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the-prince-and-the-thief · 5 years ago

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//Y’all I hope you like text walls, because that’s what yer getting

|| The Basics ||

Name: Goro Akechi

Nickname(s): Detective Prince, Crow, Black Mask

Age: 18 (20 in some AUs)

Species: Human

Religious Belief: Not religious, would probably smile and nod if you said god deserved a shot in the head.

|| Personal ||

Sins: Lust / Greed / Gluttony / Sloth / Pride / Envy / Wrath

Virtues: Chastity / Charity / Diligence / Humility /Kindness / Patience / Justice (He questions why chastity is a virtue but admits to being a virgin)

Primary Goals In Life: Depends on the AU. The usual answer is “Make my dad’s life hell, then kill myself”. In the Amnesiac AU, his goal is just to regain his memories, as he knew he was working on something very important with Wakaba before the loss of his memories. In the Post-Game AU, he’s just trying to figure out what to do with his life.

Languages Known: Japanese, some English (he’s not great at it but he tries.)

Secrets: MANY. His whole life is a lie Also he’s gay. He’s trying to keep that a secret but even some of his fangirls have figured it out.

Quirks: Names everything in his house, obsessed with animals and pets but only has a roomba, gets distracted while talking easily and just starts rambling, gets much more formal when nervous, forgets to eat but when he does he eats p much everything, never seems to gain weight no matter what he eats, his hands are super sensitive so he almost never takes off his gloves, overthinks everything.

Savvies: Logic, deduction, investigation, planning, athletics, biking, bouldering, academics.

|| Physical ||

Height: 5'10″

Weight: 141 lbs

Scars/Birthmarks: None.

Abilities/Powers: A... a lot. Driving shadows berserk, Wild card abilities (multiple personas, etc), also he’s a very good detective despite uh, initially basically being rigged into his position.

Restrictions: He’s weak to curses, both in the literal metaverse sense and the metaphorical sense. He really doesn’t handle the negative well-- criticisms, anger, sadness, etc. He is desperate for positive attention and craves love, to the point he’ll do stupid, stupid stuff to obtain what he wants. He has serious trust issues and mental health problems. Also, he’s not as free as he’d like in any aspect. His job and his conspiracy work basically make him a puppet to adults, while his reputation prevents him from being more open with himself and living normally, and his fangirls make it difficult for him to move about the city freely. He’s in a gilded cage.

|| Favorites ||

Favourite Drink: Coffee. (In terms of alcohol, a Kahlua iced coffee.)

Favourite Pizza Topping: I can see him liking Margherita pizza and pesto pizza a lot.

Favourite Color: Beige. YES REALLY. Second favorite color is wine red.

Favourite Music Genre: death metal He’s not picky, but classical or instrumental stuff is nice! He really likes the work of Yuki Kajiura!

Favourite Book Genre: If it is a book that isn’t a textbook, he will read it. He actually likes fantasy and sci-fi books with deep lore, but he doesn’t have a lot of time to read them. He has a secret love of romance novels because they’re the closest he’ll ever get to romantic interaction.

Favourite Movie Genre: He actually doesn’t watch a lot of movies. Romance movies though. He cries over romance movies.

Favourite Season: Spring~. It’s the perfect season to go out and do things!

Favourite Butt Type: He doesn’t care as long as it’s cute and perky. Ren’s. Ren’s butt basically.

Favourite Swear Word: Judging by the game? Shit.

Favourite Scent: Vanilla. His shampoo is vanilla scented. He likes the scent of coffee a lot too.

Favourite Quote: He’ll say it’s some deep philosophical quote from something obscure. He’ll say that. But. His favorite quote is “I am the rose that slashes evil”. He really likes Tuxedo Mask.

|| Fun Stuff ||

Bottom or Top: Bottom mostly, but he’d probably switch every once in a while.

Sings In The Shower: Only when he’s in a really good mood. So almost never.

Likes Bad Puns: Will shoot you if you make one in his presence.

Morality: Lawful / Neutral / Chaotic / Good / Gray / Evil (the crossed out ones are the real ones)

Build: Slender / Scrawny / Bony / Fit / Athletic / Herculean / Babyfat / Pudgy / Obese / Other.

Favourite Food: He doesn’t actually know! He does like sweets a lot though, and genuinely does love pancakes. Despite being something of a glutton/gourmet/foodie, he doesn’t really pay much attention to what he’s eating most of the time-- mostly because he barely eats.

“Boss” Theme Music : Will Power

Their Opinion On The Mun: "She seems like a reasonable enough person, however... if she could stop calling me... any of the things she calls me... I would greatly appreciate it.” He’s being nice he hates my guts.

|| The Basics ||

Name: Ren Amamiya

Nickname(s): Renren, Frizzy Hair, Joker, Whatever insult Akechi feels like calling him at the moment.

Age: 17 (19 in some AUs)

Species: Human

Religious Belief: He’s not religious but he would say Satanism to troll people.

|| Personal ||

Sins: Lust / Greed / Gluttony / Sloth / Pride / Envy / Wrath

Virtues: Chastity / Charity / Diligence / Humility /Kindness / Patience / Justice

Primary Goals In Life: Dependant on the AU. He considers reforming society to be extremely important in all of them, though. It’s more a matter of what he decides to focus on. Default, his main focus is on the phantom thieves. Black Gloves Ren’s ultimate goal is to free Akechi from the rigged game they’re playing and give him true freedom and happiness. Post-Game Ren’s goal (which he’s embarrassed admitting) is to get into politics so that he can campaign for human rights (especially LGBT rights and criminal justice reform), and one day making it so he can one day marry the person he loves. (He also wants to propose to Akechi literally the second gay marriage is legal in his country, either in public or private.)

