#(to be THAT pedantic asshole: no. actually. his works are not *all* scripts)
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⌠I⌠I promise you that I know that Shakespeare is a playwright.
Romeo + Juliet (1996) dir. Baz Luhrmann
#I genuinely have no idea how to reply to someone who thinks they need to explain that to me.#I meanâŚ#good that you have the patience to respond to people who you think donât understand Shakespeare wrote plays i guess#?#that I find it offensive that someone would presume I didnât is very much a me issue#but also: COME ON.#(to be THAT pedantic asshole: no. actually. his works are not *all* scripts)
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Times Winston the Quant Was Right (The Series So Far)
3x03: "Boring." (heâs not wrong. so)
3x03:Â "I'm rejecting the premise, or flipping the script." (idk true of the character in general. he is one of the characters who hardly fits in / does not always follow the "rules" of work interactions, including here.)
3x03: "And they pay guarantees, not bonuses." (he doesn't get a bonus after his first year working in finance)
3x03: "I've heard about Taylor Mason; love to see if you live up to the hype..." (they do, & he apparently does love to see it. he is Right to say this)
3x09: "I promise to try. But as for successfully not being a dick: I can't absolutely guarantee it. Like I can my coding." ("you backslid into being a dick" "fine, yes, big time" "You Know What? The Other Two Were Sweet, But You're More Talented. I Need You." "Damn Right You Do, cuz i'm the yngwie malmsteen of coding: total control of the instrument.")
3x11: "Wait, this isn't some t-test. This is something you'd pitch an investor." (they are planning to pitch it to an investor)
3x11: "[Taylor: Are you going to tell me you can't play this solo?] Course not." (he doesnât tell them that; he can play that solo)
3x11: "It's ready, it's fuckinâ ready, don't tell me it's not ready." (âitâs ready.â)
4x03: "Man, I fucking knew it. There was something unnatural about the way we were getting sawed off. I even started an email to let you know!" ("i'm cassandra!")
4x03: "It's pronounced 'owned.'" (it is, most pedantically correctly. we're fine w/little a pedantry around here)
4x08: "You've also never seen them cut off their own father's head before." (accurately understanding the Intrinsic emotional state behind taylor's Extrinsic behavior: "no, you're right" - taylor)
4x08: "I motherfucking win!" (being seemingly the one person to win their fight night bet)
4x11: [the whole 4x11 admonishlogue] (points were made; taylor listened)
4x12: "Q is for âquantitative,â baby!" ("that it is." (it really is))
5x01: [he may be motivated to be contrarian out of Not Unearned pettiness lol but. while iâm sure axe cappers Could become quants if they wanted to i do not think it is inaccurate to say quants might be able to do some specialized math applications non quants couldnât manage just b/c they choose to give quantly things a shot with 100% fundamental analyst experience (see: the sharpe ratio hundredths of a decimal moment in 5x02)]
5x02: [explaining math stuff to dollar bill (sure he also just wasn't actually going to Try to hone an algorithm for bill and also didn't bother actually doing anything with bill's money for real besides simulating a loss via an asshole tax but not like he's wrong about the algorithm lore)]
5x03: "No fuckinâ way you understand it." (mafee probably does not...(see: the 5x01 point))
5x03: "Hell yeah we can! I mean...this'll be the first live test, but yeah, I'm pretty fuckin' sure." (not only do they pull this off, he later divests all mase cap's non green investments for mase carb purposes in 5x05)
5x05: "The math works the same no matter the names we own and that is where you will always need me." (the math does work the same, at least)
5x05: "Her name's Rian? Are you serious? [...] Fuck. We are so screwed." (pending lmfao. You Know. possibilities)
5x05: âIt's a coup d'etat." / [the whole idea wendy wants to get rid of taylor mason loyalists on purpose] (Accuracy Pending as well but. for a start he's just right that, whatever her agenda actually is, they can't trust wendy.)
5x05: "I've been aboard. The whole damn time!" (he really has)
5x06: [rian & winston's back & forth at their desks is basically them implicitly going "you're right, but" in each response to the other's previous remark]
5x07: [nothing rian & winston say to taylor in 5x07 is exactly like, coherent & correct, but shoutout to their still managing to give taylor the Key Info Rundown they need. winston's Being Right is also surely Sometimes about writing him as providing exposition for taylor / the viewer but hey. it still makes him a source of useful info & taylor is Right to listen to him all the time.]
#wasn't sure this was gonna include something from Every episode appearance; esp. b/c he doesn't talk much in some#but that's part of a reason for finally putting together a Winston Is Right compilation in the first place lol#sure some of these are a little humorous / a little bit of a stretch but. it's all serious enough#winston billions#being expressive with Punctuation in the quotes; being expressive with capitalization (and punctuation) in the parentheticals...#of course i need to give extra commentary lmao
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ÂŤyou have witchcraft in your lipsÂť âfamous!Bughead
When Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper were cast as leads for HBOâs Harry Potter prequel show Magic is Might, they thought they did not know each other. They were wrong.
note: this is a collaborative work between myself and @lilibug--xx. I wrote Jugheadâs POV and she Bettyâs. Be warned, we are each otherâs betas, too.Â
read it on ao3.Â
âA dress made of air and webs and you,
The wet dreams evaporate as they come true.
To anyone else just endless blue,
An invisible kite string connects me to you.â
â Pieces of Sky by Beth Orton.
CHAPTER ONE: mr jones and me, weâre gonna be big starsâŚ
@Variety: HBO picks up four pilot episodes, including Toni Topazâs Harry Potter prequel project.
@Deadline: Up-and-coming musical director Kevin Keller branches off from theatre and confirms working on Harry Potter prequel series with HBO â Magic is Might.
@EntertainmentNews: BREAKING NEWS: Disney darling Veronica Lodge officially casted as one of the leads in Kevin Kellerâs upcoming Marauders Era project â Magic is Might.
@Buzzfeed: You will not believe who was just confirmed to be cast in Magic is Might!Â
@CherryBombshell: To all my loyal, beautiful followers: Of course, I got the part. How could they not cast moi?
@NZHerald: Singer-songwriter Archie Andrews is rumoured to be involved with HBOâs Magic is Might.
@Deadline: Magic is Might Harry Potter prequel series finds its Sirius Black: âHe walked in right off the street and I knew â that is our Sirius Black,â says showrunner, Kevin Keller.
@EntertainmentNews: HBOâs Magic is Might just cast its Remus Lupin, and itâs a very interesting choice.
@Buzzfeed: Magic is Mightâs Remus Lupin is now â Remmy Lupin?!
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THE WAYWARD PRINCE:
The thing about Jughead Jones â he was weird, and he liked to be weird.
Jughead Jones was the following things: adroit wordsmith, razor-sharp, and a smart-mouthed asshole. He was not, however, the sort a teenage girlâs dreams were made of. He was a little too tall and a little too angular with a face that was a little too fond of scowling to be conventionally attractive. He had two girlfriends in the span of his entire life, and first one heâd acquired when he was nine for the span of two days. He was akin to a scalpel â sharp-edged, clinical, and very good at cutting people out of his life.
Except, Sabrina.
Never Sabrina.
And because of Sabrina â he was here, regretting everything.
âThis,â Jughead grumbled for the nth time, âis all your fault.â
âYes,â Sabrina agreed, throwing a dusky-blue button-down at him with a glare that clearly conveyed wear this or else, âit is my fault that youâve landed the biggest television role of this year. I apologise for being magnificent.â
Jughead snorted. âPotter is the lead.â
âWho cares? Sirius is obviously meant to be the hot one. That makes his role the bigger fish. And you,â Sabrina said, tilting his head sideways and inspecting the carelessly casual style she arranged his hair in (read: brushed once and let it air-dry), âcousin-german, will soon be smiling from a poster on every pubescent girlâs wall and be the main feature in their dreams.â
âIf itâs all the same to you,â Jugheadâs scowl grew deeper, a feat he had not imagined was achievable before heâd done it. âIâd rather not.âÂ
Two hours later, two thirds of which were spent navigating L.A.âs atrocious traffic, Jughead found himself lounging in a deceptively comfortable egg chair in a Hollywood studio, waiting to proceed with the first script reading session with the rest of Magic is Might cast. Sabrina, primly perched to his right, was scanning the others over the brim of her rapidly cooling coffee cup with shrewd, pale-grey eyes, as Jughead lazily thumbed through the script.
âStop eyeing them like you want to wear their faces as a mask, Ree,â he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
âI am so not. Iâm eyeing them like I want to make a fashionable skin suit, obviously. Get your facts straight, Jones.â
Here was the thing; â Jughead firmly believed that if you did something, you better put your best foot forward from the start; to do your very best at everything you undertook and not half-ass it simply because it required effort. (Life required effort, Jughead often reminded himself, if it didnât it wouldnât be so damn difficult.)
This stance seemed at odds with his disaffected and cynical slacker persona, but what could Jughead say â he was contrary like that. He could remain apathetic and be a pedantic perfectionist at heart; he had layers, like a lasagna.
