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blackjack-15 · 4 years ago

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Doubly Dubiously Designed — Thoughts on: Danger by Design (DAN)

Previous Metas: SCK/SCK2, STFD, MHM, TRT, FIN, SSH, DOG, CAR, DDI, SHA, CUR, CLK, TRN

Hello and welcome to a Nancy Drew meta series! 30 metas, 30 Nancy Drew Games that I’m comfortable with doing meta about. Hot takes, cold takes, and just Takes will abound, but one thing’s for sure: they’ll all be longer than I mean them to be.

Each meta will have different distinct sections: an Introduction, an exploration of the Title, an explanation of the Mystery, a run-through of the Suspects. Then, I’ll tackle some of my favorite and least favorite things about the game, and finish it off with ideas on how to improve it. In this meta, a section in between The Title and The Mystery will be The Historical Background, where we’ll dive into a what a mess HER made of this game and its history.

If any game requires an extra section or two, they’ll be listed in the paragraph above, along with links to previous metas.

These metas are not spoiler free, though I’ll list any games/media that they might spoil here: DAN, mention of SSH.

The Intro:

Holy eff, what was this game?

With Danger By Design, game #14 and our penultimate Jetsetting Game, Nancy kisses Blue Moon Canyon goodbye and flies off to the land of fashion, francs, and fabulous found fripperies — France.

Yes, it was a struggle to come up with so many f-words that made a mad sort of sense.

DAN is a case where they had two or three ideas for two or three different games, and then someone got high and was like “what if we smushed them all together and don’t make them gel together at all”…only none of the ideas were fully formed, so what you get is a tornado – heh — of different things whirling together, but the second the momentum dies, you can see that nothing is actually part of anything else.

There are just too many ideas in DAN to make a game that has an emotional (not to mention logical) payoff, and too few of them are actually used throughout the game to make a game that’s interesting. Add in the fact that the characters are flat in a way that they haven’t been for 10 games and that Nancy seems to have no concrete motivation for anything that she does, and you’re left with a uniquely frustrating experience — and one that fails to take advantage of its unique location in any meaningful way, unlike the other Jetsetting Games.

The Title:

DAN is based off of Nancy Drew Files: Death by Design, which is objectively a more enticing title, though not accurate to the game’s story at all. As it stands, Danger by Design is a pretty good title; it clues you into a vague danger, it establishes not only that it’s about fashion — design — but also that the plot is being orchestrated by players that aren’t immediately visible — design.

I would actually hazard to say that DAN’s title is the most successful part of it; it doesn’t have any gaping holes, it’s catchy, easy to abbreviate — it’s only small problem is that “danger” is a super common mystery title, and that there have already been several other games with “danger” in the title — Stay Tuned for Danger, Danger on Deception Island — so it could improve from a series-naming standpoint. Otherwise, this title does all that it needs to without extraneous detail.

The Mystery:

Summoned to investigate why a famous French designer has suddenly gone crazy, Nancy’s going undercover for the…at least third time in this series so far. The designer, Minette, has taken to wearing a full-face mask with a discomforting lack of air holes and firing employees like most people eat mini-MnMs.

All at once, out of a tube, before they melt and discolor your hand. Or something.

Minette has been running behind, and Nancy is supposed to figure out what’s causing her temper tantrums and slipping schedule, amid threatening letters and insistent phone calls to the moulin where Minette houses her studio. Amy Grunhild, her boss, is wondering what’s up with her behavior and hires Nancy do to some old fashioned snooping.

Once in France, however, Nancy finds out there’s more than meets the eye, both with Minette and with the moulin. Nancy somehow finds herself in the seat of international espionage, a historical futz-up of epic proportions, several fashion faux pas, a mint shortage, flooded catacombs, and the highly graphic murder of the French Language.

As a mystery, let’s be honest: DAN is a mess. A good ol’ Southern may-yuh-suh. The A-plot (Minette) and the B-plot (Noisette + History) intertwine maybe once on the surface and then basically are separate games, no focus is given to anything so it feels jumbled and messy, there’s not enough to do and too much space to do it in…the list goes on.

The focus is honestly the part that upsets the mystery the most; by the time Nancy’s down in the catacombs for the nth time, Minette is pretty much a distant memory, but when Nancy’s trapped with the stained glass, you’re reminded of Noisette suddenly and rather uncomfortably. There’s no clear mystery — there’s in fact at least two very unclear mysteries — and so there’s no clear story.

Now, let’s get to the players who contribute to the mess.

The Suspects:

Minette — real name Tammy Barnes — is supposedly an up-and-coming fashion designer, but is tackling projects that are more what a seasoned professional would handle (like making a dress for the First Lady). Her fierce rivalry with designer Hugo Butterly feels like a looming spectre overhead, and her timetable has begun slipping more and more since she donned the mask.

Why she, an inexperienced plus-size designer is designing a gown for the First Lady (who in 2005/6 was a small, petite woman), neither I nor anyone else has any ideas.

The real reason Minette’s timetable is a disaster is because remnants of the East German Police – no, stay with me here — are threatening her into making the First Lady’s dress complete with electronic bugs so that they could hear what’s going on at the National Summit.

Minette’s the closest thing we get to a culprit — she’s the one we fight at the end — but she’s also a victim of blackmail and threats herself, and I do find it odd that, unlike in other games, she’s not treated as a victim at all; Nancy never teams up with her, never helps fight her enemies, and is never really sympathetic at all. With Minette’s personality, it’s not a shock that Nancy doesn’t sympathize, but I do find it a little odd that the blackmail thing is just kind of glossed over.

Heather McKay is Minette’s only long-time employee, who vents her frustration with her boss by sending her threatening letters every so often. Absurdly young for her position — Heather is at most 23, given her graduation date from Waverly Academy — Heather also designs her own fashion on the side, hoping that working for Minette will give her the contacts she needs in order to be a successful designer.

Heather’s designs also happen to be hideous — did HER have no one with any fashion sense at all working on this game?

As a culprit, Heather would have been interesting, but unlikely; as the person closest to Minette, she’s already the most suspicious, especially since she could be delaying Minette to make her desperate and then offering to step in and “save the day” with one of her own designs. As it is, Heather ends the game far more successful than she should be, and avoids any taint of having worked with Minette.

Dieter Von Schwesterkrank is the red herring — I mean, the German fashion photographer centered in Paris, and the great-nephew of Noisette Tornade’s Nazi lover, Hans Von Schwesterkrank. Originally dating Minette in order to explore the moulin and find Noisette’s treasure, he found he had somehow developed actual feelings for her by the time she broke the relationship off.

As a culprit, Dieter would have been incredibly dull; he barely has enough personality to fill a teaspoon, he’s the obvious red herring due to him and the conspirators both being German (not to mention the German occupation of France in World War II, where the historical background is set), and he would get nothing out of messing with Minette, as his job does better the more that fashion designers thrive.

Jing-Jing Ling is an Australian (and presumably also part-Chinese, given her name) “plus size” (by this game’s standards; I talk about this later) model who was tricked into a contract with Minette and is Nancy’s roommate during Nancy’s time in France. A chronic liar with an interest in circuitry and engineering, JJ also spends her time baking and eating cookies —yeah, because that’s how a model keeps her size 12 (American size 10) figure, wow — and being easily duped into giving up an autograph via a game of Hangman.

The wet dream of both the catacomb-climber Zu and of Joe Hardy himself, JJ is my preferred culprit if I had to choose just from the cast; outwardly friendly while also outwardly manipulative, with the perfect excuse for going out at all hours of the day and night — Minette is an eccentric, remember — and smarter than she seems. She’s also related to both the “Secrets of Paris” plot (through Zu) and the Minette plot. Her being the culprit would make this an entirely different game, however, and so as the culprit in the current game, she’s an iffy choice at best.

Rounding out our physical suspects is Jean-Michel Traquenard, owner of the easiest to pronounce yet most mangled name of the whole game…and editor of Glam Glam Magazine. He’s also the only Frenchman in our suspects, and one of three probable Frenchmen in the entire cast (Zu and possibly Lynn Manrique, judging by her last name).

As a character, Jean-Michel is unique and memorable; as a culprit, he’s a non-entity. While he could have been more than just a place to see a photo and get a sprig of mint without painting bad replicas of famous paintings for 22 hours, he sits comfortably at Café Kiki, not caring three straws about the havoc happening both in the fashion world and in his city.

There are so many phone characters in this game (most one-off, but still), so I’ll run through them briefly.

Zu is an explorer of the Parisian catacombs, who helps Nancy get down there to explore once she gets him the aforementioned autograph from JJ. He’s fun to talk to, and necessary to the plot, but doesn’t show up quite enough. An interesting twist would have had him be one of the existing cast, but no one quite fits the bill.

Lynn Manrique is a one-off historian who wants to talk to Minette about the moulin and Noisette, but who keeps being blown off. She gives Nancy a bit of info, then promptly disappears again.

Hugo Butterly is another brief phone character, giving about as much information as you’d expect from a hoity-toity fashion designer. His convo with Nancy is mostly to rule him out as a suspect. He would have been a cool option for also being Zu. Ah well.

Prudence Rutherford, in all her glory, shows up as a phone friend here, and is one of the most memorable parts of the game — not shocking, as she was just as enjoyable in Secret of the Scarlet Hand. Here, she’s sent off a request to Minette for a few outfits that of course Nancy has to put together.

Sure, what Prudence wants is an eyesore, but a delightfully Prudence eyesore. Perfect for a woman who’s good friends with P. G. Krolmeister.

Finally, let’s talk a bit about the woman who started part of this game.

Noisette Tornade — literally “hazelnut tornado” in French, which is the oddest name ever – was a member of the French resistance during World War II. Though loyal to France, her boyfriend Hans was loyal to his native Germany, and their relationship resulted in Noisette being seen as a traitor.

