebrating the success of their ruse. And we finally see Jughead.

Hi Jughead.

I’m so happy to see you. It’s been very exhausting to sit through this episode, hating Betty. You did this to me - you made me adore Betty and think her wonderful, because you do, and I believed you, and now I am crushed that you were so totally wrong.

“Hiding under a cot in the sex bunker of death while you make out with Archie” is the top 10 crazy things they’ve done, he says. Girl, you have no idea what else is about to happen, bless your heart.

Betty taught herself how to knit and made him a hat, and he looks so happy and in love. He does take time to ask if she ‘felt’ something, and she says no, and they play the tender Bughead theme, but I am not swayed.

So this is who knows by this point: Charles, FP, Jellybean, Dr Curdle Jr, Mrs Andrews and Alice, and I guess in that order. When asked why she did all this, Betty says the most honest thing - first and foremost, it’s because they were trying to pin the murder *on her* and second because if they knew Jughead was alive, ‘they would circle the wagons and lock down tight.” Not that they would try to really finish him off, actually, but that they would pin *attempted* murder on Betty if not *actual* murder. None of this was about saving Jughead’s life, not to Betty.

Donna now knows for sure that Jughead is alive, and is determined to actually kill him. Bret quotes something Jughead said to him back at the football game (“Take the win”) because, once again, Bret Weston Wallis is the only person in the whole of Jughead’s life who thought he was totally hot and totally cool. Donna smacks him, and threatens him with whatever she’s done to Jonathan.

The episode ends with Hermosa finding out something about Donna that she shares with the whole group and Jughead looking really pleased and charged up about ‘taking down the Stonies once and for all.’

#planting a lonely flag for my crackship donna x jughead #donna was the precursor to what jessica looks like she's going to be #can i call this ship dughead? going to research now #if jughead has to have an evil girlfriend i want her to not be a hypocrite #just be full dark evil and jughead will figure out how to make that work #riverdale recap #riverdale episode recap

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purge-that-urge-rhackathon · 5 years

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7) “Everything we had is no longer there.”

WELP I took this and ran with it in a way no one is expecting BAHAHA. Some good ol’ omegaverse Rhys/Axton :D Same AU as Broken Bonds :)

This titled as Gone. Also on my ao3 here :) My masterlist archive of bullshit i write can be found linked at the top of the blog or here.

From this prompt list.

–

Rhys was sitting in his desk chair, leaning back in the glow of the monitor.

He was tired, and everyone else had already gone home for the day. But he needed to reconfigure this code to make his prototype move with more fluidity, and it really couldn’t wait over the weekend.

He stretched, hearing several pops to accompany the delicious pull of his muscles as he sat back up straight. This was taking forever, and he was getting brain-fog. It was far too late for more coffee– let alone trying to stay even later- and Axton would be expecting him home soon… if he wasn’t already back from the gym waiting for him.

Rhys sighed and looked out his office window, enjoying the twinkling of the city coming to life at night, and considered just bringing his work home for the weekend… though he knew that he and Axton were supposed to move the rest of his shit from his apartment into the alpha’s loft as his lease was about up, and that wouldn’t work.

The omega grunted to himself before cracking his knuckles and praying to whatever might be listening to let him wrap this damn shit up.

Someone must’ve been listening at least, because his cell-phone lit up on an incoming call. A smiling picture of Axton popped up on the ID, and Rhys grinned, answering it.

“Well helloooo perfect timing,” the omega said with an easy grin into the phone as he leaned back again, waiting for the alpha’s pleasantly-gruff tones to fill his ears.

“Rhys? Where are you, darlin’? Are you okay?”

The omega frowned as he sat up straighter, a thrill of panic going up his spine. “I’m still at the office trying to– What’s wrong?” he asked with utmost concern, eyes darting to the office door to make sure it was still locked. “Is it Jack?”

“No– well maybe– er, I don’t know,” Axton huffed, voice a growl and sounding like his focus wasn’t entirely on the call, wary of his surroundings. “I’m at your apartment. Was gonna grab something on the way home from the gym to make this weekend easier but…” His voice trailed off into another growl.

