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ofstoriesandstardust · 4 months

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like real people do (j.h.s.)

a/n: i watched set it up for the first time last night and got so inspired to write more for these two. please enjoy.

summary: A camping trip means secrets come a-tumbling out.

second star to the right (and straight on 'til morning)

warnings: swearing, allusions to sex

word count: 1.7k

“we could just kiss like real people do”

Jake huffs, letting his hands fall to his hips as he stares at his closet.

“I don’t own anything to go camping.” You peer over the top of your phone to your boyfriend whose frown is growing by the second.

“It’s one night Jake.”

“Who’s stupid idea was this anyways?” He grumbles, pulling a sweatshirt out of his closet before tossing it on the ground.

You don’t dare remind him camping had been Bradley’s idea, knowing it will only set him off further.

California offered relatively warm winters, but Bradley had found a campsite up north in Julian that was still open, offering the possibility of snow as an incentive to the group to go. Jake had been less than pleased by the idea but had caved to the enthusiasm of his friends, as long as you had promised to go with.

As the frustration grows in Jake's shoulders, you sigh.

“Jake, just come sit down for a second.”

He does, sliding across the bed. He positions himself to lay on top of you, in between your legs. His head meets your stomach as you reach down to curl your fingers in his hair.

With the season finally being over, he was letting it grow out a bit more than he normally did and you’d be lying to say you weren’t enjoying getting to curl your fingers in it at all moments.

“How is this gonna work Jake?” You mutter as his eyes flutter close. “You can barely keep your hands to yourself as it is.” He grunts, the vibrations settling against your stomach. “Are you gonna be able to manage while we’re out of town?”

He shrugs as his arms sneak under your body, wrapping around your stomach. “No.” He says petulantly. “Which is why I think we shouldn’t go. I can think of much better ways to spend our time than shivering our asses off in a sleeping bag on dirt for a night.”

He grins up at you through his eyelashes as you give him a displeased look. “We’re going.”

He groans, face falling into your stomach.

“You know, we could just tell them.”

After kissing Jake at Thanksgiving, he’d taken you out on date after date all the while asking you to keep it a secret from your friends. While he’d said at the time that it’s because they had all been so invested in the two of you getting together that they wouldn’t have let the two of you learn each other in private, you couldn’t help the pit in your stomach that it was because a guy like Jake didn’t want to be seen with a girl like you.

“No, because then they’re all gonna be up my ass.” His voice is muffled by the cotton of Jake’s t-shirt you’re wearing. “And I like having you all to myself.”

You sigh, beginning to push back his hair again. “We’re gonna have to tell them eventually.”

“Yeah, eventually. Right now, you’re all mine.”

Having to keep his hands to himself is killing him, you can tell.

Jake hadn’t gotten to sit next to you in the car, which had already started the trip off poorly. Javy had been riding shotgun with Natasha driving, Bradley in the middle of you and Jake.

It had been fine, until Mickey and Reuben had bickered too much and Bob had pulled their car over and made Mickey switch cars with Jake.

You’d gotten to the campsite later than anticipated, which had made things worse. In the way sleeping arrangements played out, he was with Reuben and Bradley (both notorious for snoring and snoring loudly), Mickey and Bob in a tent together, and Nat and Javy in another. You’d managed to end up by yourself as Bradley’s girlfriend hadn’t been able to make it at the last minute due to a work emergency.

And now, you’re sitting with Nat and Bob and Mickey, playing cards as the rest of the guys stand around the grill, chatting about the upcoming baseball season at school.

Except for Jake who’s sitting by the firepit, looking decidedly irritated.

Apparently, having to keep his hands to himself meant that Jake had decided he couldn’t talk to you at all, which was now irritating you.

As you sit down with your food, you sit next to Jake, tugging his shirt. You want to appreciate the way it brings out his eyes but you can’t as you drop your voice. All your friends were still by the picnic table, but Jake had apparently decided he wasn’t eating.

“You need to chill.” You whisper. “This is supposed to be fun.”

“Well, I’m not having any fun.”

“And whose fault is that?”

Jake crosses his arms as his nostrils flare. He turns away from you, kicking his feet up on the edge of the fireplace.

“Jake.” You say firmly. “You need to go get food and breathe. You’re being a downer. I understand you don’t want to be camping but try to be a good sport about it. It’s one night; you don’t need to drag your way through it by starving and isolating yourself.”

He lets out a lengthy breath, his shoulders relaxing as he does. “Don’t let Bradshaw take my spot.” He grumbles, standing up.

“Never.”

He’s gonna walk into the creek near their campsite and find a way to drown himself in it because he can not fucking take any more of this.

He glances at his watch, seeing that it's past 3.

The group had been up late, sharing stories and playing games but after you’d called it a night just past midnight, he’d lost interest. Unfortunately for him, Reuben had already crashed an hour prior and Bradley had called it when you did.

Meaning, he was trapped between two of the world’s most obnoxious snorers. He’s sure the two men can sleep through an earthquake and he’s not sure how they wake up to their alarms for early morning practice.

He’d hardly gotten to hang out with you tonight and not in the way he wanted. He wanted to be able to have you sit in his lap, a blanket on top for warmth as you slowly started to drift off on his chest. He wanted to be able to rub circles into your thighs and run his fingers through your hair. He wanted to kiss you and hold you and laugh with you.

He knew that he couldn’t because of his own stupid rule.

A particularly loud snore from Bradley sends him rocketing up from his sleeping bag, exhaustion and irritation driving him as he tugs the tent close before walking the ten paces or so to your tent. He doesn’t even think as he slides in, tugging at the zipper of your sleeping bag.

“Jake? What’re you doing?” You ask, more awake than he thinks you should be for the hour.

“Scoot.” He says and you accommodate him, moving over in the two-person sleeping bag you’d borrowed from Nick and Carole. “I can’t fucking sleep with those two.”

He feels his body instantaneously relax at your warmth, arms sliding around you to bring you into his chest. “Can’t say it’s much better in here.”

“Don’t care.” He says, tucking his head into your shoulder, finally feeling himself breath. “I just want to be with you.”

You wake up next morning to the sounds of your friends, the chittering of birds, and the sunlight streaming through your tent.

“-haven’t seen Jake.”

“Maybe he went to piss in the middle of the night and got lost and eaten by a bear.” You can hear Bradley say.

Horrors dawns on you as you realize they’re looking for Jake, who obviously isn’t in his own tent as he’s clinging to you, deep in sleep and tucked into your shoulder.

“Shit.” You whisper. “Shit shit shit. Fuck, Jake, wake up.” You push his shoulder but all he does is groan, tugging you closer to him. “No, no, fuck Jake, wake up. They’re looking for you. Fuck, our friends are gonna find out. Jake-”

A shadow appears in front of the opening of your tent as they bend down to unzip it. You feel like you can’t breathe as it reveals Javy, the boy already talking.

“Hey, sorry to wake you. We can’t find Jake and I’m starting to- oh.” You grimace as a grin grows on his face. He turns, shouting behind him. “Never mind, I found him!”

A full-belly laugh sounds as Bradley peaks over Javy’s shoulder. “Oh, you’re kidding. Oh my God, fucking finally!” He shouts, laughing as he talks. Jake finally stirs at that, letting one hand go of you as he reaches behind you for one of your shoes. Once he finds it, he chucks it behind him, wildly missing.

Nat snorts. “Nice aim, Seresin.”

“Fuck off!” He groans, finally turning to face the group crowded around. “You people-” He says, pointing between Reuben and Bradley, “-kept me up all goddamn night so the least you can do is let me enjoy the morning in peace with my girl.”

“His girl.” Bob repeats, an amused smile on his face.

“Yes, Bobby. My girl. We’ve been dating since Thanksgiving and we can talk about it later but please go away.”

Javy throws his hands up in mock defeat before tugging the zipper close.

Jake tucks himself back into you, hiding his face in your shoulder.

“You’re not usually so grumpy in the mornings.” You whisper.

Jake likes slow mornings. He likes getting to spend hours in bed with you, cuddling and taking you apart over and over again before pulling you from bed and making breakfast with you in the kitchen, a full spread. He likes the slowness, the quiet, a luxury he’s not usually afforded during the season. He’s sweet and sleepy and you think that you could love him most in those morning moments.

He doesn’t respond, already falling back asleep against you. You wish you could sleep too, but you’re too awake and have never slept well on the floor of a tent, the ground lumpy beneath you.

It does mean, however, that you get to hear Bob smugly announce to the group that they all owe him money.

#jake hangman seresin #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake hangman seresin fic #second star to the right (and straight on 'til morning)

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iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia · 3 months

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The Arcana HCs: Muriel's birthday

~ here's the other birthday I missed (September 10th) while I was on hiatus. enjoy! ^.^ ~

You know he doesn't like surprises. He doesn't like surprises at all

You also know that if he knew that you were planning something for his birthday, he'd draw the line at anything more involved than a cupcake, and even that would be stretching it

The solution is to make the kinds of plans he'll be okay with, and keeping the happy extra details to yourself

A picnic. Surely he'll be okay with a picnic on his special day, at least so that the friends who care about him can come by and wish him without the stress of having them in the hut?

He pouts, but he agrees, assuming that if he lets you have this then you won't trying doing anything else

He assumes wrong, in the most delightful way

You meet with all those invited one at a time, informing them of the picnic, making a suggestion or two for something fun to bring, and asking that (if they were planning on getting him anything) they send their gifts for him to you ahead of time

Because as much as Muriel is learning to accept nice things for himself, you know it's easier for him to do when he's not facing the pressure of multiple pairs of eyes

The morning of his birthday, you wake up while it's still dark

Inanna's snout is in your face, her wet nose snuffling in your ear as she cautiously straddles your sleeping figure and tries to wake you up without disturbing Muriel

This is something you have asked her to do - you don't know how else you'd be able to wake up and feed the chickens before he does

Getting out of bed without waking him is another matter. He's a heavy sleeper, sure, but he's also got heavy arms. Being pinned under them is a wonderful feeling until you're trying to sit up

Inanna guards you carefully as you walk outside to feed the chickens, collecting fresh eggs for breakfast before tiptoeing back inside the hut

It's a chilly autumn morning. The cold is already seeping into your bones after leaving the warmth of the furs and Muriel's steady supply of body heat, so you rush to build up the fire

The sounds of you starting breakfast don't wake him up. Neither does the slow brightening of the dawn through the window, or the growing fire in the hearth

No, it's the smell of mushrooms frying in the skillet

You try to convince him to sleep in a little longer, but he's already slept longer than usual without the hungry chickens scratching outside and Inanna pawing at his face

(the poor wolf does, in fact, get a fondly annoyed look for her betrayal, waking you up instead of him)

He's sleepy and relaxed and happy, bedhead falling over his stubble, morning voice even deeper than it already is

Eating breakfast together is a precious moment. He doesn't realize you're doing this for his birthday until you wish him, and his smile is slow and bittersweet. He never thought he'd have a birthday like this, but he's glad he does

You pull out his gifts afterwards. Warm clothes from Nadia, a fresh pouch of myrrh from Asra in a seventeen, now eighteen year long tradition, a salve for chapped hands from Julian ...

He grumbles over each one as though his fond smile isn't visible, taking his time to admire them before pressing a shy kiss to your temple in thanks

It gives him just enough time to plan his thank yous before you need to pack your picnic lunch and meet them out in the fields

Much to his surprise, it's easier than expected. There's no overwhelming crowds besides the curious ants that stop by

Between Nadia's social graces, Asra's old familiarity, and Julian's capacity to hog all the awkwardness, conversation flows seamlessly and Muriel finds himself quickly caught up in it

After you've eaten comes the one proper surprise you've prepared - flying kites

The autumn winds are brisk and cool, perfect for carrying the whimsical paper creations into the clouds

Watching the Countess of Vesuvia go sprinting down a hill with an excited shout trying to get her kite into the air is also quite the refreshing scene

The afternoon passes by faster than Muriel is used to. Soon enough, both the sky and fields are turning a fiery golden from the sunset, and it's time to head home

You give him some time to himself before dinner - it's been an unusually social day, after all - but he's more than happy to sit close to you as you roast vegetables over a campfire outside the hut

Sitting back against a fallen log side-by-side, feeling the cold nip at your noses while you snuggle together for warmth, smelling the smoke from the campfire as you watch it float towards the stars

The kisses you share there are sweet, happy, full of promises for a good year to come, and eventually, very sleepy

He might be used to feeding the chickens at dawn, but you're not. He's carrying you to bed

#ask arcana brainrot #the arcana #the arcana headcanons #the arcana hc #the arcana game #muriel of the kokhuri #muriel the arcana

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dapandapod · 2 years

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Half awake thoughts about transmasc Jask.