Though acquitted, Noisette remained bitter towards those who distrusted her, and hid the treasures of Paris that she had saved for the rest of her life to punish them.

Interestingly enough, when you’re playing this game for the first time, you really do feel like Noisette is supposed to be a sort of tragic hero…but Noisette is not a good person, or a moral person. Even after being exonerated and elected as Director of Public Works for the rest of her life, Noisette is too bitter to restore the art to the country, and refuses to believe she might have acted in the wrong by knowingly and deliberately harboring a Nazi.

Perhaps in early planning stages (and I say planning very, very loosely), Noisette had been executed and was supposed to be a tragic figure who did nothing wrong. But Noisette wasn’t a good person, and any points she might have gotten for saving art disappear when she decided that because she was suspected due to the fact that her boyfriend was a freaking Nazi, the city would pay for it — forever.

The Favorite:

There’s some good stuff in DAN (even if most of it doesn’t come to fruition or feel deserved), and they do deserve to be mentioned.

Jean-Michel is by far the best character that this game has to offer, and he’d still be pretty good in a game that was a bit better. Apart from his painful pronunciation games with Nancy, he’s a lot of fun to talk to and has a great character design. A larger than life character needs a larger than life wardrobe, and Jean-Michel delivers.

My favorite puzzle in the game is the Prudence costume design; while it’s not a hard puzzle and doesn’t really make you feel very accomplished as a puzzler, it is a whole lot of fun and a way to design some of the ugliest outfits known to man.

My favorite moment in the game is anytime Nancy spends time in JJ’s apartment; it’s so well designed and homey without being ugly or kitschy. Baking cookies is prolly the best moment — I wouldn’t call it a puzzle, it’s more like just a task — because it just feels nice and relaxing.

The Un-Favorite:

It’s a small thing, relative to the rest of the things wrong with this game, but I hate that a size 10 (size 12 in France, which converts to an American size 10) is defined as plus-size in this game when in 2006, the year this game was released, a 10 was nowhere near a plus size. It’s a small detail that they very easily could have gotten right, and they didn’t bother to even check.

My least favorite moment in the game is easily the Minette fight that turns into Nancy trapped with Noisette’s artwork. Nothing quite illustrates the fact that they had no idea what story they were telling and no idea how to end the game more than the fact that we go from a slo-mo kung-fu fight to a hall of French artwork and no one’s quite sure which one is supposed to be the climax.

My least favorite puzzle is the catacomb puzzle; while the catacombs are cool to explore, navigating them is a frustrating experience, only made worse by the fear of getting lost – or the rats stealing things that you really, really need.

While most things in DAN bother me to some degree, the game is so uniformly disappointing that not a lot of things stand out over each other, so we’ll move on to where the actual work begins.

The Fix:

This is one of the few games that, in order to have a cohesive plot, storyline, and motivation for all (or even any) of its characters, needs a complete re-write to the setup along with changes to the “plot” progression itself.

The first big problem to fix is the reason Nancy’s there in the first place. It doesn’t make a lot of sense that she’s there to figure out what’s wrong with Minette — she should have a lot of specialized knowledge in order to be an assistant to such a major designer — and the justification is flimsy.

There’s also the problem that our historical characters aren’t heroes, so to try to “exonerate” Noisette when France already cleared her of everything except bitterness is, quite frankly, not a very heroic endeavor. Having this B-plot marginally tied to the A-plot by the fact that the Germans are the bad guys in both really isn’t great either — and certainly isn’t enough justification for the writing to be this bad.

To fix both of these in one fell swoop, shift the story in the past slightly.

Perhaps Noisette and Hans are still involved, but Noisette manages to turn her boyfriend against the Nazis and they spy on behalf of France, including saving France’s art from the hands of the Nazis and hiding it. The French government, however, doesn’t trust either one of them, and executes them for treason against the French state. Noisette and Hans carry the location where they stored the art to their graves, believing it to be unsafe with German sympathizers still around, but leave clues with friends and around the city, wanting it to be found in due time.

Cut to 2006, and Hans’ descendant Dieter Von Schwesterkrank has found evidence that Hans and Noisette were loyal to the French cause and were executed unjustly. The evidence is enough that he believes it (perhaps a work of art or two deemed ‘stolen’ by the pair has turned up in the family, but without any provenance, causing issues of authenticity), having always heard growing up that Hans was working for the French, but he knows that no one else will unless he can dig up more.

He tries to seduce Minette — an actual Frenchwoman in this version — into letting him hang around the windmill where Noisette and Hans once lived. He accidentally falls for her, but she breaks it off due to the external pressure, leaving him both heartbroken and unable to search more.

Having gotten the phone once in the moulin and been subject to one of Prudence Rutherford’s calls, he learns about a hotshot teen detective in America named Nancy Drew who’s worked undercover before and will take any job.

Needing her help, Dieter writes Nancy, telling her that he’s got a job for her and that he’s just trying to figure out how to get her a visa to come to France. Using Heather’s crush on him, he mentions an intern from the States that he’s heard of that can supposedly handle any boss, no matter how obnoxious — and the wheels start spinning.

Once Nancy gets to France and gets the low-down on Minette, she goes to visit Dieter to get her real assignment — to balance working for Minette while finding proof of Hans and Noisette’s innocence.

With those changes in place, the game can proceed relatively unchanged in the order of events, albeit with more importance given to Dieter and less on pointless minigames with Minette. As Nancy tries to find out more about Noisette and Hans, she also notices Minette acting strangely: refusing to talk to people, communicating through emails and instant messages, falling further and further behind.

Zu changes from a wacky one-off character with an obsession to the expert in the catacombs and their use by the French Resistance during WWII; Lynn Manrique from a simple historian to a French Art historian specializing in identifying forged works of art and in art trafficking during the War.

Instead of Noisette’s plotline getting swirled into Minette’s, Minette’s issues are swirled into the larger plotline of proving Noisette and Hans’ innocence through finding the missing artwork and, along with it, the proof that they were working on behalf of France all along.

In the interest of not changing too much, the bad guys can still be fringe German extremists looking to destroy Noisette and Hans’ hard work (or perhaps who have a personal grudge against Hans in particular) and so threaten Minette, but rather than threatening a world summit through a bugged dress, they’ve been stealing fabric, designs, unpicking stitches — whatever they can think of — to delay her collection in the hope that she’ll think that the moulin is cursed and move to a different location, allowing them to search the building top-to-bottom to find the art that they suspect is hidden inside.

I know that this Fix section seems quite long, but it’s all really worldbuilding and premise changes; once a few motivations are shifted and the villains’ objective changes from something that the player doesn’t care about to something that they will care about, the game improves itself rather quickly.

WWII isn’t my preferred time in history to learn about, but even I can acknowledge that passing off the French occupation as “ah those wacky Germans” and “seriously and actively dating an actual Nazi shouldn’t get you suspected as a collaborateur because That’s Mean and if people suspect you just hide French national treasures because that’ll show them” isn’t a great look, nor does it fulfill the “edu” part of “edutainment”.

#nancy drew #clue crew #nancy drew games #nancy drew meta #danger by design #DAN #my meta #long post #video games

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jancys-blue-bayou · 5 years ago

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Goin’ back some day (Jancy, ficlet)

I didn’t have anything planned for day 2 of Jancy fic week, struggled to come up with a take on ‘Mixtapes’ I hadn’t already done but then this came to me now. Wrote it all in one go so hope it’s okay.

Also on Ao3 and FFNet!

What is he doing? He’s insane to be driving all the way to Sesser for this. But this has to be done and he has no other way of doing it. But he is insane.

”Jonathan Byers, quite the surprise. Where’s your better half?” Murray greets him with his smug look after he’s finally opened the ridiculously reinforced door after forcing him through the whole charade of looking into the security camera.

”She’s at home. I… need your help.”

”Ah, more lovers quarrel? Granted I understand you coming to me since I solved it for you the last time, you’re welcome by the way, but I really have neither the time nor the interest to act as love guru to a couple of teens.”

”There’s no quarrel! I don’t need your help with that, it’s something else.”

”Ah, well come in then.”

Murray’s bunker looks just like it did the last time. He glances over to the couch where three months ago they sat and drank watered down vodka while smooth jazz played in the background and Murray brought up a lot of things to the surface. His gaze wanders towards where he then threw caution to the wind and made the best decision of his life and kissed Nancy Wheeler. And the door behind which an unforgettable night was spent.

”I haven’t noticed any new abnormal activities in Hawkins. I hear your family is doing well. So it’s not that, and if it’s not trouble in paradise either, what is it that brings you here?”

He knows this will be painful, but he’s prepared to deal with Murray for this, because he wants to do this for Nancy. He’s willing to endure a lot, even smug alcoholic conspiracy theorists who talks down to him, for Nancy. He would like to take care of this as quickly as possible though so he decides to just go straight to the point.

”When we were here, you played some music I didn’t know. I need to know the songs and record them, for Nancy. It is important.”

Murray is quiet, studying him for several long moments, thinking. Then his face breaks out in a smirk.

”Valentine’s Day is on Thursday,” Murray notes like he just cracked a mystery.

”Yes.”

It’s their first Valentine’s Day as a couple. He’s not quite sure what to do, if it’s important to Nancy or if she just disregards it as a stupid Hallmark funded holiday, like he had for a long time. Before he got a girlfriend. He’s not taking any chances now. Besides, even if it just is a stupid made up holiday he still likes to do something nice and hopefully romantic for Nancy. Naturally he’d gone towards making her a mixtape. It’s his bread and butter after all. He’s made countless of mixtapes through the years for himself and for Will, and he’s already made several for Nancy. But this one he feels like he has to put more into. It feels important. The mixtapes he’s already made for her have been more casual, stuff he likes that he thinks she might enjoy mixed with stuff he knows she likes. But for this one he has the idea for more of a theme. And that is, songs that are them, that are important to them.