Languages Known: Japanese, English (Black Gloves speaks it fluently, the others are about as good as you’d expect a Japanese high schooler to be at English).

Secrets: Only really applicable to Black Gloves Ren. I mean, aside from the whole being a phantom thief thing. Black Gloves Ren is hiding that he remembers the timelines because he thinks nobody will believe him.

Quirks: Basically unreadable most of the time. His poker face is godly. He flirts a lot, but if you flirt with him he’ll absolutely lose it. Cats seem drawn to him. Tends to bring up earlier conversations much, MUCH later at the worst time possible. A huge troll always.

Savvies: MAX STATS BOYEEEEE, athletics, is being a cocky little shit a savvy? Because that. Making coffee, cooking, somehow getting the top grades in school without ever studying, out-gambitting major conspiracies.

|| Physical ||

Height: 5'9″

Weight: 145 lbs (yeah he weighs more than Akechi. It’s mostly muscle.)

Scars/Birthmarks: Idk why but I can see him having a mole on his right shoulder. I have no good reason for this. My brain just says “yes, this would look good.”

Abilities/Powers: Wild Card abilities.

Restrictions: Much like his persona, he’s weak to bless. By which I mean his luck is total ass. Nothing goes right for him, no good deed goes unpunished, and if it weren’t for his sheer skill and the people around him, he’d basically be totally fucked always. Also, he’s kind of a criminal on probation and whatnot.

|| Favorites ||

Favourite Drink: Coffee.

Favourite Pizza Topping: “Pineapple and anchovies.” Ren. Ren. Now is not the time to troll. He actually doesn’t care.

Favourite Color: Beige. Black and dark gray. “Like my soul.” REN PLZ.

Favourite Music Genre: He likes things like Jazz and Rock.

Favourite Book Genre: B O O K. He’ll read pretty much anything.

Favourite Movie Genre: He’s not particular. He just likes watching movies in general. Obviously though, he loves heist/criminal/thriller stuff.

Favourite Season: Winter. He likes snow and cold.

Favourite Butt Type: “Same as Sir Mix-A-Lot” Ren, why do you know that song????

Favourite Swear Word: Fuck. Preferably said quietly.

Favourite Scent: Coffee. He also likes the scent of curry, but he wouldn’t want to be surrounded by it all the time.

Favourite Quote: “Where is the real you?”

|| Fun Stuff ||

Bottom or Top: He likes being a top but he’s also a massive masochist so, honestly, it’s 50/50.

Sings In The Shower: No, but he’ll hum.

Likes Bad Puns: “I am the pungeon master, here to punish evildoers.”

Morality: Lawful / Neutral / Chaotic / Good / Gray / Evil

Build: Slender / Scrawny / Bony / Fit / Athletic / Herculean / Babyfat / Pudgy / Obese / Other.

Favourite Food: CURRYYYYYYYYYY. It wasn’t his favorite food before going to Tokyo, but it is now. It just has a lot of good memories for him.

“Boss” Theme Music : Last Surprise

Their Opinion On The Mun: "Heh. She’s fun. I’ve never seen someone who pushes Akechi’s buttons as much as I do.”

Tagged by: Stole

Tagging: All yall

#ooc #i finally did it #this took forever #the prince #the thief

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chungledown-bimothy · 6 years ago

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Lost Ourselves in the Bright Lights

Hello hello hello! About a month ago, a LOVELY anon gave me a multitude of prompts. One of which was “Virgil and Logan are at a concert. Virgil cause he loves the band and Logan because he brought his brother (Patton or Roman) and at first Logan Hates the whole thing but then he sees Virgil and Virgil is singing along and he thinks virgils beautiful and that’s how they meet”.

Here’s to you, Prompt Anon. <3

Warnings: some swearing, some sexual innuendos/suggestiveness, but nothing anywhere near explicit.

Pairing(s): analogical, logince as brothers, patton is logan and roman’s dad. very brief virgil and remy as friends.

Word Count: 3701 (a Big boy)

Tag List: @ren-allen @ilovemygaydad @ccecode @emo-sanders-sides-loving-unicorn @bloodropsblog @funsizedgremlin @raygelkitty @roxyfox23 @thomasthesandersengine

"I understand that you want to go, Roman, but what does this have to do with me?"

"Because, Logan, dad says I can only go if you come with me 'to keep me out of trouble,’" Roman begged.

Logan sighed. "That's not fair to either of us. Aside from the fact that we graduate high school next month and are capable of keeping ourselves safe, now I must choose to either suffer through an evening of mediocre music played far too loudly to be safe or prevent you from seeing your favorite band."

"That's what I told dad, but he wouldn't budge! Please, Lo? I'll do your chores for the next two weeks if you come with me."

"Okay, I will. Don't expect me to have fun, though."

"I have a feeling you're gonna have a better time than you think, little brother."

"How many times do I have to tell you? Not only are we twins, but I am taller than you!" Patton stood in the doorway with a soft smile, listening to his sons bicker. He knew full well that Roman would have been just fine at the concert by himself, but something told him Logan should go with his brother, and all of the best things in Patton's life had started with that same feeling.

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

"Why is it already so loud?" Logan complained.

"It's called hype, calculator watch!"

"It is obnoxious. Enjoy the concert; I'll be at that table. Come find me when it's over."

"God, you're such a nerd. Did you even listen to the playlist I sent you, so you knew what to expect tonight?"