But precisely that sort of attitude had landed him the lead role in Magic is Might as Sirius Black.
It had happened nine days ago, when Jughead had accompanied Sabrina to her second audition for Magic is Might â she had failed to get Lily Evansâs role and was trying out for Narcissa Black. Jughead was there for emotional support, for the sort of get your shit together, you walking waste of space pep-talks Sabrina and he excelled at. He was there to permit his hand to be crushed in a vice grip as she waited for her name to be called, and to take her to Wildflower CafĂŠÂ by their apartment to gorge on breakfast foods and stuff their faces with toasted marshmallow milkshakes in the face of another disappointment.
Jughead Jones was, by profession, a screenwriter; he wrote seven plays, one of which had been actually made into a film. He was not an actor. The universe disagreed, however. Kevin fucking Keller disagreed, too, apparently, because the moment Jughead had walked up to a dumbfounded-looking Sabrina after her audition â handkerchief at the ready, just in case â heâd been spotted by Kevin fucking Kellerâs eagle-eyed stare. Kevin fucking Keller whoâd taken one look at Jughead, pointed his finger at him and with eyedrum piercing snap, barked out, âYou, there â in here, now.â and Sabrina, that fucking traitor, had pushed him forward into the audition room.
It was serendipitous he knew the script like the back of his hand, having practiced with Sabrina until they were blue in the face, it was also fortuitous his reaction in the face of sheer audacity was to fall back on his most defining traits â sarcasm and generally all-around fuck-you attitude.
Both, as it had turned out, were great characteristics for one Sirius Black.
So here he was, Forsythe Pendleton Jones the third, newly minted actor extraordinaire with no education about the craft and enough talent, according to Keller, to fill the Pacific ocean and then some â out of his depth, and feeling utterly displaced.
It was a peculiar feeling, foreign and unwelcome â Jughead hated it with the blazing ebullition of pure abhorrence.
âHey,â Sabrina called, soft as a whisper, placing her hand on his knee, stilling it. Jughead hadnât realised his left leg had been bouncing. âRelax, bro-bro.â
Jughead opened his mouth to reply something along the lines of Shut it, hambone, but was interrupted when a tall shadow of a small person fell across his lap.
âWell, well, well, if it isnât Mad Max himself,â commented a small, red-headed girl on berry-red charged murder-weapons on the lam from the law and thus posing as womenâs footwear. âSo, tall, dark, and inexperienced, how does it feel to finally be in the real show biz?â
There was a refractory set to Jugheadâs clenched jaw, so Sabrina answered in his stead, snickering, âI donât know Big Red, you tell us?â
The girlâs exceedingly red mouth was reset out of its perpetually sullen pout into a grimace of distaste. âFor a virtual nobody, you sure have a mouth on you, Emily Strange.â
There were four rules Jughead Jones instinctively followed whenever he chose to speak: Was he being rational? Was he being truthful? Were his words necessary? Were they kind? Often times, if he had not met all of his criteria, Jughead would settle on keeping his silence a while longer.
This, was not such a time.
âIs that all you can do,â Jughead found himself rasping out, âtry your utmost to diss people with painfully obvious references? Youâre not doing a very good job, are you?â
âYouâre a pretty cool customer, huh?â
âI hide my inner pain underneath a stoic visage,â Jughead quipped. Cheryl Blossom looked like would like nothing more than to dig her red-tipped claws into Jugheadâs stoic visage.
âHey, guys,â said a guy in corduroy slacks and a blue-yellow varsity jacket of all things; he was average-height, but with a Heroic Build identifying him as James Potter material. There was a hint of admonishment in his tone, but not enough to reign anyone in. âWeâre supposed to be getting alongâŚâ
Jughead was utterly unsurprised when he was promptly ignored.
Big Red sneered down on them and with a snazzy flip of gloriously red hair, pointedly perched on the corner of the oval table. Then, she extended a bedazzled with a shape of a cherry phone Jughead didnât realise she held in front of her on a selfie-stick, and with that godawful pout, began, âSee, my lovely cherries, when presented with a choice between either Tim Burton Junior and his blonde Fran Bow or a ginger Kelly Clarkson, Cheryl Bombshell has no choice but to choose herself. I certainly hope their acting is better than their personalities because those are as parched as a dry spell.â
âOi, Cherry Bomb!â a female producer barked sharply, the one with pink-striped hair and a punk attitude, âdonât fucking live blog a closed script reading, you imbecile!â
âDonât call me that!â Cheryl Blossom snarled, teeth unnaturally white against the vivid red of her mouth. âHow are my cherries supposed to know what Iâm doing at any given moment if I donât blog about it?â
âI donât know,â Jughead grumbled, too low to be heard by anyone but Sabrina, who promptly elbowed him in the ribs, âmaybe try not to seek validation from a faceless mass of people online?â said the kettle to the pot, he mentally added.
The woman with the pink hair was even shorter than Cheryl, but when she stood up, she cut an impressively intimidating figure nonetheless. âThis,â she growled, âis what we get for casting a bloody Instagram starlet.â
âSheâs a solid choice, Toni,â Keller admonished, softly, gingerly prying away her fingers off his bicep, âshe can act and her hair is iconic. What more could we ask for?â
âA fucking professional attitude for one. And maybe,â Topaz, that was her name, Jughead finally remembered, pointedly shouted in red-headâs direction, ânot to always pout like sheâs about to suck dick.â
Cheryl Blossom looked up from the highly-focused examination of her razor-sharp talons sheâd been performing and pouted. âI donât suck dick on sheer principle, you grotsky little byotch.â
Varsity Jacket raised his hands in placation. âOkay, seriously, maybe you shouldââ
âToni, go smoke a fag and find your chill,â cut in Keller, and her hand immediately shot up, giving him the middle finger, but she left the room nonetheless. âAnd Cheryl, take it down a notch. Iâm serious, you hear me?â
Cheryl turned away from him with a huff, but she hadnât said anything. Instead, she began typing away furiously on her phone.
Huh, thought Jughead.
Kevin Keller was not a tough guy, he noticed, he did not have a commanding presence. Even Varsity Jacket drew more attention to himself with his ridiculous floppy hair, freckled face, and All-American attitude. But, Jughead decided, Kevin Keller understood women. With that in mind, Jughead settled back in his chair, reading over the script yet again.
It was fifteen minutes later when Toni Topaz strode into the room, her combat boots practically abusing the dotted, grey linoleum with the force of her steps, not looking an iota less stressed. âFuck it,â she announced, âif we wait anymore for those two, weâll get behind schedule.â
âAll right, then,â Keller said, clapping his hands, âplaces, everyone.â
Like the asshole she was, Sabrina took the seat assigned to him, next to Varsity Jacket, and switched their name planks with a wink. Jughead had neither the inclination nor the naivetĂŠ to question her choices, so he dragged the chair he had been sitting for the last half-an-hour towards the table by its back, and positioned himself on Sabrinaâs left, straightening the SIRIUS BLACK plaque so it was uniformly aligned with all the others.
The plague before a lounging Cheryl Blossom did not read BITCH FROM HELL, much to Jugheadâs surprise, instead, it said â LILY EVANS.
A thought streaked across the forefront of his mind:Â We are all royally fucked.
Varsity Jacketâs named turned out to be Archie Andrews. Jughead knew that now because the first words out of that kidâs mouth were, quite literally, âHey, there. Iâm Archie Andrews, Iâm eighteen, you may know me from last yearâs 16 Birthday Wishes, and I look forward to working with ya all.â
Jughead could not have conjured this kid up had he even tried. He shared a concerned glance with Sabrina who mouthed, is he for real? and Jughead only had the energy to shrug. Yeah, he decided, he could see this Archie Andrews as one James Potter. If he squinted.
Cheryl Blossom did not introduce herself. She scowled at all of them, even poor golden retriever puppy personified Andrews, called them philistines, and proceeded with reading her lines. Interesting development: she could act. Expected conclusion: she packed too much malice into her lines and came of as passive aggressive. Keller had to intermediately correct her. That was, however, a correctable quality she could redeem herself from with enough effort; or so Sabrina had said, Jugheadâs inescapable, little-devil-on-the-shoulder-type expert on all things actingâ˘. Â
When it was his turn to read, Jughead did what he had always done when he read out loud his scripts during editing: tried his damndest not to stutter, keeping his voice smooth and even, and detached himself from the situation, rendering himself utterly impervious to nerves and apprehension. It was not Jughead Jones who had been reciting the script from memory as the lines printed on paper streamed before his eyes in a confusing, maddening swirl â it had been Sirius Black doing all those things; teasing his friend James, flirting with prim and proper Lily, arguing with Narcissa.
Disassociating might have kept Jugheadâs anxiety at bay, but it made Sirius Black come alive.
So, of course, once Jughead had gotten into the swing of things, the universe rained on his parade: the door slammed open, revealing two girls standing on the other side of its frame.