And at the top of the list for that is two songs he doesn’t really know even though they’re stuck in his mind forever. Because they played right here during the evening before and the morning after the best night of his life. He needs to know what songs they are, and having no other way of finding out he eventually came to the conclusion that, regretfully, he had to go see Murray again.

”Jonathan Byers you’re a real romantic at heart aren’t you?” Murray teases and he can already tell this will be a long day.

”Can you help me or not? I just need to know the songs. I brought tapes, if you’re record player has a tape deck I can just record them and be out of your hair.”

”Ah, young love. Who am I to stand in the way of it? But I hope you remember something about these songs that hold such importance to you, because shocking as it may seem to you I don’t recall everything I played on one night three months ago while I was buzzed.”

”Okay. One was a slow song, like some old jazz song-”

”Good, you’ve narrowed it down to 92 % of my catalogue.”

”- with a woman singing-”

”Down to 83 %…”

He sighs heavily.

”I don’t remember all the words but it was like ’You better go now because I like you much too much’ and like ’There’s the moon above and it gives my heart a lot of swing’, um…”

”Billie Holiday — You Better Go Now,” Murray spits out after a second. ”And the fact that you don’t know that song encapsulates everything that is wrong with the youth of America today.”

”Okay.”

”For god’s sake if you don’t know Billie Holiday what even is the point of your life?”

”… I don’t know.”

”Okay, Billie Holiday, Lady Day…” Murray mumbles as he walks over to a shelf filled with records and browses through them until he comes to a halt. ”Ah, here we are,” he triumphantly pulls out a single and takes the record out and puts it on. Soon familiar tones fill the room.

”Yes, this is it.”

”Sublime, just sublime,” Murray comments and hums along to the tune.

”Yeah, it’s nice.”

”’Nice’? It’s much more than nice this is-”

”Look, I love it okay, otherwise I wouldn’t be here would I? Christ.”

”Hey don’t raise your voice when Billie is singing.”

He tries to speak again but Murray shushes him so he just has to wait until the track finishes.

”Marvelous,” Murray sighs wistfully. ”Now, the other song?”

”It was a bit more uptempo. Male singer. It had bass line that went like,” he starts to hum. Murray scrunches his face. He sighs. ”And it went like ’I feel so bad I’ve got a worried mind, I’m so lonesome all the time, since I left my baby behind on blue bayou’…?”

”It’s called Blue Bayou, you philistine. Roy Orbison. Hang on one moment.”

Murray goes back to browsing through his shelves until he finds the record he’s looking for and soon once again more familiar tones fill the room.

”Yes, this is it. Thanks. Can I record them now?”

”Hey why don’t you just take the records.”

”Really?”

”No! Of course not! Are you crazy? Why would I ever give away anything by Billie or The Big O?”

”Then why did you-”

”That was a test of character and you failed.”

”Can I still record them?”

”Oh sure.”

The look on Nancy’s face when she puts the mixtape in and hears the opening bass line makes it all worth it. It stuck on her mind just as it did on his. She leans in and kisses him.

”This is so romantic. How did you get this?”

”I have my ways,” he simply answers. Nancy raises a questioning eyebrow so he elaborates. ”I went to see Murray.”

”You drove all the way to Sesser to get this song for a mixtape?”

”And the next one… and yeah because it was for you so… it needed to be perfect.”

”I love it,” she smiles and pulls him in for another kiss. ”I love you.”

Nancy’s eyes light up when Blue Bayou leads into You Better Go Now.

”Dance with me,” she says and gets up and reaches a hand out, helping him up from her bed.

#jancyweek2019 #jancy fic #jancy fanfic #jancy fanfiction #st fic #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #jancy #nancy x jonathan #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #murray bauman #stranger things

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floggingink · 7 years ago

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Riverdale, “Chapter Eighteen: When a Stranger Calls”

good afternoon, this episode made me lose sleep

Jughead doesn’t even have his framing narration voiceover, because he is in too much pain, RETROACTIVELY, to WRITE IT DOWN

this is a great episode, but it’s especially a great episode for Betty’s left eyebrow, Alice’s left eyebrow, and Jughead’s pecs

there’s a very STEALTHY ticking clock sound in the background of Betty and the Black Hood’s phonecall, taken in spirit, I hope, from Hans Zimmer’s Dunkirk soundtrack, where you don’t notice it but the protracted effect makes you feel like you’re going crazy

Jughead is Betty’s “mystery-loving boyfriend”

Alice was fond of Jughead so long as he was on Betty’s newspaper staff and showed Alice compassion when her family life was crumbling, but now that he lives in a different zip code she’s over it

Archie in green is always his best choice

Archie of course walks Betty to school and of course promises not to tell a secret before he hears it

does Betty enlist Archie as her handmaiden because he’s the best choice (will do as she says, will not branch out on his own, will refuse on moral grounds to abandon her) or because she can do so with the least amount of fanfare?

“BETTY, YOU HAVE TO TELL THE POLICE, EVEN IF IT’S NOT HIM.” Archie drops some vintage bon mots today!

The Blossom spawn: it’s incredible that the Black Hood knows where Polly is when it seems like Betty doesn’t even know

Dilton Doiley is a canonically great dancer: Dilton’s stunt got the southside into more trouble, which seems like exactly the amount of power he wants to wield

remember last season when Dilton caved to Jughead’s threat of exposing him as a gun-loving loon? Dilton has purged his life of all semblances of normalcy, out in the open, so no one can do that again

apparently now we can all chill in Hiram’s study with him

Veronica was rich: Hiram’s true crime is gentrification! sounds about right!

Certified pedigree: Veronica perks up and Hermione and Hiram look at each other and agree to the same game plan silently: pimp her out

Sweet Pea is, I think, showing commendable patience towards Jughead, for someone who does not necessarily have to, for still having this particular girlfriend and best friend (“your boy, Andrews”) after day after day of southside-reasons not to. Jughead is like….I know….I don’t control them….

Jughead did not see Veronica shooting a gun coming! poor Jug is so out of the loop!

I guess Fangs earned his stripes? was it by getting an engineering degree?

What damn high school in America: okay wait, I missed before when they explained that “Fogarty’s cousin” is “in the Army” and was “going to build us something.” I can’t believe they actually FUCKING EXPLAIN IT

Sweet Pea did not know who he was talking to when he tried to hit Jughead with “It can’t get any worse.” Jughead is like, LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING—

“You can’t be half a Serpent”: it’s FASCINATING TO ME how the actual on-the-ground Serpents deal with Jughead, who is familially a Serpent but not an indoctrinated one, who has been baptised but not confirmed, if you will, who keeps telling them to knock it off with the gang stuff, and yet they’re like, very careful about giving him latitude to move around in their world without having paid his membership fee, you know? I just think it’s amazing how, and I know it’s a TV show and not like a documentary, but I think it’s an interesting choice how Sweet Pea isn’t just like, Get fucked, Jughead. he hears Jughead’s objections. he explains himself

These students are legally children: the grown-up Serpents either ghost-endorse the Serpent kids taking matters into their own hands or have no idea it’s happening. either way, these kids may not have flashy extracurriculars, but they have moxie

Toni calls Sweet Pea an idiot, which is great

Veronica says she and Nicky were the “will-they-or-won’t-they” of her old “jet-set”

admirably, she immediately tells Archie not to worry about him

Betty is barely hanging on to patience for absolutely anything

I want it on the record that Jughead not wearing his fleece jacket is slightly jarring after all this time and that he still looks great in the leather one

Sweet Pea calls him a “northsider” when he walks in, which seems like a callback to a World War II sergeant calling everybody “ladies”

I’ve seen Brick like thirty times: Jughead is lit from behind by one of the yellow lamps, casting a glow around his hat like a fucking Renaissance painting

Gay?!: SERPENT DADDDDDYYYYY is going to “initiate” Jughead, because Riverdale loves me

Toni is looking at Jughead like she truly regrets his death, which is probably right

Archie, chilling out with Betty in her bedroom, totally without sexual pretence and just there to listen to the phone call on speaker, is GOOD ARCHIE

when Betty parries the Black Hood’s demand with her own, Archie mouths “WHAT ARE YOU DOING,” because he set a game plan

Betty is blue is her best choice

“Wait...is that…” ...VINTAGE TWIN PEAKS-ERA MÄDCHEN AMICK??!

the baby Serpents lined themselves up classically, in descending order from the middle, for Jughead’s aesthetic benefit

is it possible Toni is the only one who knows Jughead’s name is Forsythe?

Archie is pretty okay with Betty building this relationship with the Black Hood, as you will remember Archie is just as obsessed with him. also, Archie is taking it pretty well that it turns out BH is into Betty instead of him. he’s not insulted or anything

he’s SO RIGHT about Alice always ragging on all of them, too! Archie’s sudden flashes of insight are revelatory

the St. Clairs are appropriately fur-covered and smug, and Nicholas St. Clair, AKA ZACH FLORRICK FROM THE GOOD WIFE, is adorable and that actor has looked exactly like that for the past seven years

why didn’t Nicky and Veronica ever sync up? they’re both schemers and that’s a difficult needle to thread? like Blair and Chuck?

I am insulted on Betty’s behalf that Alice would think Betty would write the cipher herself, in that I would hope Alice would know Betty would have more sense than to be so obvious as to use a Nancy Drew code

Jughead is officially Betty’s “Serpent boyfriend”!!!! we have arrived, Alice!