"Are you referring to the playlist entitled 'Mayday Parade Owns My Sad Gay Ass'? If so, no. All of this genre sounds alike, and the name itself is absurd, bordering on oxymoronic."

"You're absurd and bordering on oxymoronic!" Roman cried.

"I'm certain you don't know what that word means. Regardless, you're wasting your time here with me; it appears that what is colloquially known as the 'mosh pit' is filling up, and I know how much you wanted to be there."

"Good looking out, Lo! Mayday's going on soon anyway. I don't know how you think you're gonna be able to read once they start playing, but I hope you enjoy your book."

"Go have fun. It's what we're here for, after all." Logan smiled briefly before turning to the e-reader he brought, loaded with the newest Song of Ice and Fire novel. It wasn't long before the band started playing, and, loath as he was to admit it, Roman was right. Between the flashing lights and the ear-splitting volume, focusing on a book was simply impossible, so he decided to indulge in an exercise in observation, or 'people watching'.

Logan Sanders did not believe in fate or kismet or providence or any term one could use for that sentiment. He believed that the universe is cold and indifferent, and that even the most serendipitous events are simply chance. But, for a split second, after about fifteen minutes or so, he believed all of it when the spotlight paused its sweep over the crowd, illuminating the most beautiful man Logan had ever seen. He was a lost Bernini sculpture brought to life, soft lines belying a quiet grace and strength. Lost in the music, he was swaying and singing along, and he was radiant- purple hair and sharp features glowing in the light.

Logan Sanders certainly did not believe in love at first sight; he didn't even believe in love at all. In that moment, however, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he needed to meet this man, that he was special.

And that absolutely terrified him.

He tried to keep his eyes off of him, he really did, but it was impossible to look away for long. So when the band took a break and his mystery man went to the bar to get a drink, Logan knew it was his chance.

"I apologize if I'm being too forward, but I couldn't help but observe you in the crowd tonight, and you are stunning."

"I wondered if you were going to come talk to me. What were you trying to read, before it got too loud?"

"I- I'm sorry, what?" The man was even more handsome up close; dark eyeshadow and lipstick contrasting what Roman would call 'killer contour and highlight'. The overall effect was truly striking, leaving Logan speechless for the first time.

"A guy dressed like a teacher at a Mayday concert trying to read and clearly wanting to disappear into the walls? I'm sure most people, like you wanted, didn't notice you, but I'm not most people." He smirked, looking Logan up and down.

"Clearly." Logan replied, returning his 'elevator eyes', if he remembered the colloquialism correctly, and finding his voice again. "My name's Logan."

"Virgil. You obviously don't want to be here, so why are you?"

"Correction- I didn't want to be here. My brother loves the band, and our father insisted I accompany him."

"Past tense? What changed?"

"You're an intelligent man, Virgil. You tell me."

"You've licked your lips twice while we've been talking, and your breathing is uneven and shallow. And I'm fairly certain that if I do this," Virgil stepped forward, getting as close to Logan as possible without touching. "Your pupils will dilate and your breath will catch. Just. Like. That." He finished, whispering.

Logan looked up at him and noted the same physiological responses. "That's not what I asked, now, is it?"

"No, it isn't. What do you want, Logan?"

"Once again questions you already know the answers to."

"Once again, you're not answering them. Maybe I just want to hear you say it."

"Maybe I don't want to give you the satisfaction."

"Now that's just not true. If satisfaction wasn't on your mind, you wouldn't still be standing so close to me." Virgil leaned in and tilted his head, daring Logan to make the next move.

"What do you want, Virgil?" Logan whispered, eyes locked on his lips.

"You. All of you," Virgil confessed.

"Then take me." He barely got the words out before Virgil closed the gap between them.

Logan was no blushing virgin; while he hadn't had a relationship per se, exploring one's sexuality is a traditional part of the high school experience. He'd never been kissed like that, though. Like the answers to the world's most profound questions lay between their lips, and then oh. Virgil's hands were on his hips, pulling him even closer.

Logan broke the kiss, panting slightly. "We… we shouldn't be doing this here."

"You're right. Come back to my place? It's not far from here."

"I want to say yes, but…"

"You can't." Virgil stepped back, and Logan's heart metaphorically dropped when he saw the sadness in his face.

"If I were here alone, I absolutely would, but I promised I'd keep an eye on my brother."

"I get that, and I respect the fuck out of you for it. Here, put your number into my phone, and then come dance with me."

"I'll gladly give you my number, but I can't dance."

"Well, you're in luck, then. There's only one rule when it comes to dancing."

"What, pray tell, is it?" He asked, not looking up from Virgil's phone.

"Pick a partner who knows what he's doing." With a wink, Virgil took his phone back and led Logan to the dance floor.

The rest of the night was a blur of pounding bass, stolen kisses, and hands everywhere.

All too soon, the show ended, as all things must. With great reluctance, Virgil and Logan parted ways with a promise to meet again soon. Logan wasn't above admitting that while he didn't want him to have to, he enjoyed watching Virgil walk away.

"Ooooh, who was that, Lo-Lo?" Logan jumped, not having heard his brother's approach.

"Oh, that was, uh… that was no one."

"Falsehood, as you say so often. You were all over each other! I'd never seen you like that before. You like him!"

"Preposterous. I don't know him. And, as you said, my behavior was entirely uncharacteristic. I don't know what came over me."

"You stopped thinking with your big brain, and apparently your little brain has game. Please tell me you got his number."