âOooops,â said the shorter one, her dark hair reflecting light attractively as she stode in the room. She had not sounded particularly sorry, Jughead noticed. âApologies, hadnât meant to barge in quite soââ
âVeronica,â Toni cut in, as bitingly as a wolf, âyou were supposed to be here half-an-hour ago!â
âThat late, huh,â muttered Veronica assumingly Lodge, flipping her wrist to check the slim, diamond-encrusted watch on her left hand. âApologies, Toni, darling, but L.A. traffic is simply odious, as you well know. Got held up.â
âBy what â appearance of abominable snowman in the middle of Franklin Avenue?â
âNot quite,â Veronica replied, a sly not-quite smile settling on her face, âBetty and Iââ
âOf course, you had hamstrung Cooper, too.â Toni cast a dirty look over Veronicaâs shoulder at a willowy, nervous-looking blonde still hesitating in the doorway. âDonât think I havenât noticed you there, princess.â
âWell, as I was saying, Betty and I,â continued Veronica Lodge, bulldozing over Toni completely and out of the corner of his eye, Jughead could see Call Me Archie Andrewsâs jaw unhinge a little, âwere late completely by accident, but it was all my fault. Letâs just say, a Lodge doesnât always land on their feet.
âStill, I had to amend such an insufferable grievance,â Veronica smiled, charmingly, still sly as a fox. âImagine how tickled pink I was to learn we are not only headed into the same building, but for the same script readingââ
âTo which you are late; both of you,â grumbled Toni, but she seemed to have lost most of her heat. Kevin was rubbing her shoulders soothingly as she massaged her temples. Momentarily, Jughead wondered if she was prematurely grey beneath all that pink dye.
ââlong story, short: Betty here,â Veronica said, stepping back and drawing the taller girl into her side. âIs my new BFF and I love her to pieces.â
âFrom a five minute meeting,â Kevin asked, corner of his mouth twitching.
âBoo, you whore,â teased Veronica, earning an unexpect snort from Sabrina, âitâs love at first sight. Donât judge.â Then:
âYou there,â Veronica snapped her fingers in the direction of a fish-eyed assistant Jughead took care to ignore â sheâd been making moon-eyes at him, according to Sabrina, and there were times to be wary of his cousinâs advice, but not in instances such as this one. âFetch me a skinny venti white mocha, one shot, with two pumps of sugarfree vanilla, no whip â pronto. I canât think clearly without my daily recommended injection of sugar and caffeine.â
Immediately, the situation dissolved into absolute bedlam as everyone clamoured for Gingerâs attention to place their coffee order, too. Sheâs a sly one, Jughead thought for the third time, smart, too.
Here was the thing about Jughead Jones: he was an objective observer of life, not an active participator. An introvert and a borderline misanthrope, he regarded the world from a safe distance of cool, clinical detachment â he watched and he recorded and he understood because he noticed enough to pay attention in the first place; he was perceptive, and he used this to his advantage.Â
And as if enticed by a magnetic pull, Jugheadâs eyes drifted towards the leggy blonde to his right. The first thing he noticed her was this â she was uncomfortable. The second was that she was seemed nervous, displaced; and third â well, she was making her way towards him.
This girl, however, was totally throwing him for a loop.
She was dressed in a diaphanous, intricately embroidered, sapphire-coloured blouse, and when she shifted to pull out her chair, Jughead could see her laced brassiere through the silk material. Unexpectedly, she sat next to him, across from a plaque reading REMMY LUPIN. She had a striking look â blue-eyed and golden-haired with a face like a porcelain dollâs; wide-eyed, lovely, and haunting in its stillness. I met a lady on a moor, Jughead though, aureate hair, refulgent eyes; a dancing, starry sprite.
âHi,â she greeted, turning to him, face splitting into a blooming, honeyed smile, white teeth gleaming, the streaming sunlight from the window behind them set her braid into a molten blaze, âIâm Betty.â
.
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THE DREAMER:
âThree creams, two splenda, please.â
Betty Cooper was already running (hopefully, fashionably) late; not exactly a good first impression. She had woken up behind schedule (she had sort of fallen into the black hole that was Tumblr, recently, and had taken to staying up late); her cat, Caramel, had thrown up all over the kitchen floor. One side of her hair had dried flatter than the other â she was never going to bed straight from the shower ever again. And her uber had been running behind. Fantastic, she had uttered when finally arriving at the address given. The time on her phone alerting her that she should would have been inside already, had her morning gone accordingly, sipping on her coffee without a care in the world.
Well, that last bit was a stretch. If you asked anyone who knew her, they would say without a doubt that, Betty Cooper cared too much, about everything.
It was kind of her thing, though. Betty had a profound sense of perseverance and applied it to anyone in need of help that she came across. Polly (her older sister and recently, albeit somewhat regrettably, her manager) akined it to her being like a new mother, babying her fresh-faced ducklings. It often impeded her own desires and well-thought out plans.
Betty was a goner for a schedule. She could plan her day like nobodyâs business â rarely did it ever actually go according to plan though. She would describe herself as being meticulous bordering the edge of perfectionist â Betty actually detested that word. Being in control of the situation, however, gave her life.
This was all new to her though, at least, fairly. Acting, that is.
She had been on edge of booking a flight back to San Francisco for what seemed like months. With only $200 to her name, and a can of cold soup sitting like a rock in her belly, Betty had auditioned for a role in Magic is Might. She had been failing auditions for months, her savings account was gone, and she was exhausted from working two menial jobs in order to have money to even go to auditions.
So, by all accounts, Betty figured an extra boost of caffeine was in order to make it through the whirlwind day that had been plotted ahead. A table read with her cast mates of Magic is Might, who she had yet to meet, was slotted for the whole day. As well as some promotional pictures of the group. The whole thing came together rather quickly for an HBO show, as she understood. Betty would be forever grateful that they hadnât found anyone for the part of Remus Lupin yet.
Somehow, her name had been misspelled (she wanted to glare at Polly) and they thought it had said Elizander, on her papers. Whoever had been manning the audition hadnât done a thorough look-through at the time and had barely looked up at her, just shooed her through the door. They seemed desperate.
To be fair, she hadnât realized that the part of Remus was male. Of course, she had read the Harry Potter books, who hasnât? But Polly had simply implored her to get her ass to this audition, without much else to go on.
Everyone had stared at her when she entered the room, but the guy in the middle of the group seated before her had stood up, planting his hands on the table with a loud smack.
âExcuse me, this isnât ââ
âNo, excuse me, but that was incredibly rude.â A blush bloomed across her chest, streaking upwards, despite her outward display of confidence. âIâm here to audition, so let me audition before turning me away.â
It turns out that the man was Kevin Keller, one of the showrunners. Betty had desperately wanted to curl into a ball from mortification when she found out, but instead she had been engulfed in a hug while he had exclaimed âSuch fire!â, and had let her do the audition. Â
They had complimented her afterwards. Apparently she had an inner voice that matched Remusâs suppressed darkness Ă la werewolf unequivocally. They were going to change the character and rework the script for her. Betty was unperturbed usually, but she had been floored by their sentiments.
Now, granted, they had done the same thing for the character of Snape, but that was for Veronica Lodge â ex-disney starlet who had bowed out of the limelight for several years only to return and turn everyoneâs heads when she demanded the part of Severus Snape.
Betty mussed her life was going to be very different from here on out (assuming the show gets picked up after the contingent episodes), but she was looking forward to not cringing every time they ran her card through a register. She loved food, and coffee was a vice she wasnât willing to give up.
In L.A. there seemed to be a Starbucks on just about every godforsaken block, so she had been thankful there was one conveniently close to the building she was now ardently walking toward. Betty was practically jogging as she took a sip of her drink, the mouthful of cold coffee was sweet and creamy. It was really refreshing â had she not just spilled it all over her shirt when someone plowed into her shoulder, jarring the cup from her hand.
Betty had stood frozen in place, her muscles turning tense as she panicked. Of course she had worn her favorite outfit today. Her pale pink sweater was now sticking to her skin uncomfortably, but thankfully there were only a few drops on her jeans â the dark color of them would prevent a stain from being noticeable, but her sweaterâŚ
âOh my god, fuck, I am so sorry.â
Betty looked up from where she was still staring at her coffee soaked front, hand crushing the now empty cup. She blinked owlishly at the girl who had spoken. A dark haired girl with an equally empty cup, however stain free clothes â impeccable, by the way, in front of her. Small hands covered in white lace gloves (really? The urge to roll her eyes was strong) were reaching out for her and grabbing hold of her arm, gently albeit forcefully. Betty had no choice but to be tugged along and out of the path of the ravenous L.A. goers on the sidewalk.