50 Shades of Betty: Betty straight destroys her mother after getting eye-rolled at

Archie does bicep curls on his bed because he’s THAT good-looking

Toni’s FLANNEL TIGHTS are great

Jughead calls Sweet Pea an idiot too, after Toni opened that gate

OF COURSE Jughead is only joining the Serpents to try and keep the peace, because he finally found a cause to martyr himself to that is as grungy and doomed as possible and with no goshdarn way he can succeed

I’m down with the six rules! but I don’t think the show has told me exactly what being a Serpent entails yet. like what do gangs do? the Serpents aren’t a particularly druggy gang, apparently, like the motorcycle dudes in True Detective (the Ghoulies) or anything. it seems like they mostly exist to get ragged on and take care of their widows, like a very sad union

Jughead is truly scared to stick his hand in that tank and if Kevin were there he would have burst into tears

in fond congratulations, Toni calls him “Juggie,” which set off a synaptic transmission in my amygdala first time around. Jughead does a double take at it and Toni herself looks kind of like, Whoops, but then sort of pleased at her own daring

POP DOESN’T JUDGE. HE WAS HERE DURING THE RIOTS AND HE DOESN’T JUDGE

Betty having her own fucking newspaper makes me so fucking happy. I fucking love Betty goddammit

Betty’s splash of sparkles on her sweater is great too. YOU’RE ALWAYS SO PRETTY BETTY

Hermione made a flan. Hermione kind of cooks! ...unless it was Andre

Nicky’s bullet is kind of cute, in a stupid way

Archie was blindly terrified to drink rum, so I don’t think he’s going to snort cocaine

in the beginning of this episode, in the beginning, Nicky basically IS Veronica. just watch it and pretend Camilla is reading all his lines. he calls Archie “Big Red” and everyone “country mice” and says things like “What a brave new world it is” and thinks it’s hot Veronica is in a band with a sexy name. and Veronica knows this, and it makes her uncomfortable

“Damn good coffee”: the retro “Lollipop” ringtone is psycho by only the second time you hear it. Dilton would love it

“How does it feel, Betty?” FEELS GREAT!

Black Hood out here really believing Veronica is complicit with her father’s crimes??? maybe if it was for getting that girl to drink gutter water

Betty and Jughead haven’t seen each other in 24-48 hours and their meetup kiss is like if Jughead like, immigrated to America and sent money back home FOR YEARS while he worked in THE MINES until he saved enough for Betty to join him and they just met on the pier during a glorious sunset, I didn’t get a lot of sleep!!!!! the kiss is really good. is it the best kiss? it’s because it’s like their first kiss but over the other shoulder. was their best kiss in the trailer park with the God light?

THEY FEEL “UNMOORED” WITHOUT EACH OTHER, GOOD EVENING DEATH

obviously the best kiss was when Jughead tossed her up on his countertop like she was a black truffle salad at the Grill Room and bit her collarbone

Jughead: “I just wanted to make sure you were still alive.” Betty: “KEEP YOUR VOICE DOWN.”

Jughead read the Blue & Gold article online and glowed with pride. he showed Sweet Pea: “SEE. SHE writes stuff like THIS.”

aw, they’re both sitting there, holding hands, lying to each other

I love Jughead wanting to literally leave Riverdale. Season One Jughead was obsessed with Riverdale. Season Two Jughead is like FUCK Riverdale

I hate how Jughead is gazing at Betty from across the table when she cries her single tear because it was so beautiful I had to punch through a window like Josh Lyman and it hurt and I retroactively hate Jughead for that

Betty calls them “Romeo and Juliet, but we live happily ever after instead,” because she doesn’t know she’s only eighteen minutes into the episode

Nick’s white cardigan? sure

he gets another Veronica line with “You Pussycats are pearls before the swine of Riverdale.” is this how people in Manhattan talk now?

Cheryl’s a chaos angel from hell: Cheryl gets herself invited to the party by introducing herself, which would not work if this were Jane Austen, unless Nick were Henry Crawford, but Cheryl’s got this like black romper thing going on and posed in the doorway like one of the “Cell Block Tango” girls and at this point is a walking Riverdale legend

“Ten o’clock you said? I’ll be there at eleven.”

Archie crashes gently into someone while he chases Betty, which is a callback to Archie constantly falling over shit in the comics

Veronica probably went to the Gilded Lily after one of those Met Galas she keeps comparing things to

I think Gal Gadot’s last name is more like “Gadought” (not really like that) than like in Waiting for Godot, but whatever Cheryl wants

God bless jingle-jangle: my man hooked him up!!!

Veronica’s layered floral dress is like what my ten-year-old self being dressed by my mom for church wished one day I would be cool enough to wear. I don’t go to church now, but I still hope one day I will be cool enough to wear it

Cheryl’s sheaths: Cheryl’s art deco dress is really good too

Melody is in a GREAT ruffly red jumpsuit

Kevin in like, Don’t mind if I do!

Melody is like DON’T MIND IF I DO

Reggie and Josie are making out when they’re high, because they’re contractually obligated as the two most beautiful people in the room

Betty is miserable, like a teacher chaperoning a dance where the kids are allowed to grind

Cheryl’s hair: Cheryl whips her hair around like Beyoncé in the video for “Baby Boy” and I had to punch another window

it took me a second to remember that Betty had to alienate Veronica and that that was why she was suddenly talking to her like Drunk Alice and that it wasn’t just Pissed Betty

Betty’s read is pretty good! exactly what Veronica is afraid of: that she has been performing as a good girl this whole time. or that people only think she is performing it. “You’ll always be a bad person.” but Veronica is very measured for someone a little drunk and high! (are you “high” if you’re on jingle-jangle?) she calmly tells Betty to leave. BECAUSE SHE IS A GOOD PERSON

damn this episode is so low-lit. like, Hannibal dark. I can barely fucking see Jughead in this trailer. Toni is half-lit by the mysterious blue trailer park light and is beautiful, so we can see her laced-up jeans

Jughead doubts it: Jughead has a very Jugheadian response to the Gauntlet: “It’s whatever.”

Toni wants to be clear that if Jughead joins this gang, everyone else will abandon him. Jughead is like...This one time...I choose not to believe it...

Summer + Blair = Veronica: Veronica still thinks Betty is her best friend and that something weird just happened that she will investigate later. Veronica is so fucking LEVEL-HEADED

Veronica unfortunately has to engage in the dance of “Mmmm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression…” when Nick just like strokes her thigh, like she isn’t clearly happily with Archie or just a person who may not want a thigh-stroking right this minute

Nick calls Archie a “hayseed yokel”

good slap! GOOD SLAP, ZACH

Betty dragged herself out to this, the world’s most suspect bus stop, in a staging not even Alfred Hitchcock would have dared pitch to Grace Kelly

Lili Reinhart does something shockingly good every episode, but Betty’s breakdown, especially her shudder-shiver breath when her phone rings, is so far beyond what the CW deserves

when BH is like “JUGHEAD,” and Betty is like “[gasp] NO,” and I’m like “I’M OUT OF WINDOWS”

...you know what the greatest trope of all time is?

—no. the greatest trope of all time is Make Him Think You Don’t Love Him. solidly, confidently, signed, sealed, delivered, the greatest, most delicious, stupidly painful thing one character can do to another. it combines SO MUCH lurid goodness: two people who, apparently, shouldn’t be together; desperate heroic measures; lack of communication—for safety reasons!; selflessness; self-torture; “I DON’T UNDERSTAND”; BRUTAL WORDS; hitting him where you know it hurts; the heartbreaker is always a GREAT actor suddenly; turning the corner after going through with it and weeping abjectly; DANGER AVOIDED BUT SOMETHING EVEN WORSE HAPPENING!!! just like—just like in Moulin Rouge! like in Twilight for god’s sake! you loved that part!

I do like how BH has no particular objection to Jughead as his own person but rather just to his father and his circumstances. Jughead’s a good kid, says BH

Archie’s Captain America Henley is back and better than ever

who is Archie calling? endless possibilities, but I hope Veronica

Archie gets EVEN MORE little moments of greatness seeing Betty spiral (is she spiralling?) and being like, Betty, this is not sustainable: “How are you going to put yourself through that?” I know there are like 12 Archies on this show, but this is one of the sweet ones

I don’t even know if it’s totally clear that Betty is telling him to “break up” with Jughead inasmuch as just keep him away from her for a couple days or so. is it possible Betty just wants Archie to be like, “Something’s happening but we have it under control, so stop coming to Pop’s”? how much credit am I giving these two?

Archie > Dawson: Archie has never been wiser than with “You HOPE we can.” and the look he gives her? devastatingly fleeting sagacity. he knows Jughead is Soft Grudge Boy

Betty knows what she’s doing using a sports metaphor on Archie’s conscience

okay what the fuck does “SoDale” mean. South Riverdale?

Best costume bit: Hermione’s white cutout dress and top knot are Academy-worthy

Veronica’s “charm offensive”

OH YEAH, FRED’S STILL THERE

ooooh Hal certainly stepped up with Alice gone, did he not?

when Alice strides in in the Outfit, there are some prop-girls at the tent entrance in denim skirts and hard hats, like as pretend construction workers

Mädchen Amick, MÄDCHEN AMICK: Alice’s, I don’t know what to call it, flowy snakeskin cape-suit is either something she had stashed or something she bought on Amazon Prime that morning. is this what FP meant when he said she didn’t dress like the southside anymore? is this the other option, besides flannel? ...Toni? JUG?

the eyebrow? “Shove it, Hal”? Cheryl walks in too late, if you ask me

is Nick’s bowtie like .5% too big?

Veronica is in the midst of deciding whether or not to say “I DON’T GIVE A SHIT” when she sees her parents talking to Nick’s parents and feels the pull of her father telling her she was a real part of Lodge Industries now

poor fucking lonely Cheryl. Cheryl is ALONE. Cheryl looks good!