"I don't understand; I only have one brain, and it is the average size for an 18-year-old male. Regardless, I did not get his number, but I gave him mine."

"You're gonna have to look that one up yourself- I'm not explaining it to you. Going off of how he was looking at you, I guarantee he'll call, and soon."

"I… honestly don't know if I want that or not."

"Trust me, you do. Come on, let's go home."

"That is the most rational thing you've said all day. And please don't say anything to our father about this. He'll be insufferable."

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

Virgil woke up the next morning with dreams of dark eyes and a sharp tongue dancing through his mind. Some of them, though, were memory, not fantasy, and that realization brought his thoughts to a grinding halt, leaving just one behind: oh fuck.

In an instant, the night replayed in his mind's eye. The music, the dancing, the cute guy looking miserable and trying to read, the flirting, the kissing, the proposition, being turned down, the dancing. The only things he didn't remember were what possessed him to be that bold and the guy's name. He grabbed his phone and saw that the guy put his name, Logan, in with his phone number. One mystery solved, and he knew he wouldn't be able to solve the second alone.

[V]- 911 im fucked

[Rem]- i assume not in the good way?

[V]- no, im texting you with a dick in my ass.

[Rem]- 1) we both know you aren't a bottom 2) watch the attitude, babe. you sent the 911. what's up?

[V]- well i met a guy at the concert last night

[Rem]- FINALLY. was he any good?

[V]- we didn't fuck

[Rem]- no offense doll, but why are you telling me about him then?

[V]- i have his number, but i wasn't really me last night. i was smooth and confident. what happens if we meet up and he hates actual me?

[Rem]- then he can fuck off? i don't get why you're buggin about this

[V]- because im me and need a common sense filter sometimes

[Rem]- you're welcome, girl. now hit him up and lmk how it goes, mmkay?

[V]- ofc

----

Logan's alarm went off the next morning at 7:30 as usual, but, for the first time in years, he was tempted to turn it off and sleep in. A single thought, however, floated to the front of his mind, and he was wide awake. Virgil. The handsome stranger who, with a smirk and a kiss, made Logan question everything he thought he knew about love attraction as well as himself. What happened to me last night? I'm never that bold, that impulsive. It was completely irrational, not to mention possibly dangerous if I'd taken him up on his offer like I wanted to. Dear Newton, I wanted to. Well, I'm not going to solve anything just laying here, and Crofter's helps solve any problem. Breakfast time.

A few minutes later, Logan was in the kitchen with his Crofters-smothered English muffin and a steaming mug of his favorite tea when Patton came in.

"Hey, kiddo! Did you have fun last night?"

"Erm, yeah. More than I initially anticipated, in fact."

"That's great! Did you make any new friends?"

"I don't know what Roman told you, but it was nothing, and nothing will come of it, so there's no point in dwelling on it."

Patton chuckled. "I haven't seen Roman since you guys left for the concert. He's still sleeping." Logan blanched, realizing he'd given himself away. "Now, kiddo, wanna tell your old pop about this 'nothing'? Seems like it's weighing pretty heavily on your mind; maybe we can talk it out."

"It really is nothing, dad."

"Hmm. Well, if you don't want to talk about it, how about I guess, and you let me know if I'm right?" Realizing he wasn't going to be able to avoid the topic, Logan nodded. "Awesome. Okay, so, you're all out of sorts and insisted 'there's no point in dwelling on it', so it's a problem you don't think you can solve. The last time I saw you like this, you were 14 and had the biggest crush on that boy… what was his name?"

"Gabriel," Logan muttered, embarrassed.

"That's it! I knew he was no good for you. Anyway, I think this is about a boy you met last night. Now, you're my little boy, and I've been to enough concerts to know that I don't want to know the details, but to throw you for a loop this big after one evening, there must have been a real connection. Am I on the right track?" Logan nodded, impressed and embarrassed by how accurate his dad was. "Thank you for being honest with me, Lo. I know feelings are messy and can be scary. I was absolutely terrified when I met your mother."

"Dad, we don't need to- this isn't-"

"It's okay, Logan. Yes, she's gone, but she's still part of us. I know how much it changed all of us, especially you, but you can't shut out all possibility of love because ours didn't work out. I won't pretend it didn't hurt like heck when she left, but I wouldn't trade what happened for the world; that pain was nothing compared to the love I have for you and your brother or how happy you both make me every single day." Patton reached across the table and wiped a tear from Logan's cheek. "The boy you met last night. He's special, right?"

"Y- yeah, I think so. He brought out a side to me I didn't know existed."

"Then go for it. Take a chance."

"I… I think I would if I could."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't have any way of getting in contact with him. I gave him my phone number, but didn't think to get his."

"He really did a number on you, huh? Well, look at it this way: it's out of your hands. What happens next is up to him. I know it's hard, but really all you can do at this point is to try to put it out of that brilliant mind of yours. Hey, do you wanna watch that Sherlock show you love so much with, uh, what's his name? Scratch-and-sniff Cabbagepatch?"

"It's Benedict Cumberbatch, and you hate BBC Sherlock. I've been trying to get you to give it another chance for the last year."

"That's what I said. Bumblebee Anglerfish."

"Getting further away. Benedict Cumberbatch."

"Burgerking Capncrunch."

"Never mind. You're clearly trying to distract me from the Virgil problem. Thank you, dad. I love you too."

"Virgil, eh? Nice name."

"Oh sh-"

"Language!"

"Sorry, dad."

"It's alright, kiddo. Come on, let's see what all the fuss is about Bandersnatch Cuttlefish."