âItâs⌠fine, really,â Betty hadnât wanted to use the word, but there wasnât anything else on the tip of her tongue. âIâm running late to my read through anyway, I should ââ
Veronica interrupted her, raising her impeccably arched brows even higher. âRead through? As in, script?â
Nodding, Betty looked up to the tall glass front building they were almost in front of. She had been so closeâŚ
âWell, I think weâre headed to the same place then. Veronica Lodge,â the raven haired girl extended her glove covered hand and Betty raised her hand that wasnât a sticky mess to shake it. Veronica continued, âpleasure to meet youâŚâ she trailed off and Betty interjected.
âBetty Cooper.â
âBetty, allow me to offer you a new blouse, I simply canât let you in there like that.â
Betty had started to shake her head, fingers itching to reach up and tighten her ponytail, but alas, she realized, she had worn her hair in a loose braid that brushed the edges of her collarbone. âNo, thatâs okay, you donât have to do that.â she waved a hand, tossing her empty cup into the trash bin they had stopped by.
âI insist. Come,â it wasnât up for debate anymore, that white glove grabbing Bettyâs wrist again and pulling her toward a sleek black car that was parked some spaces down. âDonât worry about being late, if we both are then they really canât do anything about it."
Betty was surprised that the words didnât sound pretentious coming from the other girls mouth, but humble. Veronica had pulled her inside the car, instructing her to pull the door closed. She hesitated before doing so, the door shutting with a soft click. She never thought being in a car alone with Veronica Lodge would ever be on her agenda, but here she was, with a collection of delicate tops spread over their laps that were distinctly not at all Bettyâs style.
But beggars couldnât be choosers.
Her green-blue eyes examined the choices carefully, taking in the price tags still dangling from them. Her throat was dry, her swallow surely audible. Everything was more-than-her-rent expensive. Plucking the one with the smallest numbers up, a transparent (okay maybe she had made a mistake hereâŚ) sapphire-blue blouse with colorful embroidered flowers, âThis one is great,â she smiled at Veronica.
âOh, excellent choice. Canât go wrong with Derek Lam 10.â
She scrunched her nose up, fingering the material. Veronica had leant back against the seat, arms crossed expectantly. Betty glanced around to the car windows. âYou want me to change here?â
âI expect you, too, yes.â
Betty sucked in a breath of courage and peeled off the stained sweater. Thankfully, her white (unlucky, she had decided) lacy bralette would be suitable underneath the barely-considered-a-shirt. She felt Veronicaâs dark eyes on her, watching as she slipped the garment on over her head. Betty tugged it down gently, it only hit the top waist of her jeans.
Veronica reached out a hand to snap the price tag off, tossing it into the empty front seat. âThere, oh you have to keep it, it looks perfect on you.â
The blonde smoothed a hand down her somewhat exposed stomach, wishing she were thinner or more toned. âSure. Thanks, Veronica.â
âYouâre quite welcome, darling. Nothing bores friendship quicker than the sharing of clothes and gossiping over boys. So one down, one to go.â
Betty couldnât help the smile blooming across her face at Veronicaâs words. She could use a friend. L.A. had been a lonely place the past two years, which did nothing to help her anxiety.
âOf course, Iâm looking forward to it. Weâll be spending a lot of time together after all.â
The other girl smiled back, tucking glossy black hair behind her ear. âIndeed, we might as well make the best of it.â she paused, checking the fancy was fastened around her delicate wrist. âWe are incredibly late now, darling. We had better hurry along before Toni sinks her teeth into us.â
Betty nodded, climbing out the car door as gracefully as she could with shaking hands. Veronica had saddled up to her side, linking their arms together as they walked. Feeling a burst of adoration for the girl Betty felt she had wrongly judged in the past (she grew up watching Disney channel, after all) she vowed not to judge any of the other actors based on the same principle.
The ease of being by Veronicaâs side made her nerves calm until they were in front of the appropriate conference room door. A wicked smirk graced the raven-haired girlâs features and she disentangled their arms. A dainty platform heeled foot kicked the door in with surprising force for such a small girl.
It had Betty stepping back, hiding away from the doorframe a ways, eyes darting around the room and taking in the scene. It looks like they had already started the read through, and the ball of nerves in her stomach started to grow again.
She did not think it would ever leave her.
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tbc.
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note: Title comes from Shakespeareâs Henry V: âYou have witchcraft in your lips, Kate. There is more eloquence in a sweet touch of them than in the tongues of the whole French council.â Chapter title comes from Mr. Jones by Counting Crows.Â
#bughead#bughead fanfiction#otp: bathed in sunlight; drenched in shadows#character: jughead jones#character: betty cooper#pairing: jughead x betty#tv: riverdale#riverdale fanfiction#in this tag resides fanfiction#â: victrix#stark writes#series: roseblood#a song of smol bean and tol bean#series: famous bughead#*
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ăyou have witchcraft in your lipsă
âfamous!Bughead
When Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper were cast as leads for HBOâs Harry Potter prequel show Magic is Might, they thought they did not know each other. They were wrong.
note: this is a collaborative work between myself and @strix. I wrote Betty'sâs POV and she Jugheadâs. Be warned, we are each otherâs betas, too.Â
read it on ao3.Â
â A dress made of air and webs and you,
The wet dreams evaporate as they come true.
To anyone else just endless blue,
An invisible kite string connects me to you.â
â Pieces of Sky by Beth Orton.
CHAPTER ONE: mr jones and me, weâre gonna be big starsâŚ
 @Variety: HBO picks up four pilot episodes, including Toni Topazâs Harry Potter prequel project.
@Deadline: Up-and-coming musical director Kevin Keller branches off from theatre and confirms working on Harry Potter prequel series with HBO â Magic is Might.
@EntertainmentNews: BREAKING NEWS: Disney darling Veronica Lodge officially casted as one of the leads in Kevin Kellerâs upcoming Marauders Era project â Magic is Might.
@Buzzfeed: You will not believe who was just confirmed to be cast in Magic is Might!
@CherryBombshell: To all my loyal, beautiful followers: Of course, I got the part. How could they not cast moi?
@NZHerald: Singer-songwriter Archie Andrews is rumoured to be involved with HBOâs Magic is Might.
@Deadline: Magic is Might Harry Potter prequel series finds its Sirius Black: âHe walked in right off the street and I knew â that is our Sirius Black,â says showrunner, Kevin Keller.
@EntertainmentNews: HBOâs Magic is Might just cast its Remus Lupin, and itâs a very interesting choice.
@Buzzfeed: Magic is Mightâs Remus Lupin is now â Remmy Lupin?!
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THE WAYWARD PRINCE:
The thing about Jughead Jones â he was weird, and he liked to be weird.
Jughead Jones was the following things: adroit wordsmith, razor-sharp, and a smart-mouthed asshole. He was not, however, the sort a teenage girlâs dreams were made of. He was a little too tall and a little too angular with a face that was a little too fond of scowling to be conventionally attractive. He had two girlfriends in the span of his entire life, and first one heâd acquired when he was nine for the span of two days. He was akin to a scalpel â sharp-edged, clinical, and very good at cutting people out of his life.
Except, Sabrina.
Never Sabrina.
And because of Sabrina â he was here, regretting everything.
âThis,â Jughead grumbled for the nth time, âis all your fault.â
âYes,â Sabrina agreed, throwing a dusky-blue button-down at him with a glare that clearly conveyed wear this or else, âit is my fault that youâve landed the biggest television role of this year. I apologise for being magnificent.â
Jughead snorted. âPotter is the lead.â
âWho cares? Sirius is obviously meant to be the hot one. That makes his role the bigger fish. And you,â Sabrina said, tilting his head sideways and inspecting the carelessly casual style she arranged his hair in (read: brushed once and let it air-dry), âcousin-german, will soon be smiling from a poster on every pubescent girlâs wall and be the main feature in their dreams.â
âIf itâs all the same to you,â Jugheadâs scowl grew deeper, a feat he had not imagined was achievable before heâd done it. âIâd rather not.â
Two hours later, two thirds of which were spent navigating L.A.âs atrocious traffic, Jughead found himself lounging in a deceptively comfortable egg chair in a Hollywood studio, waiting to proceed with the first script reading session with the rest of Magic is Might cast. Sabrina, primly perched to his right, was scanning the others over the brim of her rapidly cooling coffee cup with shrewd, pale-grey eyes, as Jughead lazily thumbed through the script.
âStop eyeing them like you want to wear their faces as a mask, Ree,â he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
âI am so not. Iâm eyeing them like I want to make a fashionable skin suit, obviously. Get your facts straight, Jones.â
Here was the thing; â Jughead firmly believed that if you did something, you better put your best foot forward from the start; to do your very best at everything you undertook and not half-ass it simply because it required effort. (Life required effort, Jughead often reminded himself, if it didnât it wouldnât be so damn difficult.)
This stance seemed at odds with his disaffected and cynical slacker persona, but what could Jughead say â he was contrary like that. He could remain apathetic and be a pedantic perfectionist at heart; he had layers, like a lasagna.
But precisely that sort of attitude had landed him the lead role in Magic is Might as Sirius Black.