Rhys frowned to himself, wondering what the hell happened, and waited for his fiance to speak as Axton was still growling to himself and clearly walking about in some kind of fervor. Rhys’ heart-rate sped up over a great many possibilities, and his nails were painfully digging into the palm of his hand when he considered that Jack might be lying in wait for Axton. Yeah, he had a restraining order against the Hyperion alpha, but that didn’t mean much, and Jack was slippery as hell, court orders and sentences be damned.

“What happened? I’m coming over there right now, Ax,” Rhys said as he stood from his chair, closing his laptop and loading it into its case while Axton huffed on the other line.

“No, no I’ll come get you, just stay there.”

“Ax–”

“Someone broke in.”

That gave Rhys pause, his mind a tumult. Was it safer to stay here in his office? Security had certainly been beefed up in certain months, but every time he looked at the frosted glass that had long-since been replaced, it reminded him just how crazy Jack actually was.

Axton’s annoyed chuffs came through the phone. “I called Vaughn.”

“Vaughn?” Rhys barked out, though not unkindly. “Axton, call the police.”

“Fuck the police,” he growled. “Fat lot of help they gave us last time that asshole was involved. I’m gonna come get ya myself. Just stay there, okay?” Rhys couldn’t help the little distressed sound that left his lips, though he wished he could as it made Axton’s growls reverberate into the call that much louder. “Vaughn is going to stay here so I can get ya, darlin.”

The chuckle that escaped Rhys was involuntary, but he couldn’t help it; he was scared to death for the other man and didn’t give a shit about his half-empty apartment. “Ax, love, please be careful. If it was Jack–”

“He sure as hell won’t catch me unawares twice, sweetheart. I promise ya that.”

Rhys fretted the entire time he waited for the alpha to show up, foregoing any ideas to continue his work, and kept his eyes on the frosted glass of his door while he made a call down to security to make certain the building was still locked down. After the months of physical therapy and recovery, the whole event was still far too fresh in his mind, and Axton’s scar far too pink to be considered ‘old news’.

When the big alpha eventually came for him, Rhys absolutely melted into his embrace, scenting up and down his neck for anything unfamiliar or worrying. Axton’s scent was stronger than usual and musky in a way that made the omega feel very safe indeed, but otherwise he appeared just fine. The concern wasn’t for naught, of course. The last time something ‘bad’ had happened, Axton had ended up shot.

“Fuck, you had me worried,” Rhys chuckled with relief as the bigger man held him and scented him right back. “How bad was it? How’d they get in?”

“Well hell… There’s no way of sugar-coatin’ it, but…” He sighed heavily into the top of Rhys’ head. His hair was coming up a bit from the gel of this morning, but such an intimate scent on him helped soothe Axton’s nerves. Rhys didn’t need more shit right when his lease was about up; this was supposed to be a fresh new start. “Everything we had is no longer there. The TV, the furniture… Hell, they left your bed, but we were gonna sell that anyways.”

The big alpha’s arms were around Rhys comfortingly, and the omega took a mental inventory of the things that had still been left in the apartment. There were things he would miss, some replaceable and others not, but he couldn’t be as upset about it as he should– not when Axton was right here and still safe and whole without injury. He wouldn’t know the true extent of what was taken until he was inside, of course, but for the moment he couldn’t care.

“…did it look like something Jack might’ve done?” Rhys asked with concern, meeting the alpha’s green eyes and watching him frown in thought. The movement tugged at the scar on his brow that Rhys was so fond of, and he held the alpha a little closer subconsciously.

“I don’t think so… It didn’t feel like it, anyway. …Did you lock up last time you were there?”

Fuck, Rhys wasn’t honestly sure. He’d last been there a few days back to get another box full of his belongings, and he’d been texting naughty things to the alpha as he was loading up his car. Axton had been at the market shopping at the time trying to get stuff for dinner when Rhys had started making silly puns that had snowballed into the need to get home before the other man and wait naked on the bed for him.