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

As difficult as it was to decide that he was going to message Logan, actually typing and sending a message was infinitely worse. "Hey" was too vague. "Is this Logan? It's Virgil from last night" implied that he thought Logan gave him a fake number, which he didn't. "This is Virgil. What's up?" could be interpreted as a booty call, which it wasn't. After an hour of staring at his phone, he took a deep breath and sent a message.

[To:Logan?]- Hey, Logan, this is Virgil.

Now all he could do was wait. He hated waiting.

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

Patton and Roman, worried about Logan, did all they could to keep him distracted, but nothing could stop him from checking his phone at least once every 5 minutes. It was shortly after 3pm when it lit up with a new message.

[Unknown Number]- Hey, Logan, this is Virgil.

"Umm... Roman?" Logan called across the house.

"Yeah?"

"Can you come here? He just messaged me." He'd hardly finished his sentence when he heard a thud and Roman's footsteps, running to join him in the living room.

"I told you he would! What did he say? What are you going to say?"

"That's why I called for you. Here, take a look and tell me what I should do. I don't have any experience with this, and reading the message gives me an odd feeling in my abdomen."

"Those are butterflies, calculator watch! Wow, you really like him, huh?"

"I assume you mean metaphoric butterflies referring to the influx of dopamine, norepinephrine, and testosterone released when one is experiencing attraction, as it is impossible for any lepidopteran to survive, let alone reproduce, in the human digestive system. And yes, I believe I may have... feelings for him that are far stronger than the briefness of our acquaintance should allow."

"Oh my god, you are insufferable. Now, let's look at the message. Simple, to the point. He's as nervous about this as you are, Lo."

"How could you possibly know that from just 5 words?"

"Science is your thing, love is mine. I also literally just got a 5 on the AP Psychology exam. You want my advice, here's what I've got."

"I apologize. I asked you for advice; questioning that advice was bad form."

"Thank you. Now, as I was saying, he's nervous. I think your best bet is to match his tone. Don't try to pretend you aren't nervous, too. I won't tell you what to say, just that you should be completely honest. In any relationship, but here especially. You're afraid he won't like you; if you keep your messages legit, he'll get to know you, and I'm sure he'll love you."

"You can't know how he'll feel about me, but I appreciate the advice, and will certainly take it."

[To:Virgil]- Hello, Virgil. I wasn't sure you'd reach out, to be honest. The reply came almost instantly, which he wasn't expecting.

[Virgil]- I wasn't sure I would, either. Do you… wanna get coffee or something some time?

"Oh my god, I ship it so much! Y'all are so cute I can't even!!" Roman shrieked, scaring Logan so much he fell off the couch.

"E equals mc scared! Why did you feel the need to scream like that?"

"You guys are so precious. Clearly, you aren't the only one who was uncharacteristically bold in the face of new love. You're going to say yes, right?"

"It would be foolish of me to decline, given the emotions I've felt over the last..." he checked his watch, "approximately 21 hours."

"Take him to Jimin's cafe! Now that he's got a boyfriend, it's all domestic and cute. The perfect romantic location for a first date!"

"You mean the cafe where the barista put salt in your soda?"

"Okay, technically, yes, Jimin did that, but I was flirting with Taehyung. I deserved it, really."

"Despite my better judgment, I'll propose we go there, but only because I'm at a loss for an acceptable alternative."

[To:Virgil]- Coffee would be excellent. My brother's friend runs a cafe downtown- Bulletproof, I believe it's called. I've been reliably informed that it is a common first date location; are you available tomorrow, by chance?

"Oh my goodness, Logan, you are a disaster. It's obvious that you need me to teach-"

[Virgil]- haha yeah, I know Bulletproof. Really good coffee. Would 11 tomorrow morning work?

"Never mind. Clearly, he's into your nerd vibe, for some reason. Alright, I've gotta leave before dying of loneliness. Good luck in your romantic endeavors, brother dearest."

"Clearly you are not distraught enough to abandon your propensity for hyperbole. Thank you for the well wishes, and I truly hope that you will find someone to satisfy your romantic inclinations soon. You certainly deserve it."

"Ew, gross. Mushy Logan is weird. I'm leaving." With that, Roman stood up and left the room.

[To:Virgil]- 11 tomorrow would be perfect. I look forward to seeing you again.

[Virgil]- same. See you then :)

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It was 10:55, and Logan was sipping an Americano, so lost in his thoughts and anxieties that he didn't hear the bells on the door jingle when someone walked in. He was startled back to reality by a barista's cheerful "annyeonghaseyo!", the cafe's standard greeting for customers, and looked up to see him. Virgil. His heart started racing as he took in the more casual look, leather pants and tight t-shirt swapped for ripped skinny jeans and a hoodie with purple plaid patches and no makeup, except for some dark eye shadow.

As Virgil got closer, Logan stood to meet him.

"Hello, Virgil. It's, it's nice to see you again." Logan's heart, already beating faster than was strictly speaking healthy, started pounding when Virgil smiled and blushed.

"You too, Logan. I, um, I'm gonna go order a drink. I'll be right back." Logan tried not to stare as Virgil walked away, but it was an exercise in futility.

A few minutes later, Virgil returned, drink in hand.

"May I ask what you're drinking?" Logan asked, internally cringing at the banal attempt at conversation.

"It's a caramel macchiato. Usually I'm an Americano kind of guy, but that barista recommended it and made it sound really good, and he was totally right."

"In that case, here's to finding pleasure where you don't expect to." Logan raised his mug in a half-toast. Virgil raised his in return and smirked; only then did Logan realize the double entendre and blush.