ARCHIE TAKES A TURN in this scene from the upcoming Hostel III: My Favorite Characters. was I ready for the greatest moment in the history of television Wednesday night? I was not. nothing else measures up: “The hardest thing to do in this world is to—” —who? “Cruciatus in crucem” what? who shot JR? I don’t even care. Jughead thought Archie was here to save him. don’t talk to me

The female gaze: Jughead’s tank top is back, because on top of everything else he should be physically vulnerable (direct quote from Sweet Pea)

I’m writing a scene where it’s gay.: Jughead SO GENTLY puts his hands on Archie’s shoulders to try and communicate by Morse code how urgently Archie needs to leave

Archie was going along with Betty’s instructions up until Sweet Pea & the Gang strolled up, and then it turned into him breaking up with Jughead for Betty and breaking up with Jughead for Archie, because Archie explodes when he’s angry and he just got like really angry

“thugs” is a terrible thing to say, when Archie obviously means “like-minded young men who want to protect their clan, as I do my own, like I did that one time”

the wrongness of calling Reggie and Dilton Jughead’s friends is blatant, but implying that Veronica got attacked is either Archie being a garbled storyteller or Archie rounding up to make Jughead’s crime, or whatever, even worse, as if Jughead is being a bad friend. Jughead is practically THE BEST FRIEND ON THIS SHOW

Jughead (I just took my glasses off, for a visual of the unplumbable depths of my emotion) asking Archie if Archie came to warn him that the Serpents are dangerous, because Archie loves him, is so motherfucking sad, it’s sadder than like, like anything else, it’s sadder than the end of Homeward Bound when you’re eight and you think Shadow fucking died in that trainyard (before he comes back; spoilers for Homeward Bound: the Incredible Journey)

Archie’s follow-up is that Betty doesn’t want to be with him anymore, and in fact hasn’t wanted to be with him for a while, which, on top of everything else!, is mortifying to a certain kind of person, that someone you enjoy being with has been rolling their eyes at you behind your back

Gay.: okay Sweet Pea looking back at Fangs, who’s like, Mhmmm, when Archie’s doing his thing, is really good

Sweet Pea is really good throughout! he’s standing there but he doesn’t step in, even at the “dark side” stuff. he’s kind of minding his own business!

Jughead is apparently so wretched about himself that the incongruity of this attack isn’t even a blip on his radar. he’s not like, Archie, respectfully, this is coming out of nowhere. Archie, what? What the hell? instead he’s like, The day has come

Archie’s pornographic cruelty here (which is precisely what Betty told him NOT TO DO) is to include the “agonizing over it” detail, which is a REALLY GOOD detail, and then his AMAZING bluff about “CALL HER.”

Jughead’s internal certainty about Betty’s unimpeachable conduct starts to crack

“She saw where you were headed. We all did.”: it’s not enough that Betty, the creature he loves most in all the world, thinks he’s trash and wants him gone, but it’s all of us, and Jughead buys it because he’s conditioned to expect that everyone will tolerate him up until the point they realize he’s trash and want him gone, as the Powers That Be, like he put it, keep telling him over and over and over (his mother, his father, Reggie, Sheriff Keller, Fred Andrews, the Rockland County school system, Alice, Sweet Pea, Toni, Archie)

Archie knows he might’ve put a toe over the line (obliterated it?) when Jughead looks like he’s about to cry, and Jughead tells him he got it and he just quietly says “Yeah,” and walks away, through the Serpents, who leave him alone

I honestly don’t know what Sweet Pea was about to say before Jughead cut him off! something bracing? he was definitely AT LEAST going to be neutral. there’s no “I told you so,” which is good otherwise Jughead might’ve Gauntleted himself. he changes the subject!

“I’m choosing to blame Betty’s Britney-esque meltdown.”

Cheryl isn’t fucking around with baby sips

GOD!!!!!!! I hope Lodge Industries razing the entire southside BRINGS BACK how it destroyed Jughead’s drive-in and FINALLY MAKES JUGHEAD AND VERONICA YELL AT EACH OTHER

The 2001 Josie and the Pussycats movie was a masterpiece: the Pussycats and Veronica looks incredible (the corset-like back of Veronica’s dress?) and perform the only song from Rent that I like!

Fwoopy hair is the best hair: VALERIE

Riverdale brings back one of their very good things: somebody cheerfully singing over top the visual of something horrible happening

Please protect Betty: Betty unrestrainedly sobbing in her windowsill while Jug cracks his neck (something he does now) in CrossFit mobility training for running the gauntlet is better than anything Alice predicted would happen when they started dating

Archie deserves to sit alone at Pop’s counter for a little while

Josie is so...fit. she’s tiny and she’s all muscle

okay LOVED Jughead’s smoky silhouette before he starts walking, loved

Cheryl’s sparkly boots???

Veronica and Josie take note of Nick leading Cheryl away IMMEDIATELY, because as you recall Veronica is a feminist superhero and senses when sketch is afoot

the gauntlet was good until it was GREAT. YOU KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT:

Sexy, aesthetic Southside: Sweet Pea probably breaks Jughead’s fucking cheekbone with that. Jughead doesn’t really have cheekbones, but he has cheek bones and it’s probably fucking broken, and it was, IT WAS EXACTLY the kind of sexy, bloody, homoerotic standoff I crave. that lighting? Sweet Pea’s FACE? Jughead standing there with his shoulders back, daring him to go harder? Jughead is not having a good time, but I’m having a great time. I fucking love the Serpents

the real gauntlet looks like it would be lying on the floor while Josie and the Pussycats kick the shit out of you

Sweet Pea and Toni and the Daddy are SO PROUD OF JUGHEAD!!! SO AM I!!!!!

it’s possible Betty seriously no longer cares if she lives or dies, is the only explanation for her going to an “abandoned house on the edge of Fox Forest” by her own damn self

I will say the wallpaper in this house is more or less the same as in Betty’s bedroom, and that is a very Betty mirror

Archie could literally kill someone tonight, so it’s probably for the best he didn’t make the leap the Nick went back to HIS HOTEL ROOM

Josie keeps slightly fixing the warm orange knit over Cheryl’s legs

“It’s not your fault, Veronica.”

Jughead got the tiniest little Serpent tattoo, because he is just a child

I LOVE Toni’s headband wrap

Every triangle has three corners, every triangle has three sides: is it kind of tacky for Toni to kiss him right now? yes. is it BAD? no. he’s developing another layer of trauma as we speak, but he’s single. somebody wants him!

OOOOOOOOHHHH BETTY!!!!!!!

NEXT WEEK: Cheryl in round sunglasses

#riverdale #commentary #tropes #i say

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justagirlwritingherlilheartout · 7 years ago

Text

Is it that obvious? (FP Jones-Riverdale)

Requested by the lovely @sunnylilac : Can you do an FP Jones one? Where you're around 25 and you put your dreams on hold to help a dying family member, that lives in the trailer park. You don't really know much about the town but when you catch FP's eye he will gladly show you around and give you a good time. It can always contain smut😊😊

Sorry for the wait, hope that the 8 pages make up for it :) <3 (smut at the end)

''Oh for fucks sake!'' A young girl in her mid 20's cursed at her phone as she got out of her little car. The GPS stopped working 5 minutes ago and now she was a 100% sure she was lost.

She pulled out her purse, digging in it to find an actual map. Once she finally found it, she opened it up on the hood of her car, looking down at it, feeling even more lost.

She felt a smile spread across her face as she saw a red truck pull over besides her car. ''Thank god, actual people.''

''You seem lost.'' A tall, dark haired man in his late 40's or maybe early 50's, said as he got out of his car and walked over to her. He had such swagger in his walk that made him look younger than he was.

''Is it that obvious?'' The girl smiled flipping her hair before straightening up and walking over to him. ''I'm Y/N.'' She offered him her hand which he took with a smirk.

''Nice to meet you. You can call me FP.''

''Well FP, it seems like you're destined to be my savior today. Do you by any chance know how i could get to Riverdale and further more a place called.. South side?'' She questioned him looking down at her phone to read off the exact name.

''Yeah, I'm heading there, so if you want you can just follow my car and I'll get you where you need to go.'' FP said that breath taking smirk still on his lips.

''That would mean the world to me.'' She said with a joyful smile on her face.

''Alright. Wanna tell me where exactly you're heading?'' The man asked as she started to close up her map.

''I'm going to be staying with my aunt, she lives on the Marcus' park at the very end.''

''Ah, Nancy?''

''Yeah. Since her husband died she needs someone to take care of her. And i guess that's me.'' She smiled as she threw her purse and the map back in to the car.

''I see.'' He nodded. ''Ready?''

''Yeah, thanks again.'' She smiled and both of them walked in to their cars, FP, driving of with Y/N close behind him.

He couldn't help but think about the girl driving behind her. She was so young and so beautiful. Yet there was something about her that made her different in some way. The way she carried herself the way she smiled.

Coincidentally the girl behind him was thinking the same thing about the man who saved the day.

He could almost be her dad, yet she couldn't stop thinking about how his hand felt in hers, how his hand would feel caressing her face as his lips gazed over her, his scruff starching her soft skin. Or how his hand would feel sliding down her naked back as his body would be pressed against hers... ''No!'' She had to stop her before her mind took her to an even more inappropriate place. She shook her head trying to focus on the road and not the handsome guy in the truck in front of her.

''What's wrong with you?'' She whispered to herself as she saw a sign that read 'Welcome to Riverdale.'

The truck in front of her took a left turn, so she mimicked him and in about 2 minutes they both came to a stop.

She got out of her car just as FP did the same. He walked over to her. ''Thank you so much, i wouldn't be able to get here without you.'' She smiled.

''It's no problem.'' He waved his hand as if it was nothing. ''That's your aunt's trailer.'' He ponied to the very last trailer in a row of others.

''Thank you, let me make it up to you.'' She smiled looking up at him. ''How about i buy you a drink? Please, it's the least i can do.''

''Sure.'' He let out a chuckle, knowing she won't back down until he accepts. Not that he minded. Spending more time with this beautiful girl, no one would complain.

''Yay, so where to?'' She asked, remembering that she has no idea where anything is in this town.

''Across the street. It's a small bar called The Whyte Wyrm.'' He said as they started to walk.

But four steps later Y/N stepped in a weird way and lost balance. She would without a doubt have fallen, and probably broke her nose, if it wasn't for FP who caught her.