Honestly, he’d been more excited to see Axton than he had been concerned about locking up at that point, and he couldn’t be positive he’d simply forgotten.

Rhys held Axton’s hand the whole drive back to his apartment, still wary that this might be Jack’s work despite Vaughn already on the scene and holding down the fort.

Both alpha and omega gaped as they slowly pulled up to the curb outside the complex, both wide-eyed as they met Vaughn’s proud little grin under a street lamp as the beta waved at them.

He was sitting outside the complex in one of Rhys’ own living room chairs, his feet on Rhys’ coffee table with a smirk on his face. He would’ve looked right at home in the omega’s own living room, but out on the street, it was a jarring sight. Vaughn just spread his arms as if welcoming them to his abode, and Rhys and Axton got out of the car to further gape at the beta with confused amazement.

“I thought you said they took everything,” Rhys said with a minorly-relieved look to Axton’s equally perplexed expression. His TV was still missing, but the game-system, the coffee-maker, and even his teapot were all sitting about as if Vaughn had re-created the inside of his apartment right here on the curb.

The alpha himself was speechless, and Vaughn hopped up to greet the pair with a smile.

“I would’ve put it all back in, but I was afraid someone might take it again if I wasn’t watching it,” the beta informed with a grin. “Couldn’t get the TV back though, but I got everything they had. Sorry, bro.”

“Okay I am very confused right now,” Rhys stated, still a little floored to be standing in his living room… out on the curb.

“I saw a truck on the way here filled with your stuff. That collector’s edition teapot isn’t exactly common-place,” the beta said with a smirk at the character-shaped porcelain sitting on the coffee table. It was a gaudy and stupid-looking piece, but Rhys had won it in a contest and kept it on the counter with pride, the small, saddled yellow birds and cactus design on a blue glaze reminding him that when in doubt, he always had luck.

Guess that was more true than he’d been amusing himself with.

“Don’t tell me you beat their asses and made them bring it all back,” Rhys laughed with a look at the beta. At Vaughn’s grin, his own faltered with seriousness. He was impressed as hell, if not concerned, and was a little concerned to ask for details. “Bro.”

“I don’t believe it,” Axton said in shaking his head, an arm still around Rhys just in case. “Just how many of these guys were there?”

“It was teenagers,” Vaughn admitted with a laugh. “One of them did come at me with a knife–” Rhys gasped and gaped at him, and Axton had the good-taste to be ashamed to have put the beta into that kind of situation, even in a roundabout way, “–but disarmament is one of the first things I learned before I bulked up,” he finished proudly, hands on his hips and chin high with pride. “I convinced them to bring it all back.”

“You beat up teenagers,” Rhys stated far too calmly for the situation, unable to help how glad he was that Jack wasn’t behind this. “For my chocobo teapot.”

“Your limited edition chocobo teapot,” Vaughn pointed out with a smirk. “And it’s not like I hurt them… really… but they’ll definitely think twice about pulling shit like that again. Especially with a piece of crap swiss-army knife.”

Axton snorted and put his forehead on Rhys’ shoulder, a wide smile on his face that he couldn’t help. “False alarm, it was just a normal robbery, sugar,” Axton tried to joke, and Rhys couldn’t help but laugh, hugging the alpha tightly and chuckling as he pressed a kiss to his jaw.

Rhys looked up at Vaughn, surveying the contents of his apartment with a smirk. “You really are the bro-est of bros.”

Vaughn snorted and rolled his eyes while Axton chuckled. The beta stretched. “Okay, so should we get this all back inside then?”

“I don’t know, your apartment is gonna look cramped compared to out here,” Axton joked. “Nice view of the street, too.” Vaughn snorted, and Rhys surveyed the bulkier items that had been taken.

“Should we– Do you wanna go back and get my car, and we can just, like, bring this stuff back home tonight instead of this weekend?” Rhys proposed, looking between the two men with a shrug. Rhys’ lease was officially up on Monday, and except for these last few things, he’d been living with Axton for months and months already, and Vaughn was over more often than naught. Having all of them together when living at the same place just made logistic sense. “It might be harder to get this stuff back in the elevator or around the stairs than up in the big one at yours.”