It had happened nine days ago, when Jughead had accompanied Sabrina to her second audition for Magic is Might â she had failed to get Lily Evansâs role and was trying out for Narcissa Black. Jughead was there for emotional support, for the sort of get your shit together, you walking waste of space pep-talks Sabrina and he excelled at. He was there to permit his hand to be crushed in a vice grip as she waited for her name to be called, and to take her to Wildflower CafĂŠ by their apartment to gorge on breakfast foods and stuff their faces with toasted marshmallow milkshakes in the face of another disappointment.
Jughead Jones was, by profession, a screenwriter; he wrote seven plays, one of which had been actually made into a film. He was not an actor. The universe disagreed, however. Kevin fucking Keller disagreed, too, apparently, because the moment Jughead had walked up to a dumbfounded-looking Sabrina after her audition â handkerchief at the ready, just in case â heâd been spotted by Kevin fucking Kellerâs eagle-eyed stare. Kevin fucking Keller whoâd taken one look at Jughead, pointed his finger at him and with eyedrum piercing snap, barked out, âYou, there â in here, now.â and Sabrina, that fucking traitor, had pushed him forward into the audition room.
It was serendipitous he knew the script like the back of his hand, having practiced with Sabrina until they were blue in the face, it was also fortuitous his reaction in the face of sheer audacity was to fall back on his most defining traits â sarcasm and generally all-around fuck-you attitude.
Both, as it had turned out, were great characteristics for one Sirius Black.
So here he was, Forsythe Pendleton Jones the third, newly minted actor extraordinaire with no education about the craft and enough talent, according to Keller, to fill the Pacific ocean and then some â out of his depth, and feeling utterly displaced.
It was a peculiar feeling, foreign and unwelcome â Jughead hated it with the blazing ebullition of pure abhorrence.
âHey,â Sabrina called, soft as a whisper, placing her hand on his knee, stilling it. Jughead hadnât realised his left leg had been bouncing. âRelax, bro-bro.â
Jughead opened his mouth to reply something along the lines of Shut it, hambone, but was interrupted when a tall shadow of a small person fell across his lap.
âWell, well, well, if it isnât Mad Max himself,â commented a small, red-headed girl on berry-red charged murder-weapons on the lam from the law and thus posing as womenâs footwear. âSo, tall, dark, and inexperienced, how does it feel to finally be in the real show biz?â
There was a refractory set to Jugheadâs clenched jaw, so Sabrina answered in his stead, snickering, âI donât know Big Red, you tell us?â
The girlâs exceedingly red mouth was reset out of its perpetually sullen pout into a grimace of distaste. âFor a virtual nobody, you sure have a mouth on you, Emily Strange.â
There were four rules Jughead Jones instinctively followed whenever he chose to speak: Was he being rational? Was he being truthful? Were his words necessary? Were they kind? Often times, if he had not met all of his criteria, Jughead would settle on keeping his silence a while longer.
This, was not such a time.
âIs that all you can do,â Jughead found himself rasping out, âtry your utmost to diss people with painfully obvious references? Youâre not doing a very good job, are you?â
âYouâre a pretty cool customer, huh?â
âI hide my inner pain underneath a stoic visage,â Jughead quipped. Cheryl Blossom looked like would like nothing more than to dig her claws red-tipped into Jugheadâs stoic visage.
âHey, guys,â said a guy in corduroy slacks and a blue-yellow varsity jacket of all things; he was average-height, but with a Heroic Build identifying him as James Potter material. There was a hint of admonishment in his tone, but not enough to reign anyone in. âWeâre supposed to be getting alongâŚâ
Jughead was utterly unsurprised when he was promptly ignored.
Big Red sneered down on them and with a snazzy flip of gloriously red hair, pointedly perched on the corner of the oval table. Then, she extended a bedazzled with a shape of a cherry phone Jughead didnât realise she held in front of her on a selfie-stick, and with that godawful pout, began, âSee, my lovely cherries, when presented with a choice between either Tim Burton Junior and his blonde Fran Bow or a ginger Kelly Clarkson, Cheryl Bombshell has no choice but to choose herself. I certainly hope their acting is better than their personalities because those are as parched as a dry spell.â
âOi, Cherry Bomb!â a female producer barked sharply, the one with pink-striped hair and a punk attitude, âdonât fucking live blog a closed script reading, you imbecile!â
âDonât call me that!â Cheryl Blossom snarled, teeth unnaturally white against the vivid red of her mouth. âHow are my cherries supposed to know what Iâm doing at any given moment if I donât blog about it?â
âI donât know,â Jughead grumbled, too low to be heard by anyone but Sabrina, who promptly elbowed him in the ribs, âmaybe try not to seek validation from a faceless mass of people online?â said the kettle to the pot, he mentally added.
The woman with the pink hair was even shorter than Cheryl, but when she stood up, she cut an impressively intimidating figure nonetheless. âThis,â she growled, âis what we get for casting a bloody Instagram starlet.â
âSheâs a solid choice, Toni,â Keller admonished, softly, gingerly prying away her fingers off his bicep, âshe can act and her hair is iconic. What more could we ask for?â
âA fucking professional attitude for one. And maybe,â Topaz, that was her name, Jughead finally remembered, pointedly shouted in red-headâs direction, ânot to always pout like sheâs about to suck dick.â
Cheryl Blossom looked up from the highly-focused examination of her razor-sharp talons sheâd been performing and pouted. âI donât suck dick on sheer principle, you grotsky little byotch.â
Varsity Jacket raised his hands in placation. âOkay, seriously, maybe you shouldââ
âToni, go smoke a fag and find your chill,â cut in Keller, and her hand immediately shot up, giving him the middle finger, but she left the room nonetheless. âAnd Cheryl, take it down a notch. Iâm serious, you hear me?â
Cheryl turned away from him with a huff, but she hadnât said anything. Instead, she began typing away furiously on her phone.
Huh, thought Jughead.
Kevin Keller was not a tough guy, he noticed, he did not have a commanding presence. Even Varsity Jacket drew more attention to himself with his ridiculous floppy hair, freckled face, and All-American attitude. But, Jughead decided, Kevin Keller understood women. With that in mind, Jughead settled back in his chair, reading over the script yet again.
It was fifteen minutes later when Toni Topaz strode into the room, her combat boots practically abusing the dotted, grey linoleum with the force of her steps, not looking an iota less stressed. âFuck it,â she announced, âif we wait anymore for those two, weâll get behind schedule.â
âAll right, then,â Keller said, clapping his hands, âplaces, everyone.â
Like the asshole she was, Sabrina took the seat assigned to him, next to Varsity Jacket, and switched their name planks with a wink. Jughead had neither the inclination nor the naivetĂŠ to question her choices, so he dragged the chair he had been sitting for the last half-an-hour towards the table by its back, and positioned himself on Sabrinaâs left, straightening the SIRIUS BLACK plaque so it was uniformly aligned with all the others.
The plague before a lounging Cheryl Blossom did not read BITCH FROM HELL, much to Jugheadâs surprise, instead, it said â LILY EVANS.
A thought streaked across the forefront of his mind: We are all royally fucked.
Varsity Jacketâs named turned out to be Archie Andrews. Jughead knew that now because the first words out of that kidâs mouth were, quite literally, âHey, there. Iâm Archie Andrews, Iâm eighteen, you may know me from last yearâs 16 Birthday Wishes, and I look forward to working with ya all.â
Jughead could not have conjured this kid up had he even tried. He shared a concerned glance with Sabrina who mouthed, is he for real? and Jughead only had the energy to shrug. Yeah, he decided, he could see this Archie Andrews as one James Potter. If he squinted.
Cheryl Blossom did not introduce herself. She scowled at all of them, even poor golden retriever puppy personified Andrews, called them philistines, and proceeded with reading her lines. Interesting development: she could act. Expected conclusion: she packed too much malice into her lines and came of ass passive aggressive. Keller had to intermediately correct her. That was, however, a correctable quality she could redeem herself from with enough effort; or so Sabrina had said, Jugheadâs inescapable, little-devil-on-the-shoulder-type expert on all things actingâ˘. Â
When it was his turn to read, Jughead did what he always did when he read out loud his scripts during editing: tried his damndest not to stutter, keeping his voice smooth and even, and detached himself from the situation, rendering himself utterly impervious to nerves and apprehension. It was not Jughead Jones who had been reciting the script from memory as the lines printed on paper streamed before his eyes in a confusing, maddening swirl â it had been Sirius Black doing all those things; teasing his friend James, flirting with prim and proper Lily, arguing with Narcissa.
Disassociating might have kept Jugheadâs anxiety at bay, but it made Sirius Black come alive.
So, of course, once Jughead had gotten into the swing of things, the universe rained on his parade: the door slammed open, revealing two girls standing on the other side of its frame.