Because

Maybe he leaves Lettenhove in skirts and long hair, with a chaperone he has had since childhood.

And one evening he breaks down crying to her, finally daring to express his feelings about being a man. And she holds him and soothes him and lets him know he is safe with her.

And after that, she starts investigating how to help. She finds fashion that is more androgynous, she cuts his hair short, she speak of him as her young lord when he says he feels good enough to do all of this in public.

His parents send him angry letters, which she takes from his hands and burns when his tears start falling.

When Jaskier finds his first true friend, she is there, supporting him.

Eventually, in his second year of school, they meet Valdo. The man is an absolute arse and a delight, because as much as they seem to hate each other, he challenges Jaskier to evolve, to get better, surer in his identity and his way of performing. Not once does he question Jaskier being a man, not once does he mention the occasional dress, but his lack of fashion sense, poor taste in ale and lovers, his playing.

But it isn’t until he meets the mage from Aretusa, the one who bespells the sorceresses' bodies when they graduate, that he starts to enjoy singing properly.

Jaskier pays the mage every penny he has to have his body changed to fit who he is, and only later does he learn his maid added what coin she had.

This is when singing becomes his life. He performs at the local taverns to earn his keep, to keep his hand maid protected, and she smiles, and cups his cheek, and calls him her Julian.

And when he leaves Oxenfurt to become a traveling bard, he always sends money home to her, returns to her as often as he can to support her as she supported him.

And to slander Valdo, because that bitch is still bitching.

And when he finally meets Geralt and they become comfortable enough to be friends, to talk about things, Geralt points at Jaskier’s chest and wonders who hurt him.

“These scars are not from hurting, my friend, but from healing.”

And then they fall in love and live happily ever after. Yes.

#trans!jaskier #the witcher #jaskier the bard #her little julek #yes i am getting emotional over this #valdo the best frenemy #headcanon #geraskier #geralt x jaskier #dapanda writes #ish #close enough

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linguist-in-a-blanket · 3 months

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I saw so many BBC Ghosts fans here trashing the American version that I finally gave up and watched the original.

Well, thanks, I hate it.

Some of the plots were more amusing, yes. I personally liked how the sister story played off. I mean, when in American version we see Jo from Mythic Quest show up with that "nice" smile for one episode, we know what's up from the first second. When it's a seemingly genuine woman who has a couple of episodes to actually earn Alison's and our trust, it's much better. I also liked most of the ones that didn't make it into the remake.

But the core of this premise is characters. And British characters... They're just bad, I'm sorry, they're bad. They are all one note! There is no arc for anybody! Even the most annoying one, Thomas! His whole thing is that he doesn't know what boundaries or consent are, and this goes on for five seasons! Come on, man! Trevor in the American version has charisma, and he comes a long way in just 2 and half seasons we've seen him. This all really makes up for him being a huge jerk: at least he's a lovable jerk, plus he changes. Julian is not lovable at all, Thomas never changes, he's the same since episode 1 till the finale one. Why should we care about two one-note jerks? Flower has a lot about herself aside from being not-all-here: sex-drive, pacifism, commitment issues, basketball, backstories about at least three close people from her life (two boyfriends and brother)... Kitty is just a stupid cutie who is not-all-here, nothing else.

And this drives me to my next point. Such one-note characters without any development simply cannot have a deep connection. Nobody likes each other in this show. I've seen a lot of takes that American ghosts and Sam are friends, while British ghosts and Alison are family. Well, if you mean an abusive family that you can't get away from, that never gives you any good feelings, sure. But do we really need that? Whom of the ghosts does Alison actually like? She hates Thomas and Fanny (never has this realization about her unrealized motherly feelings, and Fanny herself never realizes why she is like she is and how she can change), she doesn't understand Robin (after spending a day with him and learning what he knows, she just gives him to Fanny as a pet), at the very best she pities Kitty. The only one who actually likes Alison as a person is Kitty, but she has her own projections, she is like a duckling who saw the first person near them and said "mommy". She's actually not much better than Thomas in that way, same level of neediness and clinginess, just more lovable than him, and it's not sexual harrassment, more... platonic harrassment? Yay?..

By the way, Alison also doesn't change. Whenever she sees a new ghost in a new place, she is creeped out. This was okay in the beginning, but after living in a house with 9+ ghosts for a couple of years, she is still creeped out by others! Oh, I'm so sorry for your inconvenience, mam, this guy just, you know, didn't have anybody to see him or talk to him in a couple of centuries, but no, no big deal, sure. Sam is fascinated by her gift, she is always happy to explore and talk to new ghosts, Alison just finds it weird and unsettling, even after, what, five years? Girl, you are a fucking superhero! Talk to the invisible people, damn you!

Sure, it could be about not being able to change, especially after you're dead, but then... why? Why should we look at bad people who stay bad, and most importantly, why should we look at them for five seasons?

When Alison weighed pros and cons for staying, she put "ghosts" in both columns. I'm sorry, but why? We almost never see her enjoying their company, almost never see the ghosts helping her (which is petty, but when American ghosts did this for Sam a couple of first times, that's when she warmed up to them)... They are always an incovenience for Alison. Never do they respect any boundaries, all they can do is do one big gesture (song, dance, theater) and move on to being annoying and needy. Never can they hear "no", never can they respect what she asks of them.

Sam says a lot of times she can't leave the ghosts, and I believe her. Even Jay loves the American ghosts! Sam has this whole group of friends and enjoys their company. They all have connections with each other and with the livings. British don't, they move in a pack and look for somebody to annoy, be that Alison or that poor neighbor ghost.

#cbs ghosts #bbc ghosts #ghosts cbs #ghosts bbc

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idiotwithanipad · 2 months

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-Headcanons for Robin I've had going through my head for hours now🫣

・Robin went millions of years without knowing about his power over electricity. So maybe he found out about lightning somehow through a living who stayed/lived at Button House and all of his memories before his death added up. The last thing he would've heard and seen would be a loud bang and a flash of light... Then nothing, not really any indication that THAT was the cause of his death...back then anyway. And we know that when his emotions are at their peak, he causes lights to flicker and bulbs to blow, maybe one day he was at near breaking point for whatever reason in whatever emotion and a bulb blew right by him (kinda like how in Matilda when she looks at the TV, gets angry, and it explodes)? Then he began practicing on lights placed around the house.

・At some point, Robin obviously learned that he died because of lightning, not the bear (even though he still blames the bear😂) and the science behind lightning related deaths: essentially cooking to death from the inside. He knows what lightning can do because when he rushes to save Mike in that one episode he keeps looking up at the sky, he knows what he's about to do and he's watching to make sure he gets there in time to make his move. He knows that he's the only one who can save Mike because lightning IS electricity.

・Robin and Mary most likely felt more connected to each other after learning about each other's deaths. Robin knows how Mary died since he was a witness to it all, he saw that Mary was innocent... Strange, but innocent🥰 So after learning about how Robin died, Mary most likely felt less alone in her circumstances; She burned to death on the outside, he burned to death on the inside

・Robin most likely has a gaydar. He's seen homosexuality all throughout the ages in all shapes and sizes, even in his own tribe. There was most likely a hunky guy in the tribe who could snap a Mammoth tusk in half with his bare hands. Back in his day, who WOULDN'T be attracted to that?😂 Most likely the reason he knows about The Captain and Anthony Havers. Other than seeing it with his own eyes, he probably had an inkling that The Captain had feelings for Anthony Havers; Robin picks up on small details, so he'd be keeping an eye on body language and eye contact between two people. He'd know instantly. (Also Robin would definitely be president of the Button House Pride club if there was one😂

・Robin has a soft spot for kids. Clearly, he had many many of his own babies, so he's very used to them. But look how he behaves around children and young teens; when Sophie Bone (age 12) comes to Button House, he's all over her like a rash trying to pick up on what she's saying... And ends up learning a wholeass language... Let that sink in. He also most likely never left her side during her many years there, he slept on her window seat for crying out loud🥺) Then there was those kid's birthday party at the house. Even though they couldn't see him, he was still dancing around and being silly with them. Then after Julian accidentally caused a cup to fall on the floor and smash, he rushed over to it and tried to tell Alison, maybe because he knew it was sharp and one of the kids could cut their foot on it? 🥺and did you hear his laugh in that scene, like did you really listen to the way he laughs... Heartstrings WERE tugged🥹

・Robin most likely felt a little bit paternal over Kitty. He watched her grow from a child into a young woman, he obviously knows her better than he'd probably like to admit. When Kitty is upset, he doesn't just brush it off like everyone else, he sticks around to tell her it's okay to cry and that it'll make her feel better (🥺❤️) along with Mary (surrogatemumanddad). They stay with her until she falls asleep and LOOK at how they melt when she does sleep, like LOOK

When Kitty sings, look at the faces Robin and Mary make, tell me those AREN'T the faces of parental bliss😂 (I also don't think it's a coincidence that they sat Robin and Mary next to each other in that scene).

Just the way they look at Kitty in general

Then there's this..

Kitty got the lead role an he was proud, need I say more...And during their pantomime rehearsal when Fanny badmouths Kitty (Cinderella), the look on Robin's face. He's like 'we're just gonna ALLOW this?!

・Robin most likely related to Pat in most ways. He knows what it's like to be taken away from his family so quickly so soon, especially with so much depending on him. When Pat goes into a depressive state over his family coming to pay their respects, especially with his wife and former best friend, he gets conflicted. But look at Robin, he's hella quick to jump in and correct Thomas's harshness. He knows how it feels after all; being forced to just WATCH your family mourne, not being able to tell them you're alright, and then comes a day where they stop coming. Robin most likely lingered in that spot where he died for hours in confusion, until his tribe began to search, and when they finally found him it devastated them. His sister's sorrowful, wailing cries, his children huddled around him trying to wake him up, the elders and possibly his parents saying blessing to Moonah to watch over him😭Robin doesn't sugarcoat the situation, like telling Pat to enjoy it while it lasts or to hope for the best, he tells Pat how it REALLY is because he's been there countless times with countless tribes and families. Times gonna pass, things are gonna change and you won't see the people you love ever again, but more will come (honestly Robin should be called 'Owl' cause he's wise asf🥹❤️)

Robin, you marvelous man, stunning specimen, special little scrunkly, NEVER change you're the loml Fr❤️❤️😭

#bbc ghosts #robin the caveman #larry rickard

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azquine · 1 year

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Captain and Thomas both need to realise that they are shit at some things and that's ok. They don't have to be great leaders or poets. They don't have to be romantically desirable or athletically fit. They don't have to be the best at twister. Realising they ARE shit certain things would actually give them space to IMPROVE at those very things! Whereas currently they are blustering through each day wondering why the people surrounding them aren't giving the reactions they want.

Juxtaposing them is Julian who needs to realise that excelling is not always good. This man would brag about his ability to make someone cry, I'm sure he has bragged about how good he is at cheating on his wife in canon even if I can't think of an example right now. It's almost as though by putting his focus on the amoral things he IS good at he can ignore the more basic human areas he fails in (e.g being a husband and father)

Pat I feel gets so rooted in his routines he naturally gets better at the things he practices, but never comes across anything he isn't already at least ok at. He seems to like his comfort zone a LOT, and would only venture out of it with a lot of research and preparation beforehand (kind of removing the unexpected aspect of trying new things)

Fanny, Kitty, and Mary were very much taught differently to the men. As women they could never be as good as something as a man oh no. And so they internalise that, learn to underestimate themselves as much as they are underestimated.