''You sure you're up for a drink?'' He joked, setting her back on her feet, but keeping his hand on the small of her back.

''Yeah, believe it or not, I'm less clumsy when I'm drunk than sober.'' She said walking close to him as they both laughed.

''I'll keep that in mind.'' He nodded before entering the bar he previously pointed at.

''FP, the usual?'' A guy that was probably the same age as Y/N asked soon after the duo sat down behind the bar.

''Yeah.''

''And what can I get you, beautiful?'' The guy turned to Y/N who smiled at him, before asking FP what the usual was.

''Beer and a shot of Whiskey.'' He said shortly, glaring at the younger guy.

''I'll have the usual as well then.'' She said, her smile still playing on her lips.

''Coming right up.'' The guy said and walked away.

''So i take it you come here often?'' She turned to the man who she came here with.

''That obvious?'' He said in the same tone she did before, when he asked her if she's lost, making her laugh.

''Well not everyone has the privilege of having ''the usual''.'' She winked as the guy from before handed them their drinks.

''True.''

''Cheers.'' She said as they clicked their shots, drinking them and washing them down with a sip of beer.

''So how come you decided to come help your aunt out?''

''Well i finished uni last year and worked at a local shelter for a year and then i got the news that his husband passed away. Her son is god knows where, so i felt bad for the woman.''

''You just doped everything and moved here?'' He asked, surprised.

''Pretty much.'' She nodded. ''I know, it's crazy, but i can build my career anywhere, so why not here, I'm sure i will be able to find a job soon enough, so i will be able to help her out while I'm here.''

''Wow.'' He said, clearly impressed.

''So, you're a local here?'' She turned the conversation towards him, curious to find out more about the mysterious man who she literally met in the middle of nowhere.

''Yeah, born and raised.'' He said, taking a sip of his beer. ''I live a couple trailers west of your aunt's trailer.''

''Oh, do you live alone?''

''Yeah.''

''I'm sorry, i didn't mean to prey.'' She quickly apologized, noticing the changed expression on his face as she asked him that.

''That's okay. My wife, packed her things, took my daughter and moved away. And my son is living with his friend.'' He said, surprising himself. She was just so easy to talk to.

''Oh I'm so sorry, that must of been a big hit for you.'' She reached for his hand, squeezing it gently. And for some reason that brought a small smile to his face.

''Yeah, but it was a long time ago. And it was probably for the best.''

''Everything has a reason, right?''

''I guess so.'' He said smiling at her optimism. ''So what kind of jobs will you be applying for?''

''I was thinking, that i should go ask if any of the schools need a counselor or something like that. If not, i might just take up being a waitress. That's how i got trough 5 years of university so, I'm pretty good at making cocktails and purring shots.'' She winked.

''Makes sense. You seem to be a people's person.'' He said smiling at their touching hands.

They continued to talk for over an hour before Y/N's phone rang.

''Excuse me.'' She smiled at him before picking up her phone without looking at the caller ID.

''Hello.'' She answered ''Oh hey auntie Nancy.''

Then silence. FP took that time to study the girl in front of him. She wore a floral sundress that reached the middle of her thighs. Giving the dress an hour glass shape, was a big red belt positioned at her natural waist. The whole outfit complimented by black ankle high heel boots that matched her leather jacked with rolled up sleeves. Her face was pale and round, framed by wonderful long hair. She wore simple yet glamorous (for Riverdale at least) make up.

''Yes I'm here, I'll bring my bags there in a minute. Stay put, okay?'' And with that she hang up her phone.

''I'm sorry I have to go. It was really nice talking to you.'' She said pulling out her wallet and paying for the drinks before he could try to object.

''Do you need help with your bags?'' He asked, offering her his hand which she gratefully took.

''I don't wanna bother you.'' She smiled.

''It's no bother.'' He said as they walked out of the bar. It was already dark.

''Okay.'' She smiled and nodded. ''I would really appropriate that. I have to warn you tho. I have a lot of clothes, which means a lot of baggage.''

''I wouldn't suspect anything else.'' He said, his arm making its way around her waist. ''Safety first.'' He said as they walked over the spot where she tripped before.

''Okay take what you can.'' She smiled as she opened the car doors.

''Of course, princess.'' He said with a smirk as he took four suitcases in his arms, making the girl raise an eyebrow at him as she took two and was hardy able to keep them in her hands.

It only took them 2 trips from the car to the trailer before they were finished.

''Thank you.'' She smiled at the man in front of her. ''How will i ever be able to repay you?''

''Let me buy you a drink tomorrow.'' Was all he said before wrapping his hand around her waist and hugging her goodbye.

''See you tomorrow.'' She smiled before walking inside.

The rest of the night was pretty busy for her. She unpacked all of her bags and talked to her aunt. She was getting old and could hardly do anything on her own.

Around 3AM she finally showered and got to bed. Well couch. There was only one bed and that one was her aunt's. So she had to sleep on the couch which was very uncomfortable. But after a whole day of driving and cleaning she fell asleep the second her head touched the pillow.

''Good morning auntie.'' She said with a cheerful smile, helping the old lady out of bed and making both of them breakfast. As her aunt ate she got dressed in a black tight high waisted pencil skirt in to which she tucked a white dress shirt, finishing the look of with black high heal shoes. She put on her usual brown eye shadow and black eyeliner with a dark nude lipstick.

''Here we go.'' Y/N said as she helped the old lady to the other couch and turned on the TV. ''I'll be gone for a couple of hours, okay?''

The old woman nodded as the girl took her purse and walked out of the trailer.

She most differently didn't look like someone who lived in a trailer park. Once in her car she put on her glasses and put her hair in a neat bun before driving to the Riverdale high school.

''Hello, I'm Y/N, Y/N Y/L, I called last night for the job interview.'' She smiled, fixing her glasses as she waited for the lady to tell her where to go.

''Second door on the left.''

''Thank you.'' She walked to the door she was directed to and knocked.

''Come in.''

''Hello, I'm Y/N Y/L, I'm here for the job interview.'' She said again. this time to the old grey man sitting behind a big wooden desk.

''Ah, the counselor, right?'' He said reaching out his hand for her to shake.

''Yes, sir.''

''Please, sit.''

''Thank you.'' She smiled before sitting down and reaching in to her purse. ''Here's my resume and everything you need to know.''

The man took her papers and started reading them. ''Impressive.''

''Thank you.''

''Would you be able to start working tomorrow?'' He asked.

''Of course!'' She said happy that she found a new job.

''You would be working 4 hours a day, mostly taking care of special needs kids and probably taking a lot of students who are still griefing for their lost fried, Jason Blossom.'' He told her a bit about what happened to the teenager not long before her arrival.

''Thank you, i guess I'll see you tomorrow then.'' She smiled before shaking his hand and walking out.

She drove back to the south side where she, as soon as she got out of the car, saw FP.

''Hey!'' She smiled, locking the car and walking in his direction.

''Y/N?'' He looked the girl up and down. ''Wow, you cleaned up nicely.''

''Thank you.'' She smiled, doing a small twirl. ''So guess what?'' She said walking over to him, hugging him as a greeting.

''What?'' He smirked, after pulling away from the hug and leaning back against his trailer.

''I got the job!'' She smiled with excitement.

''Wow congrats!'' He said hugging her again, this time tighter, almost lifting her off the ground. Making her giggle.

''We need to celebrate.'' She said remembering his invitation from last night.

''Yes. Come in, i have a couple of beers in the fridge.'' He said opening the door, letting her walk up the small steps in to his trailer. He bit his lip, as he saw her ass in that tight little skirt sway from side to side when the walked up the stairs. He quickly followed her. Closing the doors behind them.

''Y/N?'' He said making her turn around.

''Yea-'' She was cut off by his lips pressed on hers. She stood frozen for a second, surprised.

''I'm sorry, i shouldn't of done that.'' He pulled away when he realized she didn't react.

''No. You should of done that sooner.'' She smiled stepping forward, titling her head up and pressing her lips against his. Kissing him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He quickly wrapped his hands around her waist, lifting her up with ease. ''Lets celebrate then.'' He said as carried her over to his bedroom, letting her back on her feel before sitting down on his bed with her standing between his legs

''Goddamn, you're beautiful.'' He said almost enchanted as he ran his hands along her soft curves, paying special attention to her hips and ass. He turned her around and she let him. FP quickly unzipped her skirt pulling it down and revealing a black lace tons covering her privates.

He let out a low growl before grabbing and spanking her ass making her let out a soft whimper. She decided to speed things up and took off her shirt, before turning around, revealing a matching lace bra. She straddled his lap and started to unbutton his his shirt as he continued to squeeze and spank her ass. Soon his shirt joined hers on he floor.

''These,'' She said motioning to his pants. ''need to go.''

''As you wish princess.'' He said, lifting her up and flipping them around so she was on her back and he was able to stand up. In less than a second his pants were on the floor and his erection spring up against his stomach. ''Your turn.'' He said motioning to her bra.

She quickly unclasped it and threw it somewhere behind him as he took off her thong.

He leaned down, kissing her soft stomach, leaving a trail of kisses down to her hip then her thigh, his beard scratching her, somehow making everything feel even better.

Finally his lips found the spot where she needed him the most.

''Yes!'' She moaned out, her fingers finding themselves in his hair tugging on it lightly.

His hand traveled up to her breast, massaging it gently as his tongue was working miracles oh her clit.

''FP! I need you!'' She almost begged.

''Anything for you, princess.'' He said bringing herself on top of her, leaning down and kissing her. She could taste herself on his lips as he positioned himself at her entrance. And a second later he was slowly pounding in and out of her making her eyes roll back. Due to his size and the way he moved, his slow movements felt better than anything she has ever felt before. But slowly he started to pick up the speed, making her wrap her arms around his neck, bringing him closer to her, wanting to feel more of him, she wrapped her legs around his waist, moving in the rhythm he lead.