"So we're back talking about pleasure, eh?"

Logan cleared his throat. "Perhaps this is not the appropriate venue for that conversation. May I suggest space as an alternative subject?"

"VIVA LA PLUTO!" Virgil shouted, immediately looking down and blushing. "Sorry. Impulse. I'm clearly still bitter about some things."

"No, no. I completely agree. August 2006 was a dark, dark time. Viva la Pluto indeed."

They spent hours in that cafe debating, joking, and flirting. This time, Logan accepted Virgil's offer to go home with him.

#sanders sides fanfic #sanders sides fic #analogical #logince #logicality #sanders sides #logan sanders #roman sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #human au #remy sanders #my writing

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bughead-fic-request · 7 years ago

Note

Hi, this is probably way out there, but I just recently read the comic "Jughead: the New Hunger. In it Jughead is a werewolf (a long running Jones family curse) and Betty is a werewolf hunter (Coopers having hunted werewolves for generations). In the comic they are just really good friends, but their friendship is tested once they find out each other's secret. I think it'd be interesting to see this concept with them in a romantic dynamic though. Epitome of Romeo and Juliet and forbidden love.

Werewolves of Riverdale

Summary: The people of Riverdale are terrified fearing there is a serial killer on the lose but Betty Cooper knows better. Werewolves have come back to Riverdale. She will do whatever it takes to protect her town, even going head to head with the packs Beta, Jughead Jones.

Words: 5,690

Warnings: Violence, swearing, drinking, smoking and mild sexual situations.

A/N: So I’m not happy with this but I never will be so I’m just gonna post it. I have never read the comic this idea is based on so it’s probably very different. I’m basing a lot this on Wynonna Earp, which is a fucking amazing show and you should all watch it. This is more sci-fi/fantasy/horror based, theres not a lot of romance. I’m also not an expert in werewolf/lycan lore so I’m sorry if there are inaccuracies. I won’t be writing a follow up to this but if anyone else wants to take this idea and run with it go for it.

I edited this myself so there are probably a lot of errors.

Betty Cooper had a bad reputation.

Her family lineage called for it, for her to be an outcast, a weirdo, a short fuse. A person others did not get along with.

She had spent a lot of her younger years trying to fit in. She tried to say the right things, do the right things, join the right clubs and make the right friends.

When she realized her blonde hair and heart shaped face couldn’t get her a spot on the cheerleading squad, she embraced what made her different.

She embraced the leather and tattoos. The nightly training in hand to hand combat and the hours of studying lore, fairy tales and wolf anatomy. She learned to love Shadowmoon, the gun that belonged to her great-great-great-great grandmother; the first werewolf hunter in her family.

There had been no need for a hunter in Riverdale for decades. The great war had all but ended the werewolf bloodline and a need for a slayer disappeared. Her mother, who was also her mentor, had never needed to fight a day in her life. There had been nothing but peace for as long as Betty could remember.

But now there were four dead bodies and a serial killer on the loose. The news called him the Riverdale Ripper but Betty knew better.

Werewolves had come back to Riverdale.

They were living on the Southside of town posing at a biker gang. It kept people away and allowed them to travel in a pack inconspicuously. The wolves were merciless and killed without remorse.

Jason Blossom had been left on the steps of city hall, insides on the outsides.

Mrs. Grundy was found in her small apartment so ripped apart that she had to be I.D’ed using dental records.

Moose Mason was in pieces at Sweetwater River.

Dilton Dooley’s body was never found but someone had placed his heart on his parents front porch.

Betty felt an overwhelming guilt that she had allowed the situation to get out of hand. No one her age should have to go to that many funerals but there was no rule book on killing werewolves. If anything it fuelled the fire within her and made her work harder.

She spent every moment she wasn’t working her day job at the Riverdale police station looking over the evidence. At night she was combing the forest looking for clues or a werewolf to slay but she wasn’t having any luck. It was beyond frustrating.

People were being murdered and all Kevin Keller could think about was going to a party.

“Veronica is having a shindig and we should go.” Kevin recommended as he lounged on her couch. He was Betty’s only friend.

“You know I can’t.” She sighed loading silver bullets into Shadowmoon. Betty admired the ancient symbols carved into the barrel of the Colt .45.

“Yeah but considering I’m not the sheriff and we aren’t finding anything, hunting is hella boring for me.” Kevin scrolled through his phone. “And you deserve one night off.”

The Keller and Cooper families had been working together for decades to help rid the area of werewolves. If a mess was made the police helped clean it up.

“What if this is the night four becomes five. I can’t have another body on my hands Kevin, I can’t.” She shook her head and put the gun down on the table. “Even if we went, everyone in this town hates me. There is no way I could have a good time at this thing.” Betty sighed and pulled her hair up into her signature ponytail. She sat on her couch and put on her beloved black leather boots. They were perfect for fighting and she slid her favorite knife into the sheath inside.

“Then go for me. There is finally a new batch of students and one of them has to be gay.” He went to go look at himself in the full length mirror attached to he bedroom door.

Betty lived alone in a small apartment in the heart of town. It was big enough to fit a couch, arm chair, TV stand and a dining room table. In the bedroom sat a bed, a dresser and one night stand. Her closet was where she kept all her weapons and fighting gear.

“Oh yeah, it’s September, a new school year started.”