Axton looked at Vaughn, and the beta shrugged with a smirk. “Honestly, I didn’t have any plans tonight anyways so I don’t mind if you guys don’t. We could probably just use my car and Ax’s,” Vaughn proposed with a teasing look. “My services don’t come cheap, though, man.”

“I’ll order pizza?” Rhys tried with a little laugh as Axton smirked and muttered something about beer in the fridge, and Vaughn laughed and agreed to the terms.

“I bet we can have all this stuff loaded in less than an hour. Those kids actually saved you a lot of time, bro.”

“Hey, that’s true,” Axton agreed with a laugh as he was fishing out his keys to open the trunk, and Vaughn pulled his own car around to load up while Rhys scheduled a pizza delivery.

All in all, there was no sign of forced entry, and his apartment hadn’t been damaged too badly to get his deposit back. Aside from a few items like the TV, he really wasn’t as upset as he should’ve been for, you know, a home-burglary. But it wasn’t like he’d been living there as he waited out his lease, and anything truly precious to him had been moved to Axton’s loft ages ago. Overall, loading up the cars with the last few items he’d had saved him the whole upcoming weekend they were going to spend lugging things through tight corners and crammed into the small complex elevator.

And once all his shit was more or less jig-sawed together in a massive pile in Axton’s living room, with the three of them enjoying pizza and making jokes about Vaughn saving the day, everything felt right. There was a sense of closure– even if his lease had a few more days on it- that that bad part of his life was over. Totally over. Nothing left to tie him to the old, and only looking forward to the new.

As far as home-burglaries went, maybe this was a blessing in disguise since it freed up his entire weekend.

Especially since they decided to stay up the rest of the night drinking and playing video games, and Axton and Vaughn broke the beta’s coffee-table as Vaughn was showing off a jiu-jitsu move that maybe they shouldn’t have been trying when drunk.

That was okay though. Rhys knew a perfect place right down the hall where the beta could get another.

–

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#rhaxton #rhys the company man #axton the commando #borderlands fanfic #borderlands #omegaverse #LOLOL i had fun writing this xD STILL doing the fills ive just been busy and also worrying my ass off about... ya know... surviving life LOL #ill catch up at some point haha argh

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akselhaddock · 6 years

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ALL ABOUT — 𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒆𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒐𝒄𝒌

a comprehensive look into the mind and character of aksel haddock. the purpose of this guide is to educate, explore, and explain the complexities behind aksel’s personality. in this guide i will explain some of the many headcanons, themes, and quirks i’ve gathered for him over time.

+ witty, skilled, quiet, intelligent, inventive, problem-solving – cynical, irritable, blunt, distant, hopeless, guilt-ridden, lost, sarcastic

o v e r v i e w :

aksel wasn’t always like this. that’s the excuse people make for him, the people who knew him before the accident. when his energy filled a room, when his sense of adventure rivaled his father’s, when his recklessness and determination matched his mother’s, when he had another half of himself with whom he fit perfectly. eirik was everything to aksel — more than a best friend, more than family. where one went, the other followed. both were bright, trouble-making, meddlesome, intelligent, brave, stupid boys; but one’s light would burn out too fast. a dare to steal an egg from a screaming death was what got eirik killed. the scene was gruesome — after all it was a screaming death — and aksel was never the same after that. the adventurous, innovative, creative, reckless boy who was caused a ruckus and made incredible inventions was gone. he’d died alongside eirik, everyone could see it. and maybe that’s why none of them blamed him for the other boy’s death, because he was torturing himself enough.