Kitty as an adoptee would always be seen as less than her sister. The true daugher would always be believed first. But she still tries so earnestly and puts her whole self behind the things she enjoys, regardless of if others think it is good. If there were any spite behind it I would call it a rebellion. Perhaps it would become such with more thought into negative aspects of her past

Fanny was not trusted to uphold the family with her math skills, and thus was forced into a role others felt she could better fulfill. So she learnt to embody that role as best she could. Until she could not see anything beyond the boundaries of her place. And even then her husband does not believe in her ability to keep a secret. He denies her the choice, but she proves him wrong. She focuses more on the abilities and flaws of those surrounding her, and with the focus on someone else she can avoid the judgement both internal and external upon herself

And Mary as a member of the peasantry would have experienced this from two directions. And we can see the affect in how long it took for her voice to be regained. She could have been the most virtuous being on earth, but as everyone around her saw her use as lesser and spent nobody bothered to defend her. She was thrown to the flames at the first cry of witch. She would only ever engage in activities on others levels, waiting until others had already begun to join in. It is a shame she could not interact with anything anymore, because there are SO many areas in which Mary has expertise the others have NONE of either as modern or noble beings. Pat would come the closest, but only recreationally.

Humphrey and Robin really just seem to vibe through the centuries, as underestimated as they are they are pretty assured in their own worth and abilities. The Tory with a first from Cambridge says the uneducated caveman cannot beat him in chess? Robin shows him he is wrong. Humphrey is neglected and ignored? He'll amuse himself with his witticisms and take the conversation when it comes.

I don't know how to conclude this. Hope you enjoyed the monologue I guess?

#bbc ghosts #thomas thorne #the captain #julian fawcett #pat butcher #fanny button #mary ghosts #kitty ghosts #robin ghosts #humphrey bone #infodump #i tried to add a read more but tumblr mobile wont let me #ramble

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youngpettyqueen · 2 months

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alright as promised- Julian and Garak and Garashir thoughts on A Stitch in Time!

also, I am going to note before I even begin. yes, I ship Garashir, but im also going to focus on not viewing their dynamic entirely through a shipping lens. Garashir as a ship will be brought up, yes, but im making a concentrated effort to also discuss their relationship as presented because them as a duo compels me even without my shipping goggles on

without further ado, lets get into it-

I think the most important thing to take from how Julian and Garak are presented in A Stitch in Time is that Garak cares about Julian very, very deeply. whether you interpret that as romantic or not is up to you, but its at least made very clear that Garak cares about Julian. a lot. which, yes, we know from the show that Garak cares, but the depth of his care is truly revealed in this book

I think its safe to say that this book is the most open we see Garak be with Julian. and im not just saying in their scenes together- this entire book was written by Garak, for Julian to read. a chronicle of his history, entries made during their time on DS9, and letters written about what he's doing now on Cardassia, all written for Julian to read. this book is, quite literally, Garak showing everything he is to Julian. which is fucking incredible. we know Garak is a closed-off person and very defensive of himself, we see exactly WHY he's that way, and we're seeing that only because he's spelling it all out to give to Julian. this is an openness that Garak hasn't ever afforded himself in a relationship. and I think its for good reason that the first time he is this open and this honest, its with Julian

I was deeply compelled by Garak's point of view on his and Julian's relationship in the entries that took place during DS9. I love how distant they became from each other, and how strained things got. I never would've read it that way with just the show, and now I cant wait to do a rewatch with this new information in mind. Garak thinks Julian has ended their relationship, he thinks Julian doesnt want to learn any more from him, and he doesnt understand why. he's upset about it- he's mad! his feelings are hurt! but he cant let go. and that ties in with the sentimentality we see in Garak throughout the rest of the book. Garak could no more let go of his connection with Julian than he could his connection with Paladine when he was still on Cardassia. he still answers when Julian calls. he still calls Julian himself. even drifted apart, theyre still connected. they still care. and thats why they come back together before the end of the series- they still love each other. platonically, romantically, however you want to interpret it, you cannot deny that these two love each other

as for Julian's side of this rift. I dont think Julian sees their relationship as over, but I think he can tell something's off. Julian is very awkward in many of his scenes with Garak, and doesnt seem to know how to approach him, or even how to talk to him sometimes. whatever Julian believes is going on here, he knows something's wrong. so, in true Julian fashion, even though he doesnt know what to do or say, he reaches out. he keeps reaching out. he goes out of his way to get Garak's favourite food hand-made. he answers when Garak calls. he calls Garak. he tries to apologize. he tries, he tries, he tries. because he knows, whatever's going on, that he wants to be there for Garak. he wants to help. such is the nature of Julian Bashir- he always just wants to help

I love that his attempts to help are clumsy. the argument Julian and Garak have about Federation vs Cardassian politics is great! because we know Julian is trying to help, but Julian has a habit of being a bit condescending and even arrogant in assuming his way is the right way, and I love that Garak actually gets mad about it here. this argument really highlights just how different Julian and Garak are, but it also serves to point out just how strained Garak is with everything going on with the Dominion and Cardassia at this point. Garak is surprised at his own outburst, and I think part of it is because he's typically better at hiding his feelings, but I also think part of it is that he's this mad towards Julian. I dont think its a stretch to say that this might be reminding Garak of the events of Our Man Bashir. that episode comes up multiple times throughout the DS9 entries, and is an event that Garak associates with him and Julian drifting apart. its also the episode where we see Garak get mad at Julian about these same things- namely his arrogance, in assuming he can save everyone and that things will work out. while at first it surprised me that Garak saw these events as driving a wedge between him and Julian, in hindsight, I think it makes total sense

the idea of Julian pulling away from Garak after Our Man Bashir is what makes it make complete sense. Julian trying to apologize in the last entry for DS9 is what really makes it- he feels bad for hurting Garak. and he avoids talking about it, but he pointedly doesnt deny that he would've killed Garak if he had to, to save the others. of course the guilt of that's been eating him. of course he pulled away. because after Our Man Bashir, as we get into s5 and beyond, we see Julian start to go down a darker path. we see Julian kill. we see him lie, and manipulate, and do harm. we see him forced to compromise his morals, or compromise them by his own choice. so, yeah, it makes sense that he's pulling away from Garak

on the topic of episodes that get brought up- I love that Julian only pulls away further after the events of Doctor Bashir, I Presume? I'd wondered how that episode might've impacted his relationship with Garak, since we dont see it at all in the show besides Garak starting to make cracks at Julian about being augmented. I love that Julian being outed as being augmented played a part in him and Garak drifting apart. if theres one thing I wish would've been included in the DS9 entries, I wish we could've seen if Garak and Julian talked either during or right after the events of that episode. I think it'd be interesting, though, if they didnt. I think it'd be interesting if they never talked about it. I honestly think that could track with how they've drifted apart at this point. it'll be left up to me to wonder, I think, but its all very fascinating

I love that despite everything, Garak's respect and admiration for Julian is always clear- especially when it comes to traits like his kindness. its nice to see that, despite how Garak always gets on Julian's case about his naivety and optimism, he actually does love these so-called "soft things" about Julian. he loves his kindness. he loves his selflessness. he loves that desire Julian has to just help everybody around him. I think this kindness is what really helps pull their relationship back together, in more ways than one

for one thing, I think if Julian wasn't his kind and loving and open self, I dont think Garak would be able to be as open as he is with him. Garak is very much used to people having multiple agendas, and Julian is just not like that. Julian is open and honest to a fault, with his only big secret being that he was augmented, and once thats out in the open, he doesnt have anything left to hide. Julian and Garak's relationship might've started with Julian clumsily trying to be a spy, but it quickly became just... a friendship. Julian doesnt want anything from Garak besides a relationship. he just wants Garak. and its this honest, open approach to that that reminds Garak that this is Julian, who he can trust, and thats what lets them mend this thing between them

I also think its crucial that Garak's respect and admiration for Julian's kindness ultimately overpowers his desire to teach Julian his ways. Garak sees their relationship as over because he believes that Julian doesnt want to learn from him. the hurdle that Garak has to overcome here is that he needs to see that Julian can still learn from him, but not in the way he thinks. Garak has to learn that Julian doesnt need to learn how to be a hardened spy from him. he doesnt need to learn how to close himself off, or be more cynical- what he gets from Garak, what he learns from Garak, is how to be challenged. Garak challenges Julian constantly, forces him to think about things from different perspectives he otherwise wouldnt have considered. Julian gets caught up in believing his way is the right way, he cant always see the other side of things, and Garak is the one who will make him see it. thats why their relationship, even when its distanced, is never over- because Julian is still learning from Garak as he continues to challenge him, and Garak is still learning from Julian as he learns that sentimentality isnt a weakness after all

the last entry set in DS9 means the entire world to me. Garak immediately calling Julian after a nightmare. Julian going to him. the discussion they have. Garak realizing what he has to do. the apologies Julian tries to make, and how Garak won't let him. the way they come together again at last, and you know theyre going to be ok. Garak calling him Julian... you have to wonder if this is the first time Garak has actually called him by his name, because to my memory he doesnt do so at any point in the show. and of course its Julian who makes Garak see what he needs to do, and where he needs to be. just, that entire scene. its so important to me. you can feel the love, and it feels like a sigh of relief, because they've finally bridged this gap between them

to me, though, the most loving bit is the very end of the novel. Garak inviting Julian to come to his home, and see what he's done. Garak has just documented pretty much his entire life and sent it to Julian so that Julian will know every part of him, and he's ended it by inviting Julian to his home. holy shit. this is where the shipping goggles go on cause oh my god. Garak has just gone "here's my heart. here's my soul. here's my core. here's everything that's made me into me. here's what I was thinking when we weren't talking. here's how much I missed you. here's everything youve ever done for me. nothing would make me happier than you coming to see me. come see my home. come see what ive done. I love you. come to my home." this entire novel is such a massive display of vulnerability and trust, of an openness Garak has never allowed himself to express, and it end it by inviting Julian to come to his home? im going to fucking explode.

Garak wasn't this open with Palandine. he wasn't this open with Pythas. he wasn't this open with Tolan, with Mila, with Tain- there's been nobody he's been this open with. his relationship with Julian is so much different than any other relationship he's had, just for the fact that he can be truly, openly himself. and he knows he can be, because he knows Julian. this novel really highlights how well Garak knows Julian, and understands him- he knows Julian will accept him for who he is, because Julian always has. Julian would never be as harsh on Garak as Garak is on himself, Julian is the kind voice in his head, and its exactly BECAUSE he sees Garak for who he is: a man who's trying his best. nobody else has ever seen that in Garak- I dont think even Palandine saw it. I think she probably got the closest to seeing it, and I think Pythas too might've gotten close had they not been separated for so long, but nobody ever got close to Garak like Julian managed to

I think however you interpret the Julian and Garak dynamic, you can read this book and understand that these two love each other. deeply. whether that means platonically or romantically you can interpret yourself, but however you define it, the love is still undeniably there. do I think its romantic? hell yeah. they make me fucking insane and every interaction between them in this book made me scream out loud. but I think its a testament to how theyre written that the love is there no matter how you read it, and that their relationship is just incredibly solid all around. Andrew Robinson clearly put a lot of work and love and thought into how he portrayed these two, and it shows in every scene, every line where Garak even thinks about Julian

alright gonna wrap up because this is getting. so long. I love that this book wasn't about their relationship, but it also was. because this book is, of course, about Garak. but it was written by Garak, for Julian. and it ends perfectly, with Garak holding a hand out and going "you're always welcome, doctor." so, yeah, this is Garak's story, but it's also Garak's story for Julian, and that makes me, personally, feel a little insane

#star trek: ds9 #a stitch in time #elim garak #julian bashir #otp: I need to know that someone forgives me #be impressed I managed to keep myself coherent cause im vibrating as I type #the ending of the book does fuel my hc that Julian goes to Cardassia #stays for a bit and then goes back to DS9 #and then returns a few days later with all his stuff cause he sees the work that needs to be done #and the nature of Julian Bashir is that he's always going to help #no matter what #and he stays on Cardassia and he stays with Garak and they kiss about it <3 #god these two rot my brain #anyways there 2 huge posts about A Stitch in Time #what a fucking book #shoutout to Andrew Robinson #will be sending him the bill for my therapy

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grimanonrexwrites · 2 months

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ooh, what ships make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? friendship and romantic ships, whichever you feel like talking about

Ohhohoooho this is a question I will very much enjoy answering, thank you! I will go fandom by fandom from most recent hyperfixation to past ones that I still love and regard fondly as one might a nice ornament on the mantle piece

Ghosts, specifically Cap (romance/queerplatonic):

Capvers: a classic, 99.9% confidence interval on being canon, love fics which explore it in the timeframe or in modern AUs. Can’t go wrong with it

PatCap: the grumpy one is soft for the sunshine one. 10/10. They’re both human, they both have faults and they love each other because of them and not despite them.