Riverdale was a college town. Most of the people Betty went to high school with never left and she was forced to put up with them everyday. If she was being honest, she was embarrassed to see them. She didn’t have time for college and because of her oath to protect the town she knew she would never leave the place where she was born and raised. She knew she would keep her job at the Piggly Wiggly forever and never have anything more than this. The life span of an active hunter wasn’t very long so maybe should wouldn’t have to worry about it for much longer.

Betty took a deep breath in and looked at her friend. He had done so much for her, gave up his time and put his life on the line to help her. If she was only going to live a finite amount of years she could have a drink or two. “Fine but you need to help me get Archie drunk enough so that I look like a viable option.”

“Girl, he’s already slept with you. If you ask him to fuck you, he’ll fuck you.” Kevin reassured as he put his coat on.

“How romantic.” Betty rolled her eyes.

“We both know you’re not looking to fall in love, we just need to loosen you up. Archie Andrews did a pretty good job last time.” Kevin opened her front door.

Betty grabbed her keys and leather jacket. “Please don’t make me regret this.” She warned heading out the door.

She left Shadowmoon on the table.

Veronica Lodge’s house was the biggest one in town and a weekend didn’t pass when she didn’t have a party. Cars littered the driveway and drunken kids danced and chatted wherever they could.

They stepped into the grand space, a spiral staircase on her left and a large foyer and living room to her right. Everything was white. White marble, curtains, sofas, carpets and tables. She felt like a bull in a china shop, she was a messy person and white wasn’t her color.

Betty groaned when she heard the music. “DMX? What year is this?” She looked around at everyone and shook her head. “Nope, I can’t do this.” She turned to leave but walked smack into Kevin who turned her around and pushed her into the house.

“You are staying, you are having a drink, you are finding Archie and then you can leave. Please don’t punch anyone.” He pleaded, leaving her alone so he could talk to a blue eyed blonde leaning against the far wall. Kevin picked up two drinks, downing one, tossing the cup on the floor and casually approached the man.

Betty sighed and looked around for anyone she could speak to.

She saw Cheryl Blossom standing awkwardly in the corner with a beer in her hand. Her hair was dull and lifeless and it looked like she hadn’t slept in days. The rumour was she had a full blown mental breakdown when her twin Jason was murdered. Betty felt for her, she should have been able to protect the Blossom family but had failed. Going over there meant talking about something that probably had to do with Jason.

Betty couldn’t handle a conversation like that so she headed to the kitchen to pour herself a drink instead.

She worked her way through the crowded space and filled her cup at the keg.

“Hey there, gorgeous.” Archie wrapped his arms around her waist while she was trying to take a sip of her beer, spilling it all over herself.

“Hey, Archie.” Betty shook the dripping beer off her hand as he spun her around to face him. “What’s up?”

He was looking handsome as usual. His red hair was a fashionable mess and his grin made her melt. He was more muscular than she remembered. She wondered if she could persuade him to be her work out buddy in more ways than one.

“Where have you been lately? I look for you at these things every week.” He told her leaning against the counter.

Betty perked up at his statement. “You do?” No one was ever interested if Betty was anywhere. She lurked in the shadows and put down the monsters that threatened to hurt the people who didn’t give a shit about her.

And people wondered why she had an attitude problem.

“Yeah, I thought we had a good time when we were together last.” Archie took a step towards her and pinned her against the counter.

“We did, I just didn’t think you’d want to see me again.” Betty smiled placing her beer down.

“I’d actually love to take you out but you are a hard girl to get a hold of.” He grinned, pressing his lips against hers.

“I’m not really the dating type.” She smiled against his mouth.

“I’m not against that either.” He kissed her again.

“Ew, Archie, I thought you had better taste.” A familiar but grating voice said.

Betty sighed and her head lulled back in annoyance. “Hello, Veronica.”

Archie took a step away from her and gave a nod to the dark haired beauty.

Veronica Lodge was wealthy, beautiful, spoke a mile a minute and believed she was better than everyone else because she wore Manolo’s. She was one of the girls that made Betty’s high school experience a nightmare.

Veronica was a bitch with a capital B.

“How is that you don’t live in a trailer park but exude such a trailer trash aura?” Her comment was snide and her minions giggled around her.

“I work really hard at it Veronica. Thanks for noticing!” She grinned and started patting down her pockets looking for her cigarettes.

“What are you doing here?” Veronica asked, crossing her arms over her black party dress with sheer cutouts. “I did not invite you.”

“I came to rub my trailer trash germs all over your fancy digs.” Betty smirked, sticking a cigarette between her lips, lighting it.

“You know what, I should be mad that you are a rude, disgusting waste of space but then I remember you’ll always be stuck here, bagging my groceries. You’ll make no impact on anyone and no one will care when you’re gone.” She gave her the kind of smile only a bitch could give.

Betty should have ignored her comment. She wasn’t worth the energy it would take to punch her but Betty was having a weird day. Her fist connected with Veronica’s nose before she even knew she was doing it. Blood sprayed all over the brunette’s dress and the white tile of the kitchen. He friends started screaming and Archie ran to her side.

“Everyone else might forget me but you won’t. I’ll come to mind every time you have to look at that busted ass nose of yours.” Betty took a long drag of her cigarette and picked up her drink.

“What is wrong with you, Betty?” Archie asked, bringing a cloth up to Veronica’s nose.

“She started it.” Betty justified, backing out of the kitchen and headed towards the front door.

“I asked you to do one thing Cooper, seriously?” Kevin shouted from across the room.

Betty shrugged and left the house in a hurry. She moved around the side of the house where there were less people. Leaning up against the brick siding, she took a few deep breathes before popping the cigarette back in her mouth.