t h e m e : grief, guilt & sense-of-self

aksel’s main personality point at the moment is his overwhelming guilt and grief over eirik’s death. he loved eirik, more than words can express. it was a platonic love, and later a romantic love. aksel never realized, at least not consciously. he always knew his relationship with eirik couldn’t be described as just a friendship. maybe that’s why it hurt so much when he lost him, or maybe it was the fact that it was his fault. a dare. “i dare you to climb up to that screaming death nest and take one of her eggs.” that’s what did it. a stupid, irresponsible, pointless dare that would have gotten them into trouble with his dad anyway. aksel shut himself off after that. no one else blamed him, not really, but aksel blamed himself. he continues to blame himself. that guilt, that grief he’s been feeling for so many years has eaten him alive.

beyond that, aksel doesn’t know who he is without eirik. they were a packaged deal for so long. they grew up together, spent all of their time together; they were practically inseparable. and since eirik’s death, aksel has yet to find out who he is without his other half. that’s his main journey. when you lose someone you love deeply, there are aspects of you that will never be the same. the things you shared together, the part of your personality that was brought out only by that person will be gone. or, at the very least, it’ll be different. and that’s okay, that’s part of life. but aksel hasn’t accepted that yet. he knows he’ll never be the same without eirik, and aksel doesn’t want to grow. aksel doesn’t want to discover who he is without eirik, he doesn’t want to move on.

that’s his theme. when you spent your entire life defining yourself in tandem with another person, and then that person is gone — and it’s your fault — how do you grow? how do you change? what part of you dies along with them and then is reborn into something new? beyond all of the smaller plots within aksel’s development, his sense-of-self, forgiving himself and overcoming his grief will be his main focal point.

a e s t h e t i c :

dragon scales glinting in sunlight, the view of the earth from the sky, the smell of smoke in the forge, glowing hot metal, thunder rumbling in the distance, heavy rainfall against a glass window, the smell of hot cocoa, charcoal against parchment, leather-bound books, calloused hands, holding back unshed tears, that feeling of exhaustion when you want to sleep but you can’t, the darkest part of the morning just before the sun starts to rise, the wind against your face, the smell of saltwater, the bitter cold of a harsh winter

h e a d c a n o n s :

aksel has a dragon named valhalla (”val” for short) she’s a sand wraith, a medium-sized tidal class dragon that’s an expert in camouflage.

aksel and val have been partners since he was a baby and she was a hatchling. they bonded at an incredibly early age, and have grown up together

valhalla’s scales are a dusty brown, almost grey with spots of charcoal grey

as a dragon rider, aksel specialized in speed and stealth. while val’s fire attacks weren’t the most powerful and didn’t burn the hottest, her speed, silent flying, and knack for camouflage gave her an edge, especially in forest and mountainous environments

since aksel has been away, valhalla makes a habit of sitting by the spot where the portal opened up, hoping that maybe it will reappear and aksel will step through it

aksel is more intelligent than he’d readily show. much like hiccup, he has a knack for the forge and invention

he used to sit with hiccup in his workshop, watching his dad work to develop new innovations for the island. it’s what sparked aksel’s interest in the forge, metal working, and tinkering with trinkets

aksel, when he was younger, was so much like both hiccup and astrid. he was adventurous, loving, curious, had a strong sense of justice, stubborn, witty, intelligent. as he grew, he also developed their recklessness and tendency to not listen to orders

astrid @ hiccup when aksel wouldn’t do what he was told: “he’s your son��

hiccup @ astrid when he’d disregard what she’d said: “he’s your son”

he was trained in combat, although alva was always better at it than him. aksel was good and could hold his own, but was much better with his dragon

aksel can draw! he’s not really a creative artist, and used his skills more for his inventions and doodling pictures of val

he hasn’t drawn anything in years

aksel is demisexual and demiromantic. he doesn’t feel primary attraction to someone, but he does feel secondary attraction. it’s one of the reasons he was so effortlessly able to fall in love with eirik long after they were already close. those feelings of trust and friendship are what he needs to start to feel something for someone

he has yet to feel sexually attracted to someone. he could have felt it with eirik, had his friend lived and they’d had a romantic relationship he felt comfortable and confident in

aksel doesn’t know what his sexuality is yet. berk didn’t really have a comprehensive education on sexualities, and aksel was just noticing his romantic feelings for eirik when he died. since then, his grief has been his main focus