Caphrey (or deCAPitation, source unknown for this genius name): Humphrey can smooth out Cap’s rough edges in a different way to Pat. I love Humphrey, he tried so hard. So did Cap. I love their potential for comfort and understanding in a different way to others.

JuliCap: the Captain deserves to feel good and feel sexy and I think this Julian would be a great for exploring his sexuality in a more adventurous way. I have a real soft spot for JuliCap and have made tentative plans for a beast!Julian and beauty!Cap fic in the future.

CapRroh: Robin has just so much depth to him, he’s seen a lot and he knows the Cap has been through it too. So much comfort potential here (bonus points for JuliCapRroh polycule, absolutely delicious)

CapThorne: I just think it’s neat! Let Cap be wooed! Let Thomas be moved away from his infatuation with Alison and realise that he’s in love with the idea of being in love with her and not actually in love with Alison herself!

Special mention to Alison and Mike to being a genuinely wonderful on-screen couple, Chess Husbands, Pat/Julian and Annie/Mary (my beloveds)

Non-romantic (friend/found-family)

Kitty and Captain: their friendship means so much for me. Kitty and Cap finding a reassuring and understanding presence in each other, learning with each other, overcoming their trauma’s together and just finding safety.

Cap and Fanny: the gin and gossip society of Button House. Also regularly joined by Humphrey (who is also a massive gossip).

Kitty and Fanny: I can’t put this into words other than to say that Kitty would drag Fanny kicking and screaming into the future. Fanny doesn’t call Cap or Robin for tech support, she calls Kitty. Mary too.

JJK:

Nanami Kento/Gojo Satorou: this ship makes me feel so many things. God I love it.

Also I love the different dynamic of mentor-student relationship between Nanami and Yuji, very much coloured by what happened to Haibara.

Nanami Kento/Hiromi Higuruma: tired grumps with a strong moral code. 10/10.

Misc

SuFin, GerSu, EngSwe. Ahh Hetalia, what can I say.

Geralt/Jaskier and Eskle/Jaskier. I have never watched the Witcher but I love these dynamics.

King/Saitama; Mumen Rider/Garou; Iaian/Atomic Samuri (One Punch Man)

Ash Williams/Herbet West/Dan Cain (Evil Dead x Reanimator)

Hope that answers your question and thanks so much for asking! ❤️

#bbc ghosts #bbc ghosts captain #jujutsu kaisen #Hetalia

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iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia · 11 months

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How would the M6 react to a very very short MC? Probably 4'10 or less?

No I'm not projecting, I'm a tol gorl (I'm a gnome)

The Arcana HCs: M6 with a short MC

~ @zedibleandedible of course you're not, you are a perfectly average height XD I hope you like these, friend! - brainrot ~

-- for headcanon purposes, MC is a fully grown, 4'9 adult. I'll be putting M6's canon heights by their names as well --

Julian - 6'4

Upon meeting you, his mind follows this logical process exactly:

Wow, you are very short

He knows a short person very well. That short person is Pasha

Pasha is not to be messed with

Therefore, you are not to be messed with

But also, Pasha is his precious little sister and must be protected at all costs

Therefore, MC is clearly meant to become someone very precious to him, and he must now protect them at all costs too

This is what was going on behind that plague doctor's mask before you were able to get a read on him. He was stalling because he needed to figure out how to proceed

Having learned the hard way with his little sister, he is going to check first before making any jokes about your height

But if you give him permission, he is going to make so many. He's been saving up short jokes about Portia for years and this is a brand new innocent person to unleash them all on

Kisses work by grabbing his collar and yanking. He doesn't mind it

Asra - 5'8

They think you're perfect and adorable in every way. Your height just puts you at optimal top-of-the-head kisses level

If you think he won't take advantage of this to hold you to his heartbeat each time he hugs you, he absolutely will

They're used to being the short one in their friend groups, so you're definitely a change of pace (in a good way!)

Every time he sees you he wants to pick you up

They want to pat the top of your head so badly

It's right there, and it's so pattable!

But he's so careful about not pressuring you that it takes months of you asking if there's something wrong with your hair before he explains why he keeps staring at it

Teaches you all kinds of spells to float things off of high shelves

Likes watching you put people in their place when they assume that being short means it's okay to pick on you

Knits you a closetful of beanies because the top of your head is visible and so cute and they keep getting distracted whenever they can see it. Joke's on him, you're even cuter wearing the stuff they made for you

Nadia - 5'10

She's composed on the outside but on the inside she's melting

You will not know until you've been together for a very long time and you know just how much she respects you, because

Oh my goodness

She needs to squish you so bad

Or pick you up in her arms. Just once

She knows for a fact that you are strong and smart and capable and someone to take seriously

But you are an entire foot shorter than she is

On the plus side, it means she can just smother you every time she pulls you close for a hug

On the down side, she never wants to miss the opportunity to kiss you, but she's worried that her lips aren't easily accessible enough for when you want to initiate

She starts wearing clothes with lots of fabric flowing from her shoulders so it's easier for you to pull her down for a smooch

Will absolutely destroy anyone who insinuates that you can't be taken seriously because you're too small. Valerius learned a valuable lesson about not looking down his nose at you

Muriel - 6'10

He's terrified

Look, he is over two feet taller than you are. That's at least one chicken's difference. Maybe even two small chickens

What if he hurts you on accident? What if he walks into a room and doesn't see you there? What if you stand next to him and he hits you with his elbow?

Even more scared when you have to share a sleeping space, if he rolls over he could crush you and you wouldn't be able to escape

Until he sees how you respond to Morga and how easily you take to fighting

He's still terrified, but in the other direction

You can do insanely powerful things for someone your size

You also show him proof of his size being a positive thing - you're constantly asking him to reach things for you, and you're always using his wake to get through crowds

He doesn't want to have to double over each time he wants a hug or a kiss, so he gets in the habit of finding something to sit on anytime you two are in the same space so he's easy to reach

Suddenly the hut and clearing have so many tree stump stools

Portia - 5'1

FINALLY

Finally, somebody's shorter than her and not by half an inch!

She knows how annoying all the short jokes can be, she's not going to put you through that

Unless the cuteness aggression kicks in and then she is unloading every joke she's gotten over the years just for the satisfaction of not being on the receiving end of them

Loves being able to lean her head on top of yours during hugs and does so constantly

If you ask her to reach something down for you she will melt into a smug little puddle and gently tease you afterwards

Both of you are people to be reckoned with, so if the two of you ever get an insensitive comment from some foreign noble about Vesuvia sending "travel-sized" citizens they are in for a rough time

All the sailors on the boat now mentally equate "short" with "very strong"

But you are still their go-to person for when there's a small sack of something that's been wedged between a barrel and the corner of the hold, and then would you be so kind as to squeeze in and grab it for them?

Lucio - 5'10

Oh, you never heard the end of it when he was still a ghostly goatman

He was calling you every height-referencing nickname under the sun, and the more annoyed or upset you got the cuter he thought it was

Wait, cute? Oh no. Oh no, he thinks you're cute oh nooo ...

He tones it down quite a bit as he comes to respect and admire you, and eventually quits the nicknames altogether in an attempt to get you to like him better too

But he will never stop loving your height difference!

He feels so tall and manly and big next to you

Every time you ask him to reach something or look over the crowd for you his chest puffs up with pride

Makes the offer multiple times for you to sit on his shoulders to see a performance or announcement better whenever you're passing through a busy marketplace or town square

Will defend your honor against anyone who insults your height, but likes it even better when he holds your travel pack for you while you correct them

#ask arcana brainrot #the arcana #the arcana headcanons #the arcana hc #asra the arcana #julian the arcana #nadia the arcana #muriel the arcana #portia the arcana #lucio the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana fluff #asra alnazar #julian devorak #nadia satrinava #muriel of the kokhuri #portia devorak #lucio morgasson

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stardustincarnate · 2 years

Text

ALL TO MYSELF // Yandere!Count Lucio x Reader (II)

READ PART ONE HERE.

GENDER-NEUTRAL READER.

WORD COUNT : 3678 words.

GENRE : yandere!au. slight fluff in the beginning.

WARNINGS : major character death. mentions of blood. non-consensual touching. a very twisted view of love.

watch out for typographical/grammatical errors.

♡ writing commissions are open! ♡

CLICK HERE FOR THE WATTPAD VERSION.

What a fair day it was.

My lover and I had prepared and filled our portmanteaus with the necessities. Lucio, being his usual self, stuffed a lot of clothes that I was sure he wouldn’t even be wearing. Look at all those excess gold!

The seven of us had sailed out in Nadia's yacht. A huge and sleek yacht. I was torn between staring at the beauteous sea or staying inside and exploring its ornate structure. But eventually I ended up joining Lucio out in the open.

His introspective figure stared at the gentle oscillation of glimmering waves, the sun setting behind him and painting warm hues on the white yacht. His hands were on the railing and it seemed as if he was roughly gripping on them. When I approached him, he didn’t notice me until my third call. He was acting out of character again. Normally he would annoy (as I'd like to word it out) us all. It was good for our parts though since we wouldn’t be having any more headaches with this troublemaker.

“What’re you thinking, Luci?”

“Me?” He pointed to himself. Obviously. “Nothing important! Haha! I'm just enjoying the view! It’s great! Isn’t it?”

“I do like the view.” I assented.

“You’re my best view.”

“..Oh.”

He laughed at my displeased reaction and went silent again.

Somehow, there was a tangible premonition present in the atmosphere, and I had learned that I should always trust my intuitions. A knot formed in my stomach. What was the matter with me? I swallowed the lump in my throat and attempted to shrug it off. I refused to let my day get spoiled.

I stood beside Lucio and put my hand above his own, smiling when he nudged my shoulder with his. He put his prosthetic arm over my shoulder and pointed out to the ocean. There were three small dolphins in a near distance who swam closer to our yacht until we got a better view of them. They squeaked and jumped as if to reach us. I didn’t know if it was just Lucio's luck or something, but his upper half ended up getting drenched by I reckoned intentional splashes.

Of course, the himbo argued with the poor adorable creatures.

“Hey! Stop that! Ugh, [Y/N]! Tell them!”

“Look! They brought us another.. familiar friend.” I grinned, ignoring his plead.

When he looked down, his chagrin rose at the sight of the land shark that stole his precious Bourbon Beef the last time we went out.

“YOU! Why are you here?! You've troubled me enough! Shoo!”

“I think it can smell the Bourbon Beef Asra's preparing..”

“He’s what?! Why didn’t he tell me?!”

“Why would he te—”

He seized my wrist and we trotted to where Asra and the rest were.

“Why wasn’t I informed?!”

“You and [Y/N] looked busy with each other's company. Thought better not to disturb.” Asra replied.

“That’s good, but still! It’s Bourbon Beef we’re talking about. I already got my last one stolen and I’m not allowing any more land sharks to steal it!”

“Yeah. One already found us.”

“One? Look over there, my dear magician,” Julian pointed at the railing behind him. “Soon enough this yacht will be surrounded by them.”

I scratched my head and at the same time Asra's eyes met mine. The last time was more than enough, thank you very much.

With our magic converged, we brought up an invisible protective seal that blanketed the yacht. One could neither enter nor leave until either of us breaks the spell. I figured Asra would do it himself later.

Now free from thieves, both Asra and Lucio continued to grill the beef in satisfaction. I approached Muriel and sat beside him. He scowled but thankfully didn’t shoo me away. Reckoned it’s because he knew that at least I wasn’t as loud as my Lucio. Speaking of, I continued to watch him and Asra constantly argue about the littlest things, while Julian busied himself by telling rather exaggerated stories to Nadia which had Portia rolling her eyes at the same time playing along with her brother.

Muriel and I relished the silence together, occasionally laughing while pointing out the land sharks who were valiantly trying to access our yacht.

I leaned my back and smiled as I looked at the glowing ruby sky. Suddenly, I yelped as a heavy weight pressed on my shoulder. I looked around and it was just Lucio, grinning. I flicked his forehead.

“Aw hey!” He pouted. “Food’s ready [Y/N]. Let’s go!”

“Alright, but stop scaring me for heaven’s sake!”

We ate and shared stories and laughter. Everyone was clearly enjoying themselves. But...

“Luci..”