âOooops,â said the shorter one, her dark hair reflecting light attractively as she stode in the room. She had not sounded particularly sorry, Jughead noticed. âApologies, hadnât meant to barge in quite soââ
âVeronica,â Toni cut in, as bitingly as a wolf, âyou were supposed to be here half-an-hour ago!â
âThat late, huh,â muttered Veronica assumingly Lodge, flipping her wrist to check the slim, diamond-encrusted watch on her left hand. âApologies, Toni, darling, but L.A. traffic is simply odious, as you well know. Got held up.â
âBy what â appearance of abominable snowman in the middle of Franklin Avenue?â
âNot quite,â Veronica replied, a sly not-quite smile settling on her face, âBetty and Iââ
âOf course, you had hamstrung Cooper, too.â Toni cast a dirty look over Veronicaâs shoulder at a willowy, nervous-looking blonde still hesitating in the doorway. âDonât think I havenât noticed you there, princess.â
âWell, as I was saying, Betty and I,â continued Veronica Lodge, bulldozing over Toni completely and out of the corner of his eye, Jughead could see Call Me, Archie Andrewsâs jaw unhinge a little, âwere late completely by accident, but it was all my fault. Letâs just say, a Lodge doesnât always land on their feet.
âStill, I had to amend such an insufferable grievance,â Veronica smiled, charmingly, still sly as a fox. âImagine how tickled pink I was to learn we are not only headed into the same building, but for the same script readingââ
âTo which you are late; both of you,â grumbled Toni, but she seemed to have lost most of her heat. Kevin was rubbing her shoulders soothingly as she massaged her temples. Momentarily, Jughead wondered if she was prematurely grey beneath all that pink dye.
ââlong story, short: Betty here,â Veronica said, stepping back and drawing the taller girl into her side. âIs my new BFF and I love her to pieces.â
âFrom a five minute meeting,â Kevin asked, corner of his mouth twitching.
âBoo, you whore,â teased Veronica, earning an unexpect snort from Sabrina, âitâs love at first sight. Donât judge.â Then:
âYou there,â Veronica snapped her fingers in the direction of a fish-eyed assistant Jughead took care to ignore â sheâd been making moon-eyes at him, according to Sabrina, and there were times to be wary of his cousinâs advice, but not in instances such as this one. âFetch me a skinny venti white mocha, one shot, with two pumps of sugarfree vanilla, no whip â pronto. I canât think clearly without my daily recommended injection of sugar and caffeine.â
Immediately, the situation dissolved into absolute bedlam as everyone clamoured for Gingerâs attention to place their coffee order, too. Sheâs a sly one, Jughead thought for the third time, smart, too.
Here was the thing about Jughead Jones: he was an objective observer of life, not an active participator. An introvert and a borderline misanthrope, he regarded the world from a safe distance of cool, clinical detachment â he watched and he recorded and he understood because he noticed enough to pay attention in the first place; he was perceptive, and he used this to his advantage.Â
This girl, however, totally threw him for a loop.
And as if enticed by a magnetic pull, Jugheadâs eyes drifted towards the leggy blonde to his right. The first thing he noticed her was this â she was uncomfortable. The second was that she was seemed nervous, displaced; and third â well, she was making her way towards him.
The girl was dressed in a diaphanous, intricately embroidered, sapphire-coloured blouse, and when she shifted to pull out her chair, Jughead could see her laced brassiere through the silk material. Unexpectedly, she sat next to him, across from a plaque reading REMMY LUPIN. She had a striking look â blue-eyed and golden-haired with a face like a porcelain dollâs; wide-eyed, lovely, and haunting in its stillness. I met a lady on a moore, Jughead though, aureate hair, refulgent eyes; a dancing, starry sprite.
âHi,â she greeted, turning to him, face splitting into a blooming, honeyed smile, white teeth gleaming, the streaming sunlight from the window behind them set her braid into a molten blaze, âIâm Betty.â
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THE DREAMER:
âThree creams, two splenda, please.â
Betty Cooper was already running (hopefully, fashionably) late; not exactly a good first impression. She had woken up behind schedule (she had sort of fallen into the black hole that was Tumblr, recently, and had taken to staying up late); her cat, Caramel, had thrown up all over the kitchen floor. One side of her hair had dried flatter than the other â she was never going to bed straight from the shower ever again. And her uber had been running behind. Fantastic, she had uttered when finally arriving at the address given. The time on her phone alerting her that she should would have been inside already, had her morning gone accordingly, sipping on her coffee without a care in the world.
Well, that last bit was a stretch. If you asked anyone who knew her, they would say without a doubt that, Betty Cooper cared too much, about everything.
It was kind of her thing, though. Betty had a profound sense of perseverance and applied it to anyone in need of help that she came across. Polly (her older sister and recently, albeit somewhat regrettably, her manager) akined it to her being like a new mother, babying her fresh-faced ducklings. It often impeded her own desires and well-thought out plans.
Betty was a goner for a schedule. She could plan her day like nobodyâs business â rarely did it ever actually go according to plan though. She would describe herself as being meticulous bordering the edge of perfectionist â Betty actually detested that word. Being in control of the situation, however, gave her life.
This was all new to her though, at least, fairly. Acting, that is.
She had been on edge of booking a flight back to San Francisco for what seemed like months. With only $200 to her name, and a can of cold soup sitting like a rock in her belly, Betty had auditioned for a role in Magic is Might. She had been failing auditions for months, her savings account was gone, and she was exhausted from working two menial jobs in order to have money to even go to auditions.
So, by all accounts, Betty figured an extra boost of caffeine was in order to make it through the whirlwind day that had been plotted ahead. A table read with her cast mates of Magic is Might, who she had yet to meet, was slotted for the whole day. As well as some promotional pictures of the group. The whole thing came together rather quickly for an HBO show, as she understood. Betty would be forever grateful that they hadnât found anyone for the part of Remus Lupin yet.
Somehow, her name had been misspelled (she wanted to glare at Polly) and they thought it had said Elizander, on her papers. Whoever had been manning the audition hadnât done a thorough look-through at the time and had barely looked up at her, just shooed her through the door. They seemed desperate.
To be fair, she hadnât realized that the part of Remus was male. Of course, she had read the Harry Potter books, who hasnât? But Polly had simply implored her to get her ass to this audition, without much else to go on.
Everyone had stared at her when she entered the room, but the guy in the middle of the group seated before her had stood up, planting his hands on the table with a loud smack.
âExcuse me, this isnât ââ
âNo, excuse me, but that was incredibly rude.â A blush bloomed across her chest, streaking upwards, despite her outward display of confidence. âIâm here to audition, so let me audition before turning me away.â
It turns out that the man was Kevin Keller, one of the showrunners. Betty had desperately wanted to curl into a ball from mortification when she found out, but instead she had been engulfed in a hug while he had exclaimed âSuch fire!â, and had let her do the audition. Â
They had complimented her afterwards. Apparently she had an inner voice that matched Remusâs suppressed darkness Ă la werewolf unequivocally. They were going to change the character and rework the script for her. Betty was unperturbed usually, but she had been floored by their sentiments.
Now, granted, they had done the same thing for the character of Snape, but that was for Veronica Lodge â ex-disney starlet who had bowed out of the limelight for several years only to return and turn everyoneâs heads when she demanded the part of Severus Snape.
Betty mussed her life was going to be very different from here on out (assuming the show gets picked up after the contingent episodes), but she was looking forward to not cringing every time they ran her card through a register. She loved food, and coffee was a vice she wasnât willing to give up.
In L.A. there seemed to be a Starbucks on just about every godforsaken block, so she had been thankful there was one conveniently close to the building she was now ardently walking toward. Betty was practically jogging as she took a sip of her drink, the mouthful of cold coffee was sweet and creamy. It was really refreshing â had she not just spilled it all over her shirt when someone plowed into her shoulder, jarring the cup from her hand.
Betty had stood frozen in place, her muscles turning tense as she panicked. Of course she had worn her favorite outfit today. Her pale pink sweater was now sticking to her skin uncomfortably, but thankfully there were only a few drops on her jeans â the dark color of them would prevent a stain from being noticeable, but her sweaterâŚ
âOh my god, fuck, I am so sorry.â
Betty looked up from where she was still staring at her coffee soaked front, hand crushing the now empty cup. She blinked owlishly at the girl who had spoken. A dark haired girl with an equally empty cup, however stain free clothes â impeccable, by the way, in front of her. Small hands covered in white lace gloves (really? The urge to roll her eyes was strong) were reaching out for her and grabbing hold of her arm, gently albeit forcefully. Betty had no choice but to be tugged along and out of the path of the ravenous L.A. goers on the sidewalk.
âItâs⌠fine, really,â Betty hadnât wanted to use the word, but there wasnât anything else on the tip of her tongue. âIâm running late to my read through anyway, I should ââ
Veronica interrupted her, raising her impeccably arched brows even higher. âRead through? As in, script?â
Nodding, Betty looked up to the tall glass front building they were almost in front of. She had been so closeâŚ
âWell, I think weâre headed to the same place then. Veronica Lodge,â the raven haired girl extended her glove covered hand and Betty raised her hand that wasnât a sticky mess to shake it. Veronica continued, âpleasure to meet youâŚâ she trailed off and Betty interjected.