if asked, he wouldn’t really know what to answer. he knows he felt something for eirik (doesn’t know it was love), so boys are a thing. but he’s not uninterested in girls, because he’s not interested in anyone like he feels like he should be — how everyone else seems to be interested

unfortunately, it will take him some time to put a name to his orientation. seeing as he doesn’t let himself get close to people, and he needs to be close to someone to start feeling anything for them beyond friendship, he’s in a bit of a stand still self-discovery wise

his major is mechanics with a focus in industrial design, because that was what his parents put when they filled out his form to attend wda

surprisingly aksel is actually a good student. he couldn’t stand failing, even if he has a major sense of apathy towards everything else. however, in his mechanics/ID classes he puts in the minimal amount of effort to pass

i am sure his teachers see the potential in him, but aksel is so stubborn to stop himself from doing any of the things he used to love that he refuses to shine like he really could

definitely has a shitty participation grade

he does want friends, deep down. there is definitely a part of him that wants people to care for him again

aksel doesn’t really watch tv. they didn’t have it on berk, and he finds it somewhat mundane and mindless. that being said, sometimes he’ll turn on the tv to some useless channel just to have noise

aksel would majorly benefit from therapy

would go out on a limb and say he’s the least favorite of the 12

even his own sister can’t stand his bad attitude and misery ouch

compared to other viking settlements, berk is somewhat progressive in its view towards women. however, it still has a long ways to go

aksel never really noticed (typical) until he stopped caring about everything and everyone. it was then that he took notice to the difference in the way his parents and the village treated him and his sister

he’s actually glad that she’s here, and thinks she should have been the one they sent in the first place. she’d do so much better here than he ever would, and she actually wanted to be here as far as he could tell

doesn’t want to be here, doesn’t want to be home, doesn’t want to be anywhere

sometimes he just likes to piss off the other exchange students because he knows they all probably hate him. he gets a sick sort of satisfaction at irritating them so much that they leave him alone

and then he feels keenly and wholly lonely

he still hasn’t gotten used to computers, so he handwrites things first. as such, he carries a journal with him

it has some of his old, old sketches in it, as well as a little message eirik wrote on the corner of one page

it reads “hey, pay attention to me”

aksel hasn’t looked at that message in years, but he still keeps it with him and knows it’s there

q u i r k s :

all things considered, aksel’s physical and verbal quotes are quite subtle. they didn’t used to be, but he’s much more subdued and closed off now than he was before. he still has some quirks, but they’re fewer and far more subtle

rubs his neck when he’s nervous

aksel frowns, pouts, and furrows his brows when he’s confused — it’s actually really cute until he opens his mouth and inevitably says something rude

his eyebrows are the most expressive feature on his face for sure

they pinch together when he’s thinking

they arch skeptically when he’s questioning someone on their bullshit

he hasn’t smiled sincerely in a long time, but if he were to find something amusing he’d smirk and have this teasing, amused glint in his eyes

aksel taps his pencil against his thumb when he’s thinking through something he’s about to write

he narrows his eyes when he’s mad

he actually has a hard time holding eye contact with someone he’s having a pleasant conversation with. he tends to avert his gaze and only glance at them every so often

he’s an observant person and has a habit of looking at people when they aren’t looking at him, especially if he’s talking to them

he fiddles with things when he’s nervous

he used to shake his foot when he was frustrated while thinking through a project, but he hasn’t worked on anything in years

#☁ — ❝ musings. ❞#☁ — ❝ headcanons. ❞

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livingwithashipname-blog · 7 years

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Ermanda’s Inner Sanctum: Scorpion 3.14 “The Hole Truth”

Episode 3.14 is another solid “transition” episode that continues to highlight the character lessons for this season. It is also the last episode where we see Lea Thompson in the role as Veronica Dineen for now. She played her character well and she will be missed. This episode extends past the 9-minute mark before the first commercial break, clocking in at around 11 minutes. Usually, this means that the mission will be one-dimensional, but this episode gives us this with some extra bits in a flashback scenario. I love flashbacks that reveal new information and place current events into perspective. Another aspect I enjoy is the amount of suspense created in the scene between Paige and the “debt collector.” The dialogue and music works well together. Anyways, let’s hit the big stuff under the cut!