Lucio blinked before acknowledging my presence with a tad bit of surprise on his face. “Yes [Y/N]?”

“Are you all right? Are you sea-sick or something?��

“Me? Sea-sick? Hah! Don’t be ridiculous! I’ll never get sea-sick!”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“What do you mean? I just did!”

“I asked if you were all right, Lucio.”

“Me? Well of course I'm all right! Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You were all quiet... It was so unlike you. I thought you’ve problems.”

“Your Luci being quiet? It's called character development, [Y/N].”

“Montag Morgasson! I'm being serious!”

“I—well—so am I! Really, there’s no need to be so worried! Save your worries for later!”

“Ugh. You are always so impossible.”

“Always?! Excuse me?!”

My eyes turning to slits seemed to be adequate for him to treat the matter less frivolously.

“Ow-kay ow-kay... [Y/N].. Hehe.. But really, I—I appreciate.. your concern.. Augh! Just come here for a sec, will ya?”

He patted his lap. I initially didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, but I also couldn’t help myself. Lucio wrapped his arms around my waist whilst nuzzling my neck. I chuckled, then he looked up at me, dazedly batting his eyelashes.

“You’re mine, aren’t you? My sweet, sweet [Y/N]... You do love me, right?”

My breath hitched as his hot breath tickled my neck, sending shivers throughout my body. With his faced cupped in my hands, I leaned in to kiss his forehead.

“Of course Luci. I love you so much.”

“You love me that you’d stay by my side forever, right?”

I ruffled his hair as I chuckled. “Of course, even if you are very loud, all the time.”

“You promise?”

“Of course. You can take my word for it.”

Lucio sighed in satisfaction, relishing the warmth my hand shared on his cheek.

“Good. That’s good, dove.”

“You’re acting so sweet today Luci.. Perhaps you’ve eaten way too much sugar?”

“Not enough sugar. I’ve still yet to eat the main sweetness right here.”

“L-Lucio!”

“Now you’re being shy?”

“You can’t blame me!”

I squirmed strenuously but his hold on me was far greater. I wiggled and even more when he began tickling me. My face was burning and the air had almost left my lungs when he stopped. We both looked at each other—and then erupted into laughter.

“Let go of me otherwise I'll really turn you back to your goat form!”

“C’mon, you always speak empty words! You love me way too much to do that!”

“You’re rather complacent when in fact I like the goat better than I like the original you. The goat was fluffier.. a perfect cuddle buddy.”

“But I am that goat!”

“You don’t have enough fluff.”

“I have loads of fluffy comforters! We can use that to cuddle!”

“But those are just comforters! I want the goat!”

Lucio scowled in disbelief. “You have weird tastes. I’m way more handsome than that stupid goat.”

“Lucio, you are that goat. You just called yourself stupid.”

“....”

He began to loudly protest while I only laughed. I pinched his nose and nuzzled it with mine when he was done complaining.

“You idiot, I love you way too much.”

“So do I, [Y/N]. Hey! Jules! Mind your own business!”

“What did I even do this time?! And don’t call me Jules!”

Eventually we had to retire to our chambers, Lucio and I sharing one as to his request. The night had been very busy, special thanks to two certain himbos making fun of each other. I fancied Lucio had gone out sometime later as I wasn’t able to feel him sleeping beside me. Still, I continued my sleep.

A hefty object resided on top on my chest. I could neither breath nor move. Everything was pitch black. The silence was too loud that I felt my head about to explode. What was going on?

The knot in my stomach tightened as I heard a pin drop. The sound was muffled.. and it sounded as if it were trying to reach me.

I could finally move. I walked and walked yet all my movements halted when I heard a scream of agony too familiar to me.

That voice...

Asra's...

Where could he be?! I ran and ran for who knows how long yet I remained unmoving and the cries only seemed to grow further away.

Light started to sporadically appear in the middle of this vast blackness, along with images of my friends who were in pain. They were crying, fighting yet failing against the unknown shadow... And then there was Asra whose eyes were fixed on mine.

‘Run.’

Run was all that he said before blood splattered on my vision, and the next image was too gruesome that I couldn’t move or even think anymore as it spontaneously replayed in my eyes.

“A-Asra!”

“ASRA!”

I sat up and reached forth, looking wildly around the vicinity.

I let out a huge sigh. It was merely a dream. But I couldn’t stop my anxiety. I clutched my clothes and tried valiantly not to think of the last image I saw, but to no avail.

It was eerily silent, only the waves crashing against each other present at the current.

I looked beside me.

Where’s Lucio?

I was anxious from my nightmare alone, but seeing him still not there made it worse.

Where could he be at a time like this? I was certain the others had all fallen asleep. I got out of bed and sauntered out in the open.

The breeze picked up and I had to squint my eyes. The waves were then characterized by torrent as the yacht wobbled on its sides. I walked and walked and then finally, I saw a familiar figure.

“Lucio! Are you alright!? Oh goodness ho—”

I stopped my tracks, noticing a brown, icky substance pooling on the ground. My heart throbbed in terror seconds later as the realization dawned me -- the substance was blood.

"Lucio! Oh my goodness! What happened?" I stepped closer, eyes still fixated on the pool of blood which trailed from Lucio himself. He turned around, eerily silent, with blood cascading his fingers -- even more of it on his chest area. Panic-stricken, I fumbled my brain for the easiest healing spell, only to stop as I fully took in what I was seeing.

Onyx sclera, horns sprouting from his forehead, bloodlust and a strong sense of utter wrongness in his demeanor.

I carefully stepped back. This wasn't Lucio. The others were nowhere to be found, and the blood...

It couldn't be.

"You're awake dove, so soon. I was hoping to spare you of the gory sight -- but oh well. It's almost over anyway. Wanna enjoy the show?"

Lucio -- no -- the abomination -- it couldn't be him! He looked down, as if to admire the gory masterpiece he had created. He stepped closer to me, licking a small blotch of blood from his swollen bottom lip, having a predator-like look on his face. I instinctively summoned my magic. He just chuckled -- so shrilly that it felt like thunder ringing in my ears.

"Come on [Y/N]! No need to be so afraid. I will never harm you. I love you."

"What did you do to Lucio?"

"What did I do to whom? Lucio? What did I do to myself? HAHAHA! Silly little pet, don't be so daft! I am your Lucio."

The magic in my tightly clenched fist began to grow more and more tangible. But a sudden, invisible compulsion tugged my consciousness away from concentration, pushing my back against a wooden panel where I winced and shut my eyes from the excruciating pain.

I could feel his shadow looming in front of me. I felt claws digging my throat, scraping my jaw and gripping it. I was forced to look at him. Even in darkness, his resemblance to my Lucio, and the rare looks he'd give me whenever we were alone, was terribly vivid. He smirked, revealing his sharp fangs.

"You still don't get it, do you? Aww, you look so adorable when you're helpless like this. Look at you, shivering..."

I gathered my strength to defeat the invisible chain around my body and surged my magic into the abomination. I stood up and looked down at him with loathing. I did knock him out -- but he recovered too quickly and chuckled. I covered my ears with the strong tintinnabulation and stepped back, wide-eyed.

Just then, appearing from behind a post was a limping, smitten figure, blood oozing from their stomach and mouth. It was Asra. He looked at me and mouthed, "Run."

Run. It all felt like deja vu.

"Run."

Run was all that he said before blood splattered on my vision, and the next image was too gruesome that I couldn’t move or even think anymore as it spontaneously replayed in my eyes.

Oh, God.

"Oh would you look at that! The magician is finally here! His apprentice can finally enjoy the last scene!"

"What did you do to them?! What did you do to them, Lucio?!"

"I simply got rid of them! They were all nuisances anyway. Liked rubbing their noses on our relationship. Taking bits of your time which should only exist for me."

My body quivered, looking at all the blood scattered around. I was loss for words for a moment. The only thing which brought my senses back was the horrible fit of laughter coming from him.

"T-They were our friends!"

"Our friends? So, like, you're choosing them over me?!"

"Lu -- "

"You said you'd be with me forever... Only the two of us, no nuisances. And I did the job so you don't have to! And now -- "

Asra surged his magic, knocking Lucio out for merely a few seconds that I was barely halfway running to Asra to help him out when Lucio got up again. Asra and I exchanged looks of terror. He had summoned a powerful spell that had always worked in the past, and for Lucio to heal so quickly was a terrifying premonition.

It was indeed Lucio, that I was sure of. Yet it didn't feel like him. The dark energy which he was emitting and oppressing us was so immense that it reminded me of...

"The Devil."

"Tsk, Asra! It's rude to interrupt while someone's talking. Didn't you learn common manners?! Oh, sorry, I forgot. No one was there to teach you, because your parents were imprisoned!"

I shared Asra's seething lividness at Lucio's words. We attacked him in unison, yet he dodged so easily, now entirely focused on provoking Asra and ignoring me.

"I always knew that you and my little dove once shared feelings. It was a long time ago, but I can't take the risk of them getting back to the surface. Sorry Asra, it's nothing personal. It's just my job to prevent that from happening."

Lucio grinned. I began attacking him simultaneously -- all attacks which he easily countered as if he was merely flicking a speck of dust. The last attack however finally sent him down. But it was no victory for us. Lucio was evidently annoyed now.

"So you're siding with him now, [Y/N]? I thought you loved me... But it doesn't matter. I can love you for the both of us."

"SHUT UP! Don't use your so-called love to justify murdering my friends, you bloody arse!"

Now he looked severely aggravated. There came a vivid change in his expression and the atmosphere. It was menacing enough before, but now it was on a different level.

"They've manipulated you so badly that you're even turning your back against ME. Well, this is gonna be a problem... As much as I want you to witness me finishing off your beloved master, you're completely siding with him now, aren't you? Well well... I don't like hurting you [Y/N], I really don't. You'll just have to forgive me for this one, okay?"

He began attacking me before I could prepare. I quickly countered though, but I was only on the defensive. He was tenfold stronger than me -- especially because his attacks were filled with too great vehemence. Asra backed me up, hitting Lucio from the other side, yet his attacks were futile. Not only did he had not enough strength left, but Lucio easily flicked his attacks away with his left hand while the other one kept on attacking me.

The insanity on his countenance grew the weaker I became due to constantly defending myself. In the end, I had failed to defeat him and landed on the wooden flooring with a thunderous crash. The last thing I saw was Asra's wounded face, full of anger and blood lust for revenge.

Would he make it? But.. Lucio was so much stronger than him...

⋆ฺ｡*:･

I awakened with a heavy weight pressing against my chest, the vestiges of my nightmare and the vivid, gory images of the events which happened still playing in my head.

Except, it wasn't a nightmare.

I knew this in my heart. Everything was real. Everything happened -- how I ended up being fettered in the yacht's interior. Still, I couldn't fully acknowledge that it was indeed what happened. I couldn't understand why all of this happened...

Why was this all happening to me? To us?

A few minutes later, a discernible figure whose countenance was graced with a haughty, odious smirk forged towards me. Lucio dropped on his knees, scratching my chin in an attempt to caress it, just like he did in the old times. But there was no warmth to his touch -- only pure lust. His actions were tainted.

And maybe they had always been, and I just failed to notice, because I believed in him. That he would grow and learn from his past mistakes.

I shivered in disgust as his lips met my jawline. I spat and glared at him, unblinking. A veer of emotions occurred in him and he tutted irascibly.

"What's this? You've always loved it when I do that to you. Now you're being a brat?"

I spat again, now on him. He snarled.

"You killed my best friends, you fucking monster! What happened... What happened to you?! I thought I know you, Lucio!"

The tears came unbidden. Thinking about it, we were so happy. I was excited to spend time with him and my best friends in Prakra. This was supposed to be a trip we could all enjoy... but what happened? I thought he was different from before! But then, he got worse... Lovesick, filled with lust for power, with the intention of keeping me all to himself.

"I thought I knew you too, [Y/N]. I thought you'd understand my intentions and work with me... but you're siding with them? Those trash? Ugh, you've blighted all the plans I've stored for just the two of us. But it's fine. Didn't I say? I can love you for the both of us. And it's not like you can escape, even if you try to."

I gritted my teeth. My resolve was adamant. I needed to escape and smite him, for the lives he had taken. This wasn't the man I loved anymore. Perhaps the man I loved never even existed. Perhaps all the actions he had given me were just fraud.