âBetty Cooper.â
âBetty, allow me to offer you a new blouse, I simply canât let you in there like that.â
Betty had started to shake her head, fingers itching to reach up and tighten her ponytail, but alas, she realized, she had worn her hair in a loose braid that brushed the edges of her collarbone. âNo, thatâs okay, you donât have to do that.â she waved a hand, tossing her empty cup into the trash bin they had stopped by.
âI insist. Come,â it wasnât up for debate anymore, that white glove grabbing Bettyâs wrist again and pulling her toward a sleek black car that was parked some spaces down. âDonât worry about being late, if we both are then they really canât do anything about it.â
Betty was surprised that the words didnât sound pretentious coming from the other girls mouth, but humble. Veronica had pulled her inside the car, instructing her to pull the door closed. She hesitated before doing so, the door shutting with a soft click. She never thought being in a car alone with Veronica Lodge would ever be on her agenda, but here she was, with a collection of delicate tops spread over their laps that were distinctly not at all Bettyâs style.
But beggars couldnât be choosers.
Her green-blue eyes examined the choices carefully, taking in the price tags still dangling from them. Her throat was dry, her swallow surely audible. Everything was more-than-her-rent expensive. Plucking the one with the smallest numbers up, a transparent (okay maybe she had made a mistake hereâŚ) sapphire-blue blouse with colorful embroidered flowers, âThis one is great,â she smiled at Veronica.
âOh, excellent choice. Canât go wrong with Derek Lam 10.â
She scrunched her nose up, fingering the material. Veronica had leant back against the seat, arms crossed expectantly. Betty glanced around to the car windows. âYou want me to change here?â
âI expect you too, yes.â
Betty sucked in a breath of courage and peeled off the stained sweater. Thankfully, her white (unlucky, she had decided) lacy bralette would be suitable underneath the barely-considered-a-shirt. She felt Veronicaâs dark eyes on her, watching as she slipped the garment on over her head. Betty tugged it down gently, it only hit the top waist of her jeans.
Veronica reached out a hand to snap the price tag off, tossing it into the empty front seat. âThere, oh you have to keep it, it looks perfect on you.â
The blonde smoothed a hand down her somewhat exposed stomach, wishing she were thinner or more toned. âSure. Thanks, Veronica.â
âYouâre quite welcome, darling. Nothing bores friendship quicker than the sharing of clothes and gossiping over boys. So one down, one to go.â
Betty couldnât help the smile blooming across her face at Veronicaâs words. She could use a friend. L.A. had been a lonely place the past two years, which did nothing to help her anxiety.
âOf course, Iâm looking forward to it. Weâll be spending a lot of time together after all.â
The other girl smiled back, tucking glossy black hair behind her ear. âIndeed, we might as well make the best of it.â she paused, checking the fancy was fastened around her delicate wrist. âWe are incredibly late now, darling. We had better hurry along before Toni sinks her teeth into us.â
Betty nodded, climbing out the car door as gracefully as she could with shaking hands. Veronica had saddled up to her side, linking their arms together as they walked. Feeling a burst of adoration for the girl Betty felt she had wrongly judged in the past (she grew up watching Disney channel, after all) she vowed not to judge any of the other actors based on the same principle.
The ease of being by Veronicaâs side made her nerves calm until they were in front of the appropriate conference room door. A wicked smirk graced the raven-haired girlâs features and she disentangled their arms. A dainty platform heeled foot kicked the door in with surprising force for such a small girl.
It had Betty stepping back, hiding away from the doorframe a ways, eyes darting around the room and taking in the scene. It looks like they had already started the read through, and the ball of nerves in her stomach started to grow again.
She did not think it would ever leave her.
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tbc.
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#bughead#bughead fanfiction#bughead fandom#betty x jughead#jughead jones#betty cooper#jughead x betty#riverdale fanfiction#bughead fic#bughead fam#bughead fanfic#ao3fic#wip#harry potter au ish#what i'm writing#a song of smol bean and tol bean
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Nightmares - Part 2
Part One: here
Pairing: Bill/Girlfriend (I finally named her in this oneâŚ)
Warnings: smut, Xanax, rough sex, DaddywiseâŚkind of. Just trust me, ok?
Summary: Her perceptions of Pennywise have changed. Can she help Bill kick the nightmares for good?
Authorâs Note: OkâŚjust give it a chance? It probably doesnât count as Daddywise. Iâm not really into the Daddywise thing, no judgement though, do your thing. This is just a small dabble into what an actor can do with their acting skills.
The nightmares hadnât stopped. After a few days, I knew that it was going to take something drastic to finally put an end to Billâs suffering.
I had encouraged the kids to talk to Bill about how they were feeling about filming so far. Each of them assured him that they knew the difference between real and make believe but it wasnât enough. I was starting to worry that it wasnât the kids who were getting fucked up from this film; it was Bill.
I had gotten a call about a project I had auditioned for a few months back. The director had originally passed on me but the actress they had cast had to back out and now I needed to fly to LA for a meeting.
âIâll be back before your wrap, I promise,â I assured him as he peeked out of the shower.
I was sitting in the bathroom, eating a blueberry muffin for breakfast while he got ready for another day of filming.
âI know Iâm being a selfish asshole but I canât help it,â he explained as he pushed open the shower curtain and turned the water off. âI think Iâm just scared to be alone at night.â
That statement hit me harder than I had anticipated. I would never describe Bill as fearless, but he wasnât one to let fear slow him down. This was new though, and seeing him with the true look of dread in his eyes broke my heart.
âPennywise isnât real, B.â
He rubbed a towel over his face and hair and groaned. âI know heâs not real.â
âIâm not trying to be pedantic, I just want you to understand that you have the power here. I wish you could see Pennywise how I see him.â
As soon as the words slipped from my mouth, I regretted them. In the past few days, my perception of Pennywise had completely changed and I was mortified to even try to explain this to Bill.
âWhy are you blushing?â he asked as he pulled on a pair of faded jeans.
âUmmmâŚbecause you were naked?â I didnât even believe the lie I was telling so I jumped up and hurried back into our bedroom.
âYou havenât blushed for years at seeing me naked,â he laughed and followed me. âI almost miss that actually. You used to be so innocent.â
He had no idea how much had actually changed. Of course, he wouldnât drop it and my word vomit continued to haunt me for the rest of the day. I spent the day at the apartment getting ready for my audition. Bill spent he day texting me various questions about how I see Pennywise and trying to get me to spill my secret.
He came home shortly after dinner, the remnants of his Pennywise makeup still on his face. It looked like he had only half-assed washed his face and now his hair was hanging over his eyes; the faint red lines coming down his cheeks and meeting at his lips were still slightly visible.
âI fly out at 8 am,â I told him as he dropped his messenger bag by the front door.
âThis is about you thinking the Pennywise smile is sexy, isnât it?â he asked without even taking a second to process what I had said.
My face blushed instantly, giving me away. I donât know why but over the last few days, I had noticed a certain fascination with the way Bill played the sadistic clown. It wasnât that I found Pennywise attractive, but Billâs mannerisms, speech, facial expressions definitely grabbed my attention when he was in character. His erratic behavior, his ability to let loose and do whatever he wanted had my imagination running wild.
âOh god, I canât explain thisâŚâI said as I covered my face to keep it from betraying me further.
He laughed and kicked off his shoes. âYou donât have to explain, you naughty little clown fucker.â
Laughter erupted from both of us and I finally looked at him. âItâs not that I want to fuck the clown, itâs more that youâre capable of doing the things that Pennywise does.â
âEating children?â he smirked as he raised an eyebrow at me. âThat turns you on?â
I knew he was kidding but that didnât stop me from lightly slapping his arm.
âNo, itâs the wildness and unpredictability that Iâm after,â I explained and then added, âjackass.â
He contemplated that for a second and then picked up his messenger bag.
âSo, you donât want to fuck me while Iâm in costume?â
âI didnât say that!â
I covered my face again and prayed that my word vomit would stop putting me in these situations.
âEm, do you remember last year when I told you I wanted to try some freaky shit in bed?â
I nodded slowly, distinctly remembering the night he asked if he could choke me. The memory of how incredible that night turned out to be flooded my senses and a small smile crept across my lips.
âLet me do that for you,â he said as he slowly sat down next to me. âI was terrified to even talk to you about that stuff but you were so willing to try anything. I am too.â
âIâm just scared to talk about it, I donât want you to judge me or break up with me,â I said quietly.
He squeezed my thigh and I looked up at him.
âYouâre my rock, Em, Iâm not going to break up with you.â I bit my lip hard and he touched my cheek gently. âCome here,â he whispered as he pulled me into a gentle kiss.
âOk, okâŚâ I surrendered. âI guess Iâm just attracted to the personality that you give to Pennywise.â
Bill nodded, as if that was the confirmation that he had been searching for.