''Yes, just like that.'' She moaned out, pleasure written all over her face and a minute later she was moaning out his name as he helped her ride out her orgasm.

The final shakes of her orgasm passing just as his thrusts started to become sloppy and uneven. ''Come FP, cum for me.'' She whispered biting on his neck as he hit his climax, a mix of low groans and moans filled the room they were in.

Collapsing next to her he wrapped her in his arms, both of them having content smiles on their faces.

''Now this is a celebration.'' She smiled, making them both laugh, still breathing heavily.

Request here!

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AN: Hey, i hope i did it justice. tell me what you think. Any more requests? You know what to do :) <3<3<3

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a-man-asunder · 6 years ago

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'Reverse Hybrid Chivalry 101'

I have become a master at the passive - aggressive art of pushing people away. So many reasons why to do this, less as to why i shouldn't. People don't and can't possibly fully understand some things in this life unless they live it, because living some things can kill off others, including and not excluding parts of people in the deep. Some things are better left alone, off of the itinerary of this life - romantical love in this instance. Why waste someone's years in this tick-tocking world just to try to make your days more tolerable or supposedly happy? Call me new - weird - not old - fashioned, crazy, stupid, gay or whatever it doesn't matter. I am the new hybrid breed of chivalry. I will not let a woman try to save me or to heal my heart - especially with cooking me a home-cooked meal, right? ( Remember the quote "the way to a man's ♡ is through his stomach"? ) At any given moment there are a hundred tangents my mind can branch off to, even now more so, so I will keep it brief - I have issues, as we all do. Hell I have so many i am a subscription. Ha ;) Yes i am too hard on myself, but still... There are many reasons why I don't believe personally in relationships or marriage ( and NO to heck with f*** buddies and this DOESN'T mean i am gay, too ) but that is for another rant, a different day. BUT I am happy for those who have love and i pray those who want it find it. I won't lie, I am lonely and I hope and think and wish and..... and...... it is not worth it in the end, because you never know the end. I don't believe in half-ass loving someone, and I don't think i could recover again if a so-called love went south for me, again - hell if i am even close to recovered now from the 1st. Anyways, due to my skittishness and me getting the hair in ( or is it up?) my ass to try it with someone just for a second I will talk and they may see glints and hints of the old me, as i fight through my walls of anxiety n crap to pull them in - just before i realize i am no good for anyone and try to find a reason why they are the same for me; well my normal 4 me ( weird n crazy 2 u ) behavior mixed in with my pure jadedness and being scared to death of ever loving a woman again makes me treacherous, confusing, MYSTERIOUS which has pulled some ladies in....... which makes me push them away even more. This whole novella i am writing is everywhere, and all this as a whole is why i am best alone, why I have been labeled a negative nancy, a player (ironically), or a catfish. Girls have thought I am a fake creeper, 4 real. What a cold-hearted summbitch I must be for not coming running and crashing an 'all you can eat buffet of home-cooked meals and all the sex i want' just at the risk of hurting a girl. I may seem like i am the opposite when it comes down to the acts of chivalry because I am not the norm and I don't cave in and do as alot of guys do by moving in and using a girl and her ASSets, &/but that doesn't make me a monster or an ass or a player or a punching bag for all you that have been hurt to beat up on and to take all of your past hurt and anger out on me from your past AS so many have done. I am no saint and i am sorry for who and how i am, it is why I have stayed hidden. I do wish everyone the best and i mean no hurt or harm. Two things I wish i could go and do-over come to mind... I would have excellent credit instead of being stupid n blowing so much $ so young because I wasn't used to having alot of stuff ( junk now ) and now i would own my own cabin with the mountains on one side, the ocean on the other and secondly i wish i would have learned to have shut the fuck up and been a mime-like, muted, quiet weird catguy instead of this loud, random obnoxious one no one gets. Who knows, maybe i will hit my goals just yet..... Maybe I will become a catfish, but I tell you this - no mossy oak decaled facebook cover photoed page gal will ever hook this motherfucker. You are welcomed in advance ;) (P.S. sometimes I count smiley variants and emoticons as punctuations.)

XoXo

(Whew)

- 8/18/18; 6:59 p.m.; Post #13

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wp-yahoo-style-1042-yahoopa-blog · 8 years ago

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Christina Ricci Wasn't Fazed By Her First Full-Frontal Nude Scene

Christina Ricci (Photo: Getty Images)

We’ve seen Christina Ricci grow up in front of us, going from coolly gloomy Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family, to playing legendary socialite and novelist Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of F. Scott Fitzgerald, in Z: The Beginning of Everything. The series, which premieres on Amazon on Friday, also puts Ricci in the driver’s seat as an executive producer, has her mastering a southern accent and features her first full-frontal nude scene.

Plus, she’s gone through major changes off-screen as well: Ricci’s son is now firmly in his terrible twos. Becoming a parent has impacted every facet of Ricci’s life, including her fashion sense.

“I don’t worry so much about how I look anymore in the same way I used to,” Ricci, 36, tells Yahoo Style. “I freak out all the time about how I look when I’m going to red carpets but also there is that part of me in those moments that says, ‘You know this really doesn’t matter. It’s just a dress.’ And that’s not something I used to have; a dress was like the end of the world. So it’s nice to have a little bit more confidence and to feel a little bit more grounded to the earth.”

Christina Ricci (Photo: Getty Images)

What inspired your fascination with Zelda and her story?

“I happened to stumble upon the book and I read it and I loved it. I thought it was so incredible. It was fascinating to me that she had the reputation that she had. And I also was sure that I had seen something about her – some movie, TV show, or something, but nothing has been made just about her. So we felt like it was certainly something worth telling. It’s just kind of fascinating. It really brings up a lot of questions, I think especially for me as a woman. Was she ‘just his wife’ Is being someone’s wife not enough? But it wasn’t enough for her. She wanted to be more than that but she wasn’t allowed to be. I wondered how much the time period had to do with the tragedy of her life. It’s just really interesting and I feel like it’s a story worth telling.”

What aspects of her Zelda’s life do you most relate to?

“I think there is a certain recklessness that she has that I have had in my life. I think she was kind of unsure for a very long time. I think I was too. I think that plays into the lack of forethought and the lack of really understanding consequence. I had that way too late, way past being a teenager. And I think that’s also something that Zelda suffered from and it had a lot to do with what went wrong in her life. She lived during a time where you made a decision when you were 18 and there was no changing it later on in life. I am fortunate enough to have been born in 1980. So I made lots of mistakes but was able to change them afterwards.”

You’re wearing a producer hat and acting in the lead role in this project. How does Christina Ricci produce Christina Ricci?

“I probably am the only person that I listen to so that’s good. And now that I know that my ideas are valid, it’s opened up a whole new world for me. So that’s kind of exciting.”

You get to be a fun feisty blonde in this role. What do you like about rocking that hair color?

“Well I am blonde now. I was blonde before the show and I really like being blonde. I had always secretly wanted to be blonde but I didn’t think I could. And then I guess after I had a baby I was like, ‘I don’t care what anyone thinks. I guess I’m going to be blonde.’ And I love it. I’m never going back. I just really like it. I’m a very girly girl. I love unicorns and sparkles and rainbows so blonde hair to me is just really pretty.”

Zelda is super stubborn and she kind of seems like a nightmare to parent. Are you worried about having to eventually deal with the teenage years with your son?

“Apparently teenage boys are not as hard as teenage girls so I’m not as scared. I am though really terrified of the day where he tells me he hates me or something. I think it will break my heart. But if you know it’s coming, then at least you can say, ‘It’s just because he’s a teenager!’ And my husband and I, we were kind of bad kids. So I’m not sure whether he’s going to be really bad or if because we were the way we were, we’ll have this Young Republican. We’ll have Alex Keaton instead of me.”

(Photo: Nicole Rivelli/ Amazon Prime Video)

The dating years are supposedly harder on parents of girls but I’m sure it’s not a cakewalk when you have a boy either.

“Because as a woman you want to make sure your boy isn’t gross. You want to make sure he’s cool to a girl. So I’ve already started with the whole ‘this is how we treat women.’ And he already calls women ladies. ‘Hi ladies. Mama that nice lady.” And I’m just, ‘Mmhmm.’”

How is motherhood going in general?

“He is in his terrible twos. We’ve been talking about that a lot here. We’re doing a lot of traveling for the job and discussing the fact that a 2-½ year old on a plane is not great. But other than that, I absolutely adore him. It’s so fun. I don’t need anything else in my life because he’s so fun and entertaining and fantastic.”

How has your personal style changed since becoming a mom?

“Having a child certainly puts a lot of things in perspective. It also cuts down on time. So I can’t overthink anything I’m wearing or buying. And once you have a child, you don’t spend money on trendy things as much because you have it in the back of your mind that you have to pay for your child’s education and stuff like that. So it definitely forces you to figure out who you are, how you dress, and just be confident in it.”

This show is a lot of firsts for you. You do your first full frontal scene in this series. Were you nervous to do it?

“I almost don’t feel like it isn’t fully nude because the merkin is kind of like wearing a bikini. I don’t know that I would ever go just full on vag. I feel like I’d have to do underwear. It’s a merkin. It feels like you have underwear on.”

What goes into your mind to before shooting a scene like that?

“Not too much. I just make sure that they shoot it first thing so that I can eat afterwards. I’ve done a lot of nude scenes in my life and I feel like at this point, it’s no secret what I look like naked. You can Google me. So I don’t really freak out that much about it. And also, when you’re an actress, if you don’t look perfect on camera, who cares? So that character isn’t perfect? So that character has fat arms. Whatever! It’s not like being a model where you’re supposed to look great all the time.”