I wasn't going to underestimate that abomination, but I wasn't going to do the same with myself. I defeated The Devil once. Summoning my magic, I made him flew over the barrels, giving me enough time to untangle the magical chains restraining me. I hastily opened a portal and jumped straight just as he was about to get up. I only got as far to land on an island where I could still see the yacht on a veritable distance.

I panted. This was my time to call for back-up. Yet my heart leaped to my throat. His silhouette was already on the shore. He began taking his time walking towards me, now clearly livid.

I ran throughout the natural island maze with utter dread, moreso when I started hearing his voice. Not from my left -- not from my right -- but everywhere all at once, sharply ringing in my head and making me dizzy.

"You can run, but you can't hide from me. Don't you know, [Y/N]? We have a connection. This is what the universe gave us, a connection that only exists between the two of us. Do you know what that means? It means that neither of us can escape from one another! Wherever you go, you're bound to end up in front of me, [Y/N]!"

In a flash, I was blasted to the ground. And when I looked down, I saw a thin, sharp branch jutting from my stomach.

There was blood all over it.

I began to cough with the same red liquid. A healing spell -- I needed -- no... My hands were quivering. There was blood all over me. My vision began dimming. I began hyperventilating. Tears began cascading. I needed a healing spell -- just -- just one! And yet... Why couldn't I feel anything, anymore? The bright blue sky turned into a vision straight out of a nightmare. And an odious figure appeared before my eyes.

"See? I found you, my little dove."

#the arcana #the arcana x you #the arcana game #the arcana x reader #count lucio #montag morgasson #lucio morgasson #lucio x reader #count lucio x reader #lucio the arcana #yandere au #yandere the arcana #yandere lucio #yandere x reader #the arcana devil

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new-berry · 7 months

Text

You know what this fic doesn’t have? Says person who has written a fic about robots.

Weird stuff.

SILK ROPE

“Phil?” Unai’s voice cuts through the fog.

“Huh?”

“Ange said drivers can use it too, for things like tying down loads. He has recommended you learn how to splice it. Would you like a demonstration?”

“Of splicing it?”

“Of how strong it is!” Ange says excited. He picks up a metal tray that they sometimes use for hot meals and snaps it in half between his fingers.

Then he takes the rope back off Phil and wraps it in a couple of loops around each hand. After fifteen seconds the silk starts to slowly fray in the middle and finally pulls apart.

“And this leaves you two pieces to practise splicing!”

Ange hands them to Phil who holds them in his fist. “Okay?” He says.

(Some plot stuff that’s less fun than then weird stuff always)

Unai smiles, “would you like me, and Julián of course, to show you how to splice that? Normally engineers would put it in a vice, however I can hold it.”

Phil shrugs. Unai sits at one side of the table and holds the thread in each hand close together. Julián shows Phil how to match colours, he explains the rope is harvested from a particular insect , “it doesn’t hurt them.” He says “and it wants to tie back together.”

It’s working out if something is more rose pink than rose gold. Or if it’s red or brick red. It’s not hard, but it is precise in a way his jobs usually aren’t. After a while Phil works out the feeling the little threads of rope have when they are matched.

It’s a little tickle, a twitch they want to get together. “Is there a noise?” Phil looks at Unai and Julián. “Do you hear a noise when the colours match up?”

“Yes, the colours have a distinct frequency.” Unai says.

“Sounds like a bell.” Julián says. “Or a chime.”

“I thought it sounded like a giggle,” Phil says, feeling a bit of an idiot.

Julián laughs though. “One of my lecturers said it sounded like rain drops and when they matched the right piece the rain drops would stop.”

“No one tells you about the sound.” Julian goes on. “It’s like a secret, you watch someone and wait to see how long it takes them to realise.”

Phil grins at him. “It’s pretty cool. Come on Unai. I’ve done like twelve. How fast can you do this?”

“I don’t think I can hold this as still as you did.” Phil tells him. Putting his hands on either side of Unai’s and holding the rope as steady as he can.

Unai’s fingers are not the blur of other jobs but he matches each instantly and works from the bottom up. “The rope is stronger if it has been spliced. So you can practise as often as you like.”

Unai nudges the last few colours together. A collection of blues that are clustered at the top.

“It’s an unusual thing. The rope. It harvested and by all measures is inert. But when cut it will want to be made whole again.”

#fic #robots

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fumblingmusings · 1 year

Note

I know its not gonna be a happy ending but sometimes any flavour of asakiku is everything to me 😭 would it be okay if we got some headcannons about evie and Kiku in a future we're they never separated and worked well for each other?

Who says they'll be apart forever hmmmmmmmmmmm?

But lol yes! Hummmm. Fem!England and Japan romance headcanons-modern day edition. Let's go!

He still gifts her pearls - brooches, bracelets, earrings, rings, and necklaces - the whole shebang. In 2020, she received a pearl tiara for when he came over with his Emperor and Empress for the State Visit. Japan has a tradition of gifting their princesses a necklace and tiara when they come of age. They're usually just diamonds with some pearls, which can make them seem plain (can't believe I'm saying that) in comparison to the European traditions of coloured gems (that's a lie, Belgium and Spain are in the same boat). It's a whole thing regarding rank married in versus blood princesses, etc., but typically, the lower rank and married in girls get more naturalistic and less structured designs. I'd like to imagine that she got one like the former Princess Noriko's - such a wonderful shout out to the classic Japanese artwork that everyone in the West knows:

Apologies for the dinky/blurry photo. It's hard to get a hi res shot of this thing.

On the other end of things, and this will pop up in the fic, but she gives him her literature. 1st editions and rare books to add to his library. Kiku has such an interest in writing and literature and poetry, and takes very good care of them.

Initially, she gives him her Victorian novels, but Kiku, off his own initiative, goes further back, having a go at Chaucer and such. He is very good at translating works to and forth between English and Japanese and often gifts books back to her.

I mentioned it in a previous post, but Kiku particularly attaches to the poem Pearl, and England also shows him like the works of Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe, who were two writers and friends in the 14th century. Julian's is considered the oldest piece definitively written by a woman in English, and Margery's is the oldest autobiography in English, let alone one by a woman.

She likes to go on hikes with him, they can walk and walk and walk for miles. She has taken him to the Peak and Lake Districts more times than they can count, not to mention Dartmoor, Exmoor, the South Downs, and the Yorkshire Dales. They both love their gardens, both going to great pains to look after them. They spend a great deal of their time together outside.

And when they get home, like the old married couple they are, she tidies up around the house, he cooks dinner, then they settle down for the night. She knits or crochets whilst watching something like Only Connect or University Challenge, Kiku is absently listening in the background as he plays a video game, and get more questions right then Evie. He is congratulated with a knitted jumper by the end of the night.

They don't have sex that often. Really. Both are kind of lazy partners and are old fogies, they'd rather go to bed and sleep than anything. Eva in particular is clingy, and is prone to biting. It was a fight to get her to remember to not do it above the collar line.

As they both learn post WWII how and when to get involved with governments and politicians and armies and such, they are slowly given more and more freedoms to just be, with no strings attached. It's then, when she's able to let go of a heavy and poisonous burden, and he's free from such a destructive ideology, that they're able to meet in the middle once again, not as England and Japan, but as two very old immortals.

Alfred is able to plug the gap, rather than be dividing force this time. He's not happy about his mom being in a relationship with his best mate (the day he saw those teeth marks it was somehow a larger betrayal than anything Eva or Kiku had done prior), but it's purely in a dude that's my mom territory, rather than a political gripe.

#hetalia #hws england #hws japan #asakiku #headcanon #op #q&a #fem!england #fanfic ask

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riverdale-retread · 10 months

Text

Riverdale S7 E12 (Chapter 129) After The Fall

Jughead is back to narrating. He says things about Archie and Reggie which in some ways could have applied to himself in earlier seasons but also not because Jughead did not have as much in common with Archie as Reggie evidently does.

Jughead really is making up a story here- he says things like "they think about the same things" when in every instance we've seen from Reggie and Archie it is clear they most certainly do NOT do that. This is a bit of sour grapes and/or anti sports bias from Jughead towards Reggie, which is nteresting because he and 50s Reggie have more in common with each other than either do with Archie. And Reggie was spot-on to not bother learning Soup Can's name because Jughead is wrong to say Reggie thinks mostly about "cars and girls." He escapes his real thoughts using cars and girls actually.

Perhaps Jughead is cranky because Reggie and Archie are jointly THAT kind of morning person - the kind to go running before dawn and then commit to a day's activities. Reggie focuses on "his true love," basketball, Jughead says, "while Archie gets some writing done."

Is this why Archie and Jughead can’t spend time together in this au? That is, can they not both be writers at the same time??

Julian, who had been driving, crashed the car into the river and himself into a coma. Archie sits next to the shell shocked looking Reggie in the hospital hallway while the other boys stare blankly at the TRAUMA sign on the door to Julian’s hospital room. “All the Bulldogs most likely would have drowned if not for Reggie,” is what Jughead says.

Ok but I’m confused because that was an open top car that Reggie got into. In any case, Julian looks very corpselike and his father wants someone to blame. The easy person is apparently Reggie.

This is very entertaining because the show pointedly added a black extra to play one of the Bulldogs that got saved from drowning in an open top car (but really, how??) in a river without sustaining any visible injuries (?!!?) by Reggie, which means Clifford Blossom's prejudices operate as one of the follows: (a) he only hates Koreans in particular (b) he only hates Asian minorities or (c) he only hates poor people (so if you're middle class, race doesn't matter to Clifford).

In any case, Clifford wants to foist blame for all this right on Reggie. Maybe because he is in a hospital, Clifford chooses his words carefully - he calls Reggie Punk and Thug rather than some more choice words. Uncle Fucking Frank states a truth- that it was Julian who was driving - but completely fails to stick up for Reggie or directly defend him. This struck me as very true to life.

Reggie and Archie hear this whole exchange, including Clifford demanding that Reggie be kicked off the team altogether, but Reggie still doesn't have a reaction.

Jughead says that the Bulldogs' brush with death was a tragedy and so was the whole sequence of events leading to Ethel killing the Milkman. Jughead also friendzones Ethel hardcore at this particular moment too, in his narration: "My BUD Ethel.” S7 narrator Jughead has an unplesant sneery side which I don’t know what to do with. At the moment, the two of them also look very shell shocked. Jughead is sitting just like the rescued-by-Reggie Bulldogs were, while Ethel, with a halting, affectless voice, tells the very useless Sheriff Keller what happened: “It was the same milkman that I saw leaving my house. after he killed my parents.”

Ethel is a goddamn hero, and oh to be a big strong girl like her, to be able to overpower a crazed knife wielding asshole. Good for you Ethel.

When Ethel basically confesses to killing the man, Jughead comes out of his shock to interrogate the oddly silent Sheriff. “It was self defense!” he says.

But then Keller says a series of weird things. All his questions are answered, he says. He doesn’t want Ethel to make any sort of statement at the station, he says. This whole situation - a teenage girl runaway from a home for troubled kids stabbing a man dressed up in a milkman’s outfit in the abandoned apartment of a man possibly murdered by te same milkman is… “an open and shut case.”

Jughead gets very annoyed - as he always does with Kevin’s dad in every universe, because that man sucks - and wants some answers. “Who is he? Who is the milkman?!”

Keller doesn’t even pretend to have any sort of respectable answer, instead stammering about “fingerprints on a file” and so on as Ethel finally starts to feel the gravity of what she just faced and begins to weep.

So rather than do any sort of crime solving this American cop’s priority is to take the unjustly incarcerated girl with no one in the world back to the site of incarceration. Jughead and Ethel vociferously disagree with this plan. I guess because he is faced with incontrovertible evidence that Ethel is capable of killing a man when she needs to, Keller doesn’t insist, other than to say that he needs an adult to be involved in the care of Ethel.

But why not Jughead? Why doesn’t JUGHEAD need to be in the care of an adult?

Anyway, the person that Jughead decides is a worthwhile bet in this town is Mary Andrews. She really must have some sort of allergic reaction to there being too many men in her house, because now that all three are gone she can suddenly occupy her kitchen. She is wearing a robe, with her hair up in a net. For some reason Betty and Alice are in the kitchen with her, also in very elaborate robes.

This culture is very strange to me, this business of wearing printed robes. It looks nice but like, if you have time to find the thing and tie it on, wouldn’t it take just as much or little time to change into shorts and a blouse? Anyway, the three women are very startled that it is Jughead calling about Ethel and not Frank or Archie calling about Julian or Reggie.