Sylvester’s Political Woes

Being himself means that Sly doesn’t naturally appeal to the average voter, especially when most public footage of him is cosplay. Of course, the team believes in him and knows him to be capable of more than his opponent’s mudslinging ad claims. But an ad like this does not convince the majority. This is apparent during the mission with the sandhog from West Altadenia who makes it clear he will not cast a vote for Sly as Alderman. Yet, all of this changes once this man sees Sly in action to save Cabe from drowning. He is thoroughly convinced that Sly is mentally equipped for the job. I sense this will become a pattern as we see more of Sly’s political journey where the public will learn more about Sly’s brave work with Scorpion and give him the pull he needs for votes. I hope Sly succeeds in his endeavors!

Paige & Veronica: One Last Ride

Veronica is right. Paige is good at holding down a con! You can say she’s learned from the best.

Since Veronica’s secret is out and has been made, she is determined to commission Paige’s help to get her money before she leaves town to escape those who are after her. Paige is not too thrilled about this because she has been trying very hard to separate herself from her mother’s occupation, but she obliges because Scorpion and Ralph are at risk the longer they wait to address this issue. This means that Paige has to excuse herself from her usual duties, but she is optimistic that her cumulative work in the past 2.5 years will get the team through this mission in her absence. She also considers it a chance to exercise her new approach with Walter.

Veronica is thrilled that Paige has decided to help her because she misses the days when they worked together for her numerous business deals. While this is questionable excitement for a parent whose criminalistic tendencies negatively impacted her relationship with her daughter, it is another opportunity for Veronica to open herself to Paige’s positive influence to do better for herself and try her best to use her gifts for good. Paige takes control of the situation and secures everything they need to get Veronica’s money.

This episode really shows Paige’s unique genius. I see a parallel with Paige in the pilot when she dumps all the chalk on the ground except for one piece which she hands to Sly to get him to task faster. It’s the same ingenuity she uses when she devises her plan from the radio report. This ability to think on her feet is what makes her so beneficial to the team. Their intellectual efficiency has rubbed off on her and she uses it in her own way.

Paige and Veronica also bond over several things in this episode. Paige shows how much she still cares for her mother since another one of her motivations behind helping her is to get her to stop running. Yet, Veronica is so committed to her lifestyle that it is hard for her to change. But this reality also serves as a lesson for Paige. Veronica exposes Paige’s internal conflict (which has been apparent this entire season) by questioning her feelings for Walter. While Paige has moved on, we have seen multiple instances where Paige has shown hesitation about her feelings and how she wants to tackle them. Plus, Paige still has her reservations with Walter over what she last heard from him about Tim (which conflicts the resolution Tim and Walter established). I ask these questions again for thought: who will reveal to Paige that Tim acknowledges that Walter didn’t push him away and puts things into perspective? Who will bridge the communication gap? I am very intrigued by these developments as they factor into the Waige flip this season.

Walter’s EQ Monitor

Since Paige has chosen to assist her mother, she hands her responsibility to Toby for the mission. As we have witnessed throughout this series, Toby or Cabe is second in command as behavioral adjuster. No surprise that Paige defers to Toby since this season has placed more focus on their friendship. However, Toby says that his relationship with Walter is complicated so his good intentions will backfire. Toby and Walter still have some kinks to work out in their friendship, which is understandable given everything that has happened between them this year/season. So Happy is the best choice! This is not surprising since her friendship with Walter, beyond the scope of the secret marriage, has been highlighted this season too. But she’s not too thrilled about it because she doesn’t think she has the capability to handle an emotionally-stunted Walter.