âSadistic? Erratic? Forceful?â
âYes!â I was a little too eager to respond. âThatâs exactly it. Itâs the unpredictability, the power, how you canât escape him.â
He chuckled lightly, âthose are some of the reasons that I have nightmares about him.â
âAnd thatâs the reason that I didnât want to tell you about this. Itâs probably going to make things worse for you.â
âIt canât possibly make things any worse than they already areâŚâ he trailed off and shrugged.
I bent down in front of him and rubbed his thighs, âNo, B, we canât come back from this and I want to be absolutely positive that itâs not going to make things worse.â
I wouldnât have been able to forgive myself if his nightmares got worse and it was because of my selfish reasoning but there was a certain spark in his eyes that I knew he was entertaining this idea with a sense of excitement. Weâve been starting to slowly branch out sexually, but never to this extent.
A sincere smile crept across his face, âLetâs do it, I want this too. We should set out some ground rules for this first. Is there anything thatâs specifically off limits?â
I thought for a second and nodded, âI canât deal with the drooling thing. Itâs gross.â
He laughed, âYeah, I donât exactly enjoy doing that part either. Everything else youâre ok with?â
I nodded, completely ready for this delicious adventure to begin. Bill had another idea though.
âWhy donât I start this unexpectedly?â
I had to hide the gasp of excitement and pretend that it was a cough. Iâm almost positive that he saw through that though.
âAs long as I can be at the airport on time tomorrow, Iâm ready whenever you are, B.â
He nodded and stood up. âIâm going to take a shower and try to get some more of this makeup off of me.â
I watched him carefully as he started to peel off his clothes as he walked towards our bedroom. I followed him, not ready to lose sight of him.
âI guess Iâll finish packing then,â I said as he walked into the bathroom, practically ignoring me.
The shower turned on and I groaned as I started pulling dresses out of the closet. The part that I was auditioning for was a prostitute and I hated the fact that I had to ride on a plane dressed for my audition. I was trying to find something that might be suitable when he stepped out of the shower.
I braced myself for what was about to happen, the anticipation damn near killing me. That was the longest shower in the history of man and I know he did it on purpose. He loved to tease me.
I felt him step up behind me, his body still damp from the shower and he placed his hand on the back of my neck. I closed my eyes and swallowed hard, my mouth suddenly dry. He squeezed my neck gently and I felt his hot breath just under my earlobe. I bit my tongue, needing this to start right away.
Suddenly, he placed a gentle kiss on my neck and I sighed.
âThe purple dress, it looks incredible on you,â his voice unchanged from that half-American, half-Swedish accent. âWhat part is this again?â
He sat down on our bed after pulling on a pair of jogging pants. He was running his hands through his wet hair and smiling at me as if he knew how much he was driving me crazy.
âItâs that movie about the prostitute that is actually a genius. Itâs based off a true story. After I get some readings on tape, Iâm meeting with the director and the woman that itâs based on.â
I put the purple dress back on the hanger and got it ready for the morning. At this point, I was so annoyed that he hadnât started this sinister game that I wanted to keep myself busy.
Bill picked the script up from the bed and started paging through it. I knew what was coming next and it definitely wasnât going to be half-Bill, half-clown fucking.
âWait, how many sex scenes are in this?â
Nailed it.
âJust two, and donât even start whining because I have watched you fuck every single attractive girl that you have worked with,â I rolled my eyes and tossed a pair of sandals in my suitcase.
âI didnât actually sleep with them, itâs just acting.â
âOh? And you expect this movie to be different? Iâm not auditioning for porn, B.â
He set the script down and stood up. I could tell he was annoyed, he hated when I auditioned for anything that could put my body in a compromising position. It was our number one argument because I always had to sit by and watch him in all kinds of sexual situations.
He rubbed his face and looked over at me. âIâm going to go make something to eat.â
I watched as he disappeared out of the bedroom and took all hope of having any type of fun tonight with him.
I flopped down on the bed, annoyed and frustrated. This wasnât how I wanted our last night together to go. I was going to be away from him for a few days and I was already anxious about him having these nightmares without me around. I had already left him a bottle of Xanax on the nightstand with a note that told him when and how much to take, just in case he needed it. I rolled my eyes at his ability to go from sweet and loving and open to closed off and pissed about my career that had barely even started yet. I was tired of having this fight.
Suddenly, I was pulled from my aggravated inner rant when I heard a loud, maniacal laugh coming from somewhere else in the apartment.
âE-Emily? I hear you want to play!â Pennywiseâs voice called out a second later.
I sat up quickly, all thoughts of being annoyed with Bill immediately gone as my entire body flushed red and I had to remind myself to breathe. It took one sentence for me to know that Bill was fully committed to this. He never called me Emily, not since the moment he met me. As soon as I heard Pennywiseâs voice say my full name, my legs begin to shake.
âPennywise wants to play!â he called, âWill Emily play with him?â
I jumped off the bed, unsure of what to even do. Excitement was filling my body and I didnât know if I should go find him or let him find me. Bill was writing this story; I was just along for the ride.
His laugh echoed through the apartment a second time and I felt my heart beat faster and I took a deep breath, reminding myself to stay calm and not seem too excited.
âBeep beep, Emily! Itâs time to p-play!â
I peeked out the bedroom door and saw him standing at the end of the long hallway. His face had a tiny bit of make up; he must have applied it after he left the bedroom. It was just the red lines and faint red lips. I wondered if he used my lipstick for it. He was wearing Pennywiseâs obnoxious collar, obviously being prepared for this since leaving set. He knew more about my fantasy than he had let on.
He raised a gloved hand to me and wagged his finger, beckoning me towards him. When I hesitated to move, he charged at me, arms flailing in a perfect Pennywise movement. I screamed involuntarily, embarrassed that he was able to startle me.
His smile spread across his face at my fear and he laughed again, the hunger flashing in his eyes.
âAre you s-scared, Emily?â he whispered at me, his voice jumping pitch quickly.
I shook my head quickly as his hands grabbed my biceps, pulling me against him.
âIâm not scaredâŚâ I was telling the truth. I was so completely turned on that I could barely stand in front of him. âI want to play.â
In one fluid motion, he had me pushed back on the bed. My suitcase fell to the floor and he laughed again. Destruction was one of Pennywiseâs favorite activities.
âThatâs a good girl,â he winked and I smiled at seeing a small flash of Bill in his eyes.
He ran a gloved finger down my neck and chest. He was starting slow and as much as I liked that, I wouldnât have minded if he ripped my clothes off and just took me right there.
As if reading my mind, he pulled my tank top over my head and tossed it aside. He walked his fingers along my chest, stopping to pinch my nipple roughly. I moaned so loud that he laughed.
âDoes Emily like when Pennywise teases her?â he inquired.
I nodded quickly. âBut I wouldnât mind if he moved things along eitherâŚâ
âMy little sewer slut is eager for Pennywise?â
My mouth dropped open slightly and I quickly realized that I wasnât offended but I liked his new pet name for me. Under any other circumstance, Bill would have never spoken to me like that but I wasnât dealing with Bill; I was dealing with a homicidal shape-shifting maniacâŚplayed by my boyfriend.
âFuck, yes!â I finally answered once I found my voice again.
He was out of his pants a moment later and I licked my lips in excitement at the sight of my gorgeous boyfriend again.
He picked up my legs by my thighs and dragged my ass to the edge of the bed. He dropped to his knees and bit the inside of my thigh.
âEmily is ready for me,â he said as he ran a gloved finger over my slit.
The rough material made me jump but feeling it against such a sensitive part of my body made me want him to do it again. He obeyed my silent request and started rubbing slow circles against my clit.
âJesus, BillâŚâ I moaned as my eyes slipped shut.
âBill isnât here, E-Emily!â he laughed. âPennywise gets Emily tonight!â
A second later, his tongue slid up my slit and then pushed slightly inside of me. My hips bucked into his face and suddenly he was eating me out with all of the ferocity that I expected from this crazy clown. I grabbed his hair and fought to keep my legs still. Bill was good at this, but Pennywise was taking this to a whole other level.
I was disappointed when he pulled back but my disappointment was ripped away when he slid inside of me and immediately started pumping in and out of me forcefully at a rapid and unsteady pace.
He wrapped a hand gently around my neck, my eyes shooting open and staring into his. He slowly started to add pressure as he laughed and jerked around in the same ways I had seen him practice for Pennywise. My body ached, a white-hot heat coiled in my stomach and I was disappointed that this could be over soon. I wanted more, I needed more. I craved this dangerous roughness more than I wanted him to know.
A scream erupted from my lips when I came suddenly. I clawed at his back, more than likely leaving marks. I was completely gone, floating away from this earth as a second wave of pleasure ripped through my body. The only thing keeping me tethered to reality was a gloved hand around my neck.
A moment later, I felt his breath on my neck, his teeth ticking my ear lobe.
âYou see, Emily, when youâre in bed with meâŚyouâll float too.â
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