Mary must’ve given Jughead permission to come to the house with Ethel because the next time we see them Jughead and Betty are sitting either side of Ethel, who is holding onto her knees with all her might. Honestly who can blame her? I would be in total hysterics in her shoes. Jughead is back to looking shocked, and Betty is calmly checking out the blood stains on Ethel’s coat. Ethel is always covered in blood.

Mary doesn’t want Ethel and Alice is willing to take her on. When Ethel objects, Alice says that it wasn’t her idea to ditch Ethel at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy. She’s being evil and creepy, is Alice, but Ethel has no other viable choices, poor thing. Betty is very skeptical of what her mother is up to.

Later that night, Archie and Reggie are trying to get to sleep in their shared room. Archie tries his best - he calls Reggie a hero for saving everyone. Reggie is very, very realistic. He says that he did what he did - repeatedly dive into the raging(??) river to haul out boys he doesn’t like and one who was particularly hateful to him because he knew that if any one of them died - “especially Blossom” - he would have been “locked up for the rest of his life” or worse than locked up. Archie doesn’t know what to say to that, but because Reggie performed the Very Useful Minority function of opening his eyes for him, Archie at least knows not to say any Pollyanna shit in response.

The next morning, Betty comes down to see Alice serving a very uncomfortable Ethel some breakfast. (When she rejected Betty as a daughter, she enacted that by telling her to make her own breakfast.) These two not very nice women start fighting over Ethel. Betty invites Ethel to walk with her to school, to which Alice ups the stakes and says she’ll be DRIVING Ethel to school that day. Ethel really wants to get away from Alice, but dares not.

As soon as she’s at school, Betty vents to Veronica about how phony her mother is. She wants to run away from home now. Veronica unburdens herself too, finally admitting that she has been locked out of her own apartment.

The post has already been made about how Veronica is sort of living Jughead’s S1 storyline except better - instead of a bunk bed in a rundown building at the drive in, she’s living in a well appointed office attached to her movie palace. Veronica still feels like “a common squatter,” however. Betty gets a very shiny look in her eye as she asks Veronica if she has tried “breaking back into” her home.

We’re in English class now, where the teacher thinks that the solution to their current town doldrums - a boy in a coma, several traumatized from a car accident involving a submerged vehicle, ETHEL KNIFING A MAN TO DEATH IN SELF DEFENSE AFTER RUNNING AWAY FROM ASYLUM -is … a poem written by a classmate.

Phantom.

They tell me I’m solid

They pat me on the back

They see a son

A student

A Team Player

They see a boy like any other

But I look in the mirror

And there’s no one there

Just smoke and mirrors

And I do not know how to be solid.

…. This is Archie’s poem. He is mortified by this public reading. Ethel says this poem, which uhhh I am not a poet so I don’t know but it doesnt seem … all that great? But anyway - Ethel says it’s Beautiful but also she just stabbed a man to death in self defense literally last night and then had Alice Cooper practically spoon feed her breakfast fruits this morning before driving her to school so Ethel cannot be trusted.

Kevin is the most cringe anyone has ever been on this show, this show with the infamous I’m A Weird Weirdo Speech. He assumes Clay wrote it, turns around all googley eyed in his chair to tell him thati it was “incredible.” Clay has caught all the smug from Kevin though and smoothly says back that he didn’t write it. Kevin is this close to sucking off his boyfriend in class like right now.

Then the teacher outs him - Archie wrote it. She thinks he has a lot to say. Everyone - but especially Reggie - is more perturbed than impressed that it was Archie.

This is a good day that doesn't feel great for Archie because the next thing that happens is that he is named interim captain of the basketball team by his uncle. Both Reggie and Archie thought it should’ve been Reggie. Archie isn’t happy.

The crazy aged boyfriends that run the school are interrogating Ethel and Jughead again, but pretending to do it all friendly-like. The child psychologist says the most insane thing ever: He says that Ethel has proven her sanity BY KILLING THE MILKMAN. He could have literally said anything else - like, You were telling the truth after all! or something but no. Silencing that weird milkman outfit wearing person by KILLING him was the way she got to prove her sanity.

The psychologist insists on calling the milkman ‘a drifter’ because Keller said so, then he launches into a whole speech about how comic books (not murderers, not cops unable to solve murders) were the problem all along. Jughead and Ethel wearing matching forest greens, put on their innocent faces to ask if drifters don’t in fact just ‘drift’? So how to explain the fixation on killing all these people in this particular zip code?

The principal looks more and more disturbed as the psychologist waxes on, but doesn’t say a word in agreement nor disagreement when his boyfriend says "We have told you exactly what happened.” He’s a single issue crusader, and his target is still comic books.

Archie goes to visit Frank to try to get out of being captain. “But shouldn’t it be Reggie?” he says. Frank says that it wasn’t his call because Clifford wanted the only other red haired boy to be captain of the basketball team. Instead of addressing the weird redhead religion, Archie points out that Clifford Blossom has been giving Reggie a hard time from the start. Frank knuckles him down into silence, then brings out the kryptonite - a relic of Saint Fred. “Your Dad’s Captain’s Patch.” So that completely bowls Archie over. His fetishization of his father is astonishing.

Betty has packed up to run away, politely announcing to her mother where she’ll be staying. Alice doesn’t try to stop her.

Lickety split, Betty breaks into the apartment. A skill she learned from Tracey True books! Veronica is elated, telling her that they can be as loud as they want inside the apartment but can't be too careful when using the back stairs to get in or out. Then she says that she has invited “the boys” who are most definitely not Reggie or Archie because she “actually wants to have some fun.”

This is possibly the most callous thing that Veronica has ever said. lololol I mean! Reggie is not ‘fun’ because he’s just been through a terrifying ordeal of a car accident, and Archie is not fun because he’s taking over as captain from Jason when he thinks it should be Reggie. I mean, I think what she means is that they’re not fun for her because they both rejected her as being too much for each of them and then both got fixated on Betty, but that’s not any better right? And then things really go sideways because it turnso ut who she has called are her employees: Clay and Kevin.

These are the two least fun people in Riverdale. Clay is stultifyingly boring, pompous and self absorbed. He’s a bit too comfortable lapping up his boyfriend’s slavering adoration in public for my liking. And Kevin should not be let anywhere near Betty. His coming out as gay DOES NOT ERASE all that hateful truly misogynist shit he said and did to her while he was using her as an unknowing beard. This is so sad for Veronica too - she is still so lonely, but the only people she can find to keep her company are the girl who needs to get away from her psycho mom and her two gay employees.

Meanwhile, at the Blossom house, Cheryl is furious that the basketball season is to continue. Though initially at the hospital Clifford was angry enough to want blood for blood, now that he’s had time to think about his real priorites (uh the possibility of the basketball team having an actual winning streak), he’s decided that his moderately capable son being in a coma may not be such a bad thing. When Cheryl says she will not be cheering on this team while her “brother languishes between life and death” her father gets physically violent and verbally abusive: He threatens to put her in a coma (or I guess kill her) if she doesn’t perform to expectation. Cheryl runs away, upset.

Now we’re back at the Pembroke, where the Beronica and the Icky Gays are putting on some sort of show to some sort of unknown audience. Things get very surreal very fast. Is this music diagetic or not? Why do they keep looking at different corners of the room? Are they aware of the camera somehow? Is this fourth wall bursting but only implicitly? Did they rehearse this?

I kind of wish the show had made a clean break of it for this number, you know, like Bollywood. Where you’re in the market putting bangles on the girl and then the music starts and suddenly you’re 2 kms apart in front of the pyramids at Giza and running towards each other singing.

In any case, the boyfriends help the two girls sing about washing some man right out of their hair.

Then they all settle down in front of the fireplace to do some underage drinking. Betty says to Kevin that this is “more of a kick than when” they were going steady.

The misogynist gaslighting he put her through has permanently damaged Betty’s brain, I swear to god.

The thing is this line of questioning that Kevin starts makes me hate him even more. As I’ve said, Veronica went after and got rejected by both Archie and Reggie, and now, WHILE UNDER HER ROOF, you ask Betty how her threesome date with those two exact men went? C’mere, Kev, there’s something right at the crotch of your pants, let me kick it off for you with the steel toe of my boot.

Veronica even looks a bit bereft when Betty says that she and Archie did kiss after “percolating” on Halloween night.

Unsurprisingly, Veronica changes the subject. She wants to know who has the biggest dick in Riverdale. For a virgin she has a weird amount of confidence about what happens in the boys’ locker room - “having a steam” and “snapping towels.” Kevin - of course Kevin - coughts it up immediately: Both Reggie and Archie are sizable. Then we go down the roster - Jason and Fangs both have small penises, but the true event is that Dilton Doiley is superhung.

The girls scream about it. I’m - skeptical. If the dude is very narrowly built, normal size junk can look more substantial. Trompe l’oeil if you like.

At the basketball game the next day, the hungover bad girls are wearing dark sunglasses indoors for the starting line up presentation. Cheryl looks extremely unhappy to be introducing Archie as the new team captain. Her mother is wearing the most extravagant ribbons. Cheryl looks so unhappy that Archie asks her how she’s doing. She says she’s fine but then tosses him to the wolves, making him give a speech.

Fortunately, we are not subjected to the speech, which apparently was merely ‘nice’ according to Mrs. Thornton, the English teacher. She comes to find him to tell him that he writes better than he speaks. She hopes that Archie will put as much energy into his writing as he does into his sport.

Fieldstone, the shady publisher of disreputable comic books, is the only adult with the correct take on Ethel. Oh! It just occurred to me that Fieldstone and Werthers might be exes. And that’s why the fixation on comic books in particular as the source of all evil! She “survived those crazy nuns, took out a killer and cleared your name!”

Yeah! ETHEL IS AWESOME.

Immediately, he offers her employment and something else to think about, both of which she needs very much. He coassigns Jughead and Ethel to a project. “I am looking at the dream team!” he says.

Ethelhead are nuts. Jughead has picked up some of the sleaziness and says that he thinks it's a good idea to capitalize on the media attention the milkman case has gotten by working on the sequel to the original comic. Greater commercial considerations must take precedent - there is too much "heat" around the milkman comics and killings so they are not to touch the milkman topic at all. Ethelhead seem disappointed.

Betty and Veronica are shopping at Mary Andrew's dress shop. She's being a bad saleswoman- eavesdropping on their conversation before interrupting, not offering any assistance and then being super nosy about where to send the clothes to. Betty tells her that Alice is copacetic with Betty staying with Veronica but I guess Mary still hasn't forgiven Veronica for setting up that beauty contest between the boys because she is suddenly determined to do something about their situation. I mean . . . Mary, you yeet out of existence altogether because Frank is in the house. Don't poke your nose into these girls' business please. But more than the idea of Betty spending a lot of time with Veronica, it’s really her use of the word Copacetic that really sticks in Mary’s craw. She doesn’t approve when children use big words I guess?

We cut to a bronze looking statue of a bulldog seated in a car in front of Riverdale HS. Fangs screams out that the thing’s name is Peppy, and Archie also supplies the fact that this statute is “our mascot.” The villain of this scene is of course Bret Weston Wallis. He calls Archie “Red” (and ignores Fangs altogether, which - he is so right for this!) before he baits Reggie by calling him “a choker” which sounded very sexual to me until he added that he meant that Reggie cracks under pressure. Archie and Bret almost come to blows over Reggie’’s honor.

In the main timeline, of course, Archie and Bret came to fisticuffs over sports too, but the the time when Archie successfully physically assaulted Bret was over the alleged death of Jughead.

Jughead in this universe is completely split away from Archie, where Archie probably has no idea whatsoever what Jughead is doing and they barely interact, which means Reggie is firmly in Jughead’s previous role vis a vis Archie.

One of the difficulties that the narrative keeps having to contend with in Riverdale - which I’ve tracked in my retreads of earlier seasons - is that while the narrative is certain that Archie is The Lead and furthermore is backed up by Jughead the narrator thinking Archie is The Lead, in fact this show has two leads (and it’s not any of the girls, awesome as they are). Jughead is the other lead of this show, which sometimes he wants and other times he doesn’t. When Jughead interacts too closely with Archie, he inevitably tends to push Archie closer to the villains, to become the anti-hero. This is why, in this timeline, with minimal interaction with Jughead, Archie is so wholesome and bouncy and innocent.