This year seems to be all about telling Zelda’s story. We have this show. And then Ron Howard is doing his interpretation of the Nancy Milford biography where Jennifer Lawrence is playing her. And then Scarlett Johansson is set to portray her in The Beautiful and the Damned. Why do you think now is the right time to tell Zelda’s story?

“I think she was very much a person out of place in her time period. And I think before, until we evolved to this place, her behavior was always a mystery to previous generations. But now I feel like my generation is very much the same type of woman that Zelda was; she didn’t just live in the right time period. So I think now there is an understanding of her behavior and a relatability of her behavior now that just didn’t exist before. She was ahead of us, I think.”

(Photo: Nicole Rivelli/ Amazon Prime Video)

With all the issues we are facing today, do you feel like she represents what we need from women in today’s society?

“Zelda didn’t realize she wasn’t an equal until someone told her that she wasn’t. As long as we obsess about women not being equal and we think of ourselves as not being equal and we accept this position of not being equal, we will never be equal.”

You seem to be great at staying out of the drama of the Hollywood limelight these days. What’s the secret to being pulling that off?

“I used to live in LA and I got a lot of paparazzi. But now, I don’t even live in Manhattan. When I was pregnant, I didn’t intentionally avoid people, I just didn’t have a reason to ever be photographed. So people didn’t find out I was pregnant until I came to LA. I just don’t seek it. I think if you genuinely don’t seek out these things, they don’t come to you. No one knew I was pregnant because I didn’t make an announcement; it wasn’t like I was avoiding anything. I think that sometimes, if you’re at the level of fame that I’m at – because I’m not as famous as other people – you can avoid it.”

Related: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Ellen Pompeo Says No To Botox

Related: The Crazy Story Behind Kerry Washington’s Globes Dress

Related: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Camilla Luddington’s Pregnancy Mantra: ‘Flaunt It’

#_revsp:wp.yahoo.style.us #_author:Nicole Pajer #News #Fashion #Celebrity #zelda fitzgerald #_uuid:63a4edd7-5831-36f5-bc3b-cc99d53cd2a5 #Style #Christina Ricci #_lmsid:a0Vd000000AE7lXEAT

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infinitehouseofbooks · 7 years ago

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YOUNG ADULT FRIDAYS - The Librarian

Welcome to Shannon Muir’s Infinite House of Books!

DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS by YAReads Blog Tours. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.

The Librarian by Christy Sloat

Genre: YA Historical/Romance

Published June 17th, 2017

Published by CHBB Publishing

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34415420-the-librarian

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Librarian-Christy-Sloat-ebook/dp/B071XF6XXZ/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-librarian-christy-sloat/1126502976?ean=9781547101078&quickview=true

He’s from 1892 England, she’s in a small library in 2017. And that’s just the start of their troubles.

Emme never meant to stay in Maine. She’d come only to find a librarian for her Gram’s library, a custodian for the collection of mysterious books she’d promised to protect. On a dark, wintery night, alone in the library, she takes her first glance into one of the antique novels and finds herself transported to 1892 England staring into the eyes of handsome and dashing hero Jack Ridgewell. As each chapter passes she learns you can truly fall in love with a character in a book, that book boyfriends are real and Emme must choose between the real world, and his. When the last page is read he’s gone and Emme feels the cold loneliness of lost love. Will she find Jack again, or will their love be forever lost? The answer lies within the pages…

About the Author:

Christy Sloat is a SoCal born girl who resides in New Jersey currently with her husband, two daughters and Sophie her Chihuahua. Christy has embraced the love of reading and writing since her youth and was inspired by her grandmother’s loving support. Christy passes that love of reading, writing, and creativity to her daughters, family, and friends. When you do not find Christy within the pages of a book you can find her being mommy, wife, crafter, and dear friend. She loves adventurous journeys with her friends and can be known to get lost inside a bookstore. Be sure to venture into her Past Lives Series, The Visitor’s Series, and watch for many more exciting things to come. Check out her website www.christysloat.com Instagram http://instagram.com/authorchristysloat_writes

Blog http://christysloat.blogspot.com/, Facebook: Christy Sloat Author www.facebook.com/christysloatauthor. Twitter: ChristySloat

Read below for an excerpt from the book:

I spent the rest of the day filing paperwork for the funding process and preparing to open the library doors on Monday morning. I told Rose and Becca to spread the word. Tarryn had decided to move her smaller items in already, and she was asleep by nine the same night. It didn’t seem strange to me that I had a roommate; instead it made me feel comfortable. I never lived alone before, and I would feel lonely otherwise. Tarryn was quiet, but I knew in time she’d get used to me and I’d get used to her. We just needed to get to know each other first.

Once I was done with the paperwork, I filed the books that were left on the shelf from when Gram was still here. As I placed the classic books on the correct shelves, I felt a longing to finish reading my mysterious book in my nook.

So, instead of going to bed at a decent hour, I climbed into my cozy space and picked the book back up. I didn’t open it right away. Instead I inspected the outside for any sort of title. I found nothing of the sort. I flipped to the title page once more, trying to find my place, and that’s when I saw the word on the page. It was just a simple “The” typed out on the once blank title page. I ran my finger across it and realized it was printed in ink as if the press had done it. I was sure the night before it was blank, but then again, I was sure my dream about being with a man was real. So I wasn’t really a reliable source at the moment.

I found the spot where I ended with a dog-eared page. I absolutely hated doing this to the book and didn’t remember it at all. I usually had a nice bookmark, but this seemed to be the only thing to mark the page before I had fallen asleep. Running my fingers across the crease at the corner of the page, I settled back and started reading.

I woke up once again face down, this time I was in grass. I blinked my eyes and felt the blades of grass tickling my nose and lips. I pulled myself up and took a deep breath. I looked around and saw the fields upon which I had dreamt of the night before. I was back in England. I was dreaming the same dream. How odd.

There were times when I had thought I had the same dream over and over again, to only find out that it was my mind playing tricks on me. This was no mistake. I was, once again, in the same place.

“Emmeline, are you all right?” I looked up and blocked the sun from my eyes. The man from before was standing in front of me. “You … you disappeared. It happened so fast that I fear I cannot explain to you how it happened. Now you’re here once again.” He sounded really confused and, to put it lightly, so was I.

This dream felt way too real. It was exactly like before. So real and tangible that I couldn’t explain it even if I tried.

“I … I don’t know how I’m here again,” I mumbled.

He reached out to steady me as I swayed to the side. “You’ve been gone for days. I worried I was going mad, that your presence was one of my imaginings. I dared not to speak a word to anyone about it. I have to admit, Emmeline, I’ve been going slightly crazed since I saw you last.”

His hair was disheveled and he had grown a slight beard that only enhanced the sexiness of his strong jawline. His deep set blue-green eyes looked weary, and for that I felt awful.

My sudden disappearance had made him fall apart, that was apparent.

“I’ll tell you, I feel like I’m going crazy too. Trust me,” I admitted. “Can we sit somewhere? Out of the sun?”

“Of course.”

He held my arm and led me to a tree in the center of the field. Once underneath the large tree, I felt instantly better. I looked down at my clothes and saw that I was, once again, in my own clothes. This time a little better than before. I was wearing yoga pants and an old T-shirt.

“I can’t explain how or why I’m here. Hell, I don’t even know your name, but I’m here again and I’m beginning to think that this isn’t a dream. That I’m really here, with you,” I said as I touched his arm. “I’m not from … here.”

I didn’t know how to explain it to him, but I did the best any girl who was somehow traveling through time could. I didn’t have answers or explanations, but I had a gut feeling.

“I’m from a different time as you. As you can tell by my lovely clothing, I’m not from 1893.”

He placed his fingers on my lips, stopping me, while shaking his head.

“This isn’t right, Emmeline. Trickery at a time like this isn’t fair,” he said as he stood up fast. “I am leaving soon. I shall not have you doing this to me.”

My mouth fell open in shock and I stood. “Do something to you? Listen here, buddy, I didn’t ask for this. I sat down to read a book and then boom, I’m stuck in England with a stranger.”

I pointed at myself. “Look at me. Do I really look like I belong here?”

He looked at my clothing and up to my hair, and I could see his cheeks redden.

“You are dressed very indecent, I suppose. No woman I’ve ever met wears trousers. Nor do they wear clothing that fitting.”

I laughed. He thought this was indecent, he should see some of the dresses I had worn to parties. They were nothing like the dresses he was used to seeing on a woman. We absolutely didn’t dress ladylike anymore. My sexy little black dress that currently hung in my closet would definitely shock some of the people of this era for sure.

“I don’t know why I’m here. I’m absolutely not trying to, I don’t know, hurt you or anything. I don’t know how to go home.” I slumped back against the tree. “I wish that I could prove to you that I’m not lying to you, but I cannot. You’ll have to just believe me, I guess.” It was as simple as that. He could either believe this bat-shit crazy explanation or not. One way or another, I didn’t care. I just wanted to go home.

“I don’t know why, Emmeline, but I feel as if I should say that I do believe you.” He ran a hand through his thick hair, mussing it up. “I just don’t know how else to explain your abrupt presence. One minute you are here and the next you’re disappearing into thin air. I read many books on fiction, so I suppose it could be true.”

“Well, I may know someone who knows something. She works for the lucky bastard that owns that house,” I told him pointing to the house where Nancy was the last time I saw her. She was probably cooking something again for her master.

He smiled. “That house?”

“Yes. Her name is Nancy.”

“Ah. Nancy. And who is this Nancy woman you speak of?” He continued to smile as if this was a joke, but I ignored it.

“She’s a cook. I met her on my last visit here,” I explained. “She’s not the nicest person I’ve ever met, but I think she has some answers.”

“I must argue that Miss Nancy is more than a cook. She’s also the lady upon with which I trust my household while I’m gone. She’s more of an aunt than a housekeeper,” he said as he took my hand in his. “It’s very nice to finally introduce myself to you, Emmeline Bailey. I’m Jack Ridgewell or you may just call me the lucky bastard.”

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