As the mission progresses, Walter’s comments further disintegrate the trust between the chief and him. He gets punched in the other eye as a result of another instance where he is logically astute but emotionally insensitive. (Get used to seeing this phrase a lot in my reviews when it comes to Walter and the other geniuses.) Of course, it is not right for the chief to punch Walter, but emotional breakdowns can bring out the worst in people at times, which is a two-fold lesson in this moment.

When he expresses his concern of this series of events, Toby propositions Happy for the assist. This moment shows that Paige’s new approach with Walter has some credence. Happy never tells Walter what to say to the chief to convince him of the new plan. She doesn’t even go to the chief and bridge the gap for him. She already failed at the latter. Happy reminds him of what Paige has already given him. His responsibility is to tap into that knowledge and use it for his benefit. So he bonds with the chief over the loss of someone close - his sister, Megan - in conjunction with the chief’s grief over a fellow co-worker who lost his life on the job six months ago. This rebuilds trust between Walter and the chief and convinces the chief to believe in Walter’s rescue plan. Go Walter! I am so proud of this low EQ genius.

Then Veronica gives him some key advice right before she leaves. She reminds him to keep working on himself and remain patient. Sounds similar to the advice Cabe gave Walter in 3.02 More Civil War. Of course, Paige picks up on it right away and seems slightly amused in the midst of her sarcastic remark. So I wonder how Walter will process everything that happened this day and apply it.

This has been a defining principle for Walter this season - learning to properly apply the EQ tools at his disposal for emotional regulation. There will always be times when intervention on his behalf is necessary. Yet, it is important for him to establish consistency in this endeavor. He will sink or swim, but overall he is forward progressing and this will continue to aid him in the future.

Toby Drama

If you have been following my reviews this season, then you are already aware of multiple points I make about what is next for Toby. Toby has remained resilient this season despite everything he’s encountered: green card marriage, false pregnancy, “ruined” Christmas, and financial woes that impact his wedding plans. In this episode, he makes a very poignant remark about the complicated status of his relationship with Walter. How does this manifest for the remainder of the season? It is possible that Walter is not the only one who will snap... expectation vs. reality.

Check out this association surrounding Toby from @scribeshan, which also contributes to this analysis!

Sink or Swim...

Who’s next in this lesson arc? It currently goes... Veronica → Paige → Walter → ...

Drabbles...

Toby (to Sly): You will be the first politician taken down by a “never-had-sex” tape. 😂😂😂😂😂

Walter: I was assaulted by a contract-breaching yogurt vendor. 😂😂😂😂😂😂 #butforealtho

Quintis’ “death con nuclear disaster” EQ scale for Walter is hilarious! 😂😂😂 The fact they even work on this together is cute. 💚

Toby: Remember if Walter and chief get into it again, you’re Paige. You have to fix it. Happy: Is jumping into the sinkhole an option? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Btw, I LOVE Happy’s jacket in this episode! Green is my favorite color. Notice her jackets have been open this entire season. Happy is definitely changing! 🙌🏾🙌🏾

Add Paige’s trench coat to clothing items I clearly need to steal from wardrobe! 😍

Cabe (to Sly and the sandhog): Oh I see, send in the old guy. 😂😂😂😂😂

Oh boy! Cabe has a unique relationship with water for season 3B so far. Lol! 😳

How did they dump that much mortar into that large sinkhole to counteract the amount of liquid entering it? Oh Scorpion and the concept of time... lol 👀 👀 👀

Ralph is such a cutie! I mean, when is he not?! It’s so sweet how he runs to his grandma! And the id scrambler... GENIUS! 🙌🏾😍

When Walter and Paige talk about the new plan to save her mother, it is hilarious to hear Walter say, “I assume you’ve heard I’ve been misbehaving.” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Veronica (to Walter): Keep working at it Pinocchio. Someday you’ll be a real boy. I can feel it! 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Paige: Guys! I need helping creating an offshore account. Omgness, Veronica Dineen stays hustlin’. Ha!

I love that Michael Beach was cast as the chief/foreman. Love his work! 🙌🏾

#ermanda's inner sanctum #cbs scorpion #s03e14 #the hole truth #scorpion cbs #team scorpion #episode review

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