End of sidebar.

In any case, Archie threatens violence on Bret, but Reggie stops him. Before they drive off cackling like mustache twirling villains, Bret gets a last dig in about Reggie’s poverty He’d bet a wager with the Bulldogs, he says, but he doesn’t “play for food stamps.”

Reggie was never implied to be poor in the og timeline, but because he’s Jughead in this one, he has also inherited Jughead’s poverty.

At the Andrew’s house, Reggie is talking his teammates through a game plan about how to handle each of the Stonewall Prep players. Reggie has really pretty, clean handwriting. He’s being very commander-in–chief, giving encouraging, bite-size instructions. He’s also hyper observant, so Reggie reads all of Archie’s microexpressions accurately. He knows something is off.

Later, doing dishes side by side at the sink - the exact kind of activity that Jughead would’ve loved to do by the way - Reggie asks his boyfriend, I mean, Archie, why he’s upset. Archie is upset because Reggie should be captain of this team. Reggie says having a title is not that important - he wants to keep winning games “until I can go pro. Archie says he only plays basketball so he can feel close to his dad.

Reggie, looking lean and sexy as fuck with a very thick belt tight around his hips, asks him “So what’s your passion? Cars? Girls?” as they two of them stand shoulder to beefy shoulder. These are the two that he can think of Archie exhibiting some sort of interest in from their time together, but Archie doesn’t say yes to either. He instead puts a hand on Reggie’s shoulder (does he mean to say, YOU?) then gives him a very intense look deep into his eyes before he says “You wouldn’t belief it even if I told you.” This is the Archie that only learned through his Uncle of the sexual pervert mustache what gayness was, so I think he thinks Reggie would also find gayness unbelievable. (The show wants me to think Archie is this passionate about ‘poetry’ but I just don’t believe it).

At Jughead’s train car, Ethel is sketching away.

Ok but seriously, there’s not gonna be any sort of publicity or trial or anything about the fact that she straight up stabbed a man to death? Riverdale is such a scary town. Keller is a man who will force a prostitute to rape his teenage son, so I’m not surprised or anything, but a whole person DIED at the hands of a teenage asylum runaway and nobody bats an eye in Riverdale. Don’t ever go there. Holy shit.

She is almost done with a scary sketch of a menacing milkman. When Jughead asks her to be mindful of what the publisher said, that there was to be no Milkman reference anywhere, she says that it’s really important to her to keep a hold of what she knows to be true because “everyone is still trying to tell me what happened and how it happened.” She says, through her tears that she wants to tell her story, “even if it’s just in a comic book.” Jughead is in full support, so he wants to find a solution, to have their cake and eat it “without a glass of milk, of course heh.” He’s so sweet, but I’m annoyed that this doesn’t seem to be leading to Ethelhead. It should. She’s a (literally) tortured artist with a dark past and resilient spirit and he’s her understanding squire and helpmeet and THEY SHOULD KISS. Give me Ethelhead, Roberto! Support women artists, goddamn you!

Over at the Pembroke, Betty and Veronica have dressed up in sheer nightgown type things for each other (Veronica in periwinkle and Betty in pink). They’re sitting in front of the fire as Veronica paints Betty’s nails. The one bonding activity Veronica remembers with her mother is a manicure at bedtime. Betty says Alice stopped interacting with her in any sort of tender way as soon as her period started.

Then Veronica says something that startles me by reminding me that these girls are supposed to be “sixteen years old, living without our mothers.” Right. Sixteen.

And then Veronica and Betty have an intensely Bughead moment, which sent me reeling. Alienation from (Betty) and abandonment by (Jughead) their families of origin, as well as the reassurance stated as a prayer (from Jughead to Betty) to not be like either of their parents was a major note in the Bughead relationship. Now that beat is given over to Beronica, with Betty taking the lead to break away from the previous generation. They link their pinkies on this promise then seal it with a kiss on their own thumbs.

There’s a sudden swerve, where Betty terrifyingly says that she finds Kevin and Clay to be a “happy, healthy couple” and Veronica even more terrifyingly agrees that they are “the dreamiest.

I’m about to get racial so hold on to your hats.

The degree to which white American women are never allowed to get angry at white men is very terrifying to watch from the sidelines. The exact way when Kim Ilsung died and North Korean television kept showing people coming out of the subway pretending to bawl their eyes out as they hurried to work the next morning? That’s the level of alarm (so vast it brings on disassociation) that I feel when when Betty says that she finds this ex boyfriend’s very unbalanced, very fetishize and bizarrely obsequious relationship with his first boyfriend “happy and healthy.” It’s so sick. Betty being raised in an insane environment where white girls like her are simply not allowed to feel anger at white men (hating the woman who created her and birthed her is fine, by the way, she just can’t be angry at MEN) means that she has to simp for this misogynist (before he’s anything else to me, gay Kevin is a man who hates women) who called her a sexual pervert for being horny and didn’t bother to hide how much he wanted to throw up in his mouth whenever he had to touch her boob and was moreover fully willing to sexually assault a woman for pay so he wouldn’t lose face in front of other men.

Veronica though is so eager to get into Betty’s pants that she (without being able to maintain eye contact with Betty) pretends to go along with this bit of crazy (because we all do that, when we have the hots for someone and we’re 16) (....or 26 ahem), before she quickly changes the topic.

“It mus be easier for two boys to date than a boy and a girl. None of that battle of the sexes stuff to navigate.”

This is the ultimate statement on Yaoi. Yup. Yes. This is what girls who get off on eroticized/ exoticized depictions of gay relationships assume.

Betty picks up on where Veronica is going with this immediately, chiming in with the “fun fact” that 81% of girls experiment with other girls before they turn 18. Veronica says she’s kissed a famous girl before. Betty says that she’s thought about kissing Veronica before. And then they play a really pretty version of the theme song - the Riverdale theme song as the two girls lean in for a kiss.

Only to be interrupted by Mary Andrews, wielding Smithers. She wants to know everything.

We’re supposed to hate Mary, but guess what Roberto - I still hate Kevin more.

Meanwhile, Cheryl is weeping at Julian’s bedside. She says - and this is partially a lie - that she misses Julian and loves him. I think it’s true that she misses him. She’s seen that her life is going to descend to a new circle of hell without Julians’ mediating male presence in her misogynist household. The combined force of her parents’ insanity is too much for her to shoulder alone. Julian wakes up at her plea.

Mary Andrews is having a very presumptuous evening, taking a seat at the head of the table at the Pembroke to express outrage about “a parent disowning their own child” and “evicting” their own child. Except in the OG timeline, Mary Andrews completely abandoned Archie for long stretches before selling him a bombed out house for actual money. If her outrage at how other women are doing something she did to her own in another timeline is supposed to be her redemption arc, I am not buying it.

Same time that night, Cheryl somehow knows to go creeping to her father’s study just in time to overhear that Featherhead has been tasked with bringing in a replacement for Reggie - K.O. Kelly from Boston - at her father’s instruction. After his great Yellow experiment, Clifford has had it and wants “a real” American boy so he can “send that Mantle packing.”

He wouldn’t call him Mantle in private like that. I don’t ever want or need hatespeech against Asians on American TV but this is getting ridiculous.

The next morning, Mary is yelling at Alice about being “no good” and “rotten” to which Alice reacts like a teenaged 'bad girl’ getting told off by an irate nun. She’s already had a go at Hermione Lodge, and now is demanding that Alice tap into her sense of ‘sacrifice’ to “regain your moral footing.” Veronica made out ok - she got her key to her home back - but Betty is right back in Alice’s clutches, which I’m not sure is a solution. The way Alice’s compliance is shown is by her doing Betty’s laundry and delivering to her while the daughter sits cross legged on the bed. It’s not at all clear to me why Mary Andrews yelling is going to change anything for Alice, but Alice forewarns about future battles. She tells Betty that Ethel is as much her daughter to her now as Betty.

Cheryl tells Archie, who tells Reggie, about the plan to cut Reggie from the team. Reggie hears it, and then says “How much you wanna bet the new ringer is a few shades lighter than me?” which is very funny in a bad way because a) the actor playing Reggie is mixed race so he’s not particularly dark skinned and b) the actor playing KO Kelly was very tan with black hair and so side by side COLORING wise they are identical. Archie is freaking out, and pushes Reggie to say what he really wants which is to be captain after all, at least for what might be his final game. Archie is going to help with that.

So. This is where I must speak up for Cheryl. Archie is doing an exceptional thing - he was given white insider privilege (being named captain because he is white with red hair) which he wants to give up for the meritorious candidate who isn’t those things. Cheryl on the other hand is given the third degree for something she can’t do anything about (not having any not white writers on the high school syllabus) plus being put through the ringer just because she wanted to see what her girlfriend’s club was. What the hell.

At Pep Comics, Ethelhead of my heart are presenting Ethel’s latest work to Fieldstone. They’ve made the milkman a mailman. The panel shows the deranged mailman holding a decapitated woman's head by the hair while Ethel in the foreground screams in horror. Is… is this how Ethel’s parents died?? By decapitation?

Fieldstone loves it! He thinks it’s brilliant. He does warn them though that “a storm is coming, like the wrath of God.” Jughead, wearing a very strange shirt with repeats of a six sailed ship in a bottle, pedantically tells him that since sticking their head in the sand won’t help, they “run headlong into the thunder and thumb our noses at it.” But the real talent of the pair is Ethel, who earns the sobriquet “girl genius” from the publisher. They decide to publish!

Archie, Reggie and the team all show up to see Clifford Blossom. Archie really has a thing about organizing people - into white supremacist vigilante gangs (Toni Topaz wording, not mine), labor unions and now whatever this is. The entire team will walk (stage a strike) if Clifford won’t name Reggie captain and also promise not to replace him. Clifford is furious, but it looks like the boys will win!

Betty can’t sleep but just then, Veronica calls! Just to say that she loves Betty, who says it back to her. They’re gonna go to the basketball game tomorrow.

Poof and now it’s tomorrow and Uncle Frank yields the floor to Reggie to give his speech as Captain. Reggie thanks them, and tells them that his parents are in the audience. Do we get to see Reggie’s folks at last? As the last two to leave the changing room, Reggie and Archie have this very manly exchange: “Don’t even give them a second to breathe.” “Count on that.”

Then they have a slow-mo walk out to the court. Reggie faces off with Bret, as a narrator takes over because the show understands (I hope) that nobody cares about the actual game. The Bulldogs dominated all the way to a victory. Montage shows - patrons of Pop’s glued to the radio, Julian & Cheryl listening in, Clifford bitter and drinking, the changing room in a disarray, the bulldog statue returned! Archie rounds us off letting us know that Reggie is MVP and record breaker. he also apparently saw the Parents of Reggie Mantle who can never be shown to the audience.

It was a huge mistake to give his parents a specific Asian ethnicity and to pick Korean at that. I suppose the actor or twitter may have objected, but in the historical context, making Reggie Japanese American or Chinese American would’ve made so much more sense, and been much easier to deal with.

Archie pins Reggie as they sit in their underwear in their shared bedroom. I mean. That’s what giving the captain’s patch to Reggie means, right? After all that fuss made over what Kevin did with Betty?

Reggie reveals that he knows fully well what Archie’s secret passion might be: Poetry. But with Reggie now in his rightful place as captain, Archie wants to stick aroundf or basketball.

All of a sudden, Jughead narration comes back, specifically to deny the intense homosexual emotion that the Reggie and Archie pairing are exhibiting. They are ‘wrestling’ after doings some very intimate conversation, after Archie has pinned Reggie using a totemic item symbolizing his FATHER, so Jughead insists they are “friends, PRACTICALLY BROTHERS.” Jughead is so jealous that when Reggie picks Archie off the floor to hoist him onto his shoulders (and rubs a hand up his thigh) to literally spin him out of our view (onto an awaiting bed, because there is literally nowhere else to go), he makes it thunder, then starts shouting about “the wrath of god” that was coming. “All of us would be smashed to pieces by it” could’ve sounded prophetic, but, actually it has all the bitterness of the whole “if I can’t have her nobody shall!” cry of rejected lovers.

#Riverdale #Riverdale season 7 #riverdale 7.12 #riverdale 129 #riverdale s7 recap #riverdale s7 #riverdale episode recap

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