“You have quite the right hook.” Said a man with dark hair and blue eyes so bright she could see them in the dark.

Betty startled and stood up straight, spilling her drink for the second time that night. “Yeah, well the bitch deserved it.”

“I’m not saying she didn’t. She looks like the type of to make the nicest of peoples blood boil.” He took another step towards her and she got a better look at his face. He had a sly knowing smile, like he was the smartest person in the room. His nose was narrow and pointed and his jawline was strong. He was wearing a basic grey t-shirt and dark blue jeans. He smelled like soap, the forest and something that Betty couldn’t place but it made her alert. He smelled dangerous.

“Can I bum one of those?” He asked.

Betty handed him the pack and her lighter. “I’ve never seen you around here, you new in town? A college kid?” She smiled. If she couldn’t bed Archie this guy would do just fine. Tall, dark and handsome was definitely her type.

He shook his head, inhaling the sweet nicotine. “I lived in Nevada most of my life with my mom but my dad needs help with the family business. I’m in Riverdale indefinitely.” He smiled.

“No plans to go to school?” Betty finished her drink and put her cigarette out in the cup.

“Maybe some night classes by no,” he chuckled. “there is no higher education in my future.”

They were silent as Betty kicked the grass and the man smoked. “So listen, I’m not good at small talk so I’m gonna get down to it. I only socialize for one reason.”

“Sex?”

Her eyes widened at his correct assumption. “Well, yeah and I had a possibility earlier this evening but that isn’t going to pan out. So if you’re down, I’m offering you a no strings attached hook up. Interested?”

“You are propositioning a person you just met and whose name you don’t know for a one night stand?” He put his cigarette out on the side house.

“Yeah.” Betty shrugged and shoved her hands into her pockets.

The man nodded. “Okay.”

He took a step towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Their lips met feverishly as he pushed her up towards the side of the house.

He began kissing down her neck.

“I’m Betty, by the way. That way you know what name to scream later.” She chuckled.

He stopped, his eyes flying open at the mentioning of her hame. He parted from her and looked her dead in the eye. “Is your last name Cooper?” He breathed, fear in his tone.

Her brow furrowed. “Yeah, why?”

He pushed away from her like she was made of fire.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Betty! Betty!” Kevin came running around the corner. “Jones’ son is here, Jughead, the Alpha’s son!” Kevin stopped abruptly and looked between the two of them, they had both moved into defence mode.

“Hunter!” Jughead growled.

“Dog!” Betty snapped back, putting two and two together. She looked at Kevin. “I left Shadowmoon at home! Go!”

Kevin nodded and took off.

So did Jughead, disappearing into the woods with Betty following close behind.

Cheryl, who had stepped out to get some air, watched the two shapes sprint past her. Without thinking took off after them.

“Dog!” Betty shouted when she lost him, reaching down to retrieve her knife.

There was a howling in the distance and she turned towards the sound to see Jughead running at her full speed. He pinned her to the ground.

He began smashing her hand against the ground trying to loosen her grip on the knife. “I should have known right when I saw you.” He snarled.

“I guess we are both off our game today.” She kneed him in the groin and he rolled off of her grabbing his testicles. Betty stood lightening fast and stabbed him in the side with the knife.

He screamed in pain but managed to gather enough energy to kick her in the stomach, sending her flying backwards.

“Betty!” Kevin yelled somewhere in the woods.

She slowly sat up and saw Jughead hobbling away, clutching his side, blood trickling down his fingers.

She wanted to go after him but getting Shadowmoon was more important.

“Kev!” She turned towards where she thought she heard his voice come from.

Betty stood and turned when she heard the snapping of a twig. At the same time someone shouted, “Betty, watch out!”

She brace herself for the impact of the seven foot werewolf charging towards her. The thing was on its hind legs and looked like a mix of a man and a wolf, not purely one or the other. Betty’s hands pushed against the wolf’s chest and she rolled to the ground almost doing a reverse somersault, using his momentum against him. Placing her foot on it’s abdomen she kicked and flung the beast into a tree.

She was up in a flash and ran towards him, sinking the blade into the chest of injured creature. She needed Shadowmoon, the gun had a magical property and it was the only thing that could end the life of a werewolf. She drove the knife in many more times to hinder the animal until Kevin arrived.

The werewolf was fighting the pain and slashed at her with it long claws leaving deep gashes along her chest. She was flung many feet and landed with a painful thud on the forest floor.

The beast rose and charged at her, mouth open and snarling, drool dripping from its razor sharp teeth.

“Betty!” Kevin yelled and threw Shadowmoon in her direction.

Betty extended her arm and the gun fell into her hand like her connection to it was magnetic. She pointed it at the wolf and the barrel and symbols glowed red hot. She pulled the trigger. It fired true and the bullet entered the wolf right between the eyes. The creature collapsed on the ground and turned back into the man he was before the curse affected him.

Kevin walked towards Betty and helped her up. “Yikes.” He motioned to the cuts on her chest that were already starting to heal.

“If I’m healing that means Jughead is too. We have to find him before he reaches the Southside.“ Betty sheathed her knife.

“Can I come?” Cheryl’s timid voice squeaked out.

They both looked at her. “What are you doing here, Cheryl?” Betty asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t know, I saw you chase that guy into the woods and I felt compelled to follow you. If I didn’t you would have been attacked by that thing.” Cheryl pointed out. "I told you to watch out.”

Betty sighed. “Fine but keep up and stay out of the way.”

Cheryl nodded.

“Lets follow his blood path.” Betty said, smelling the air.

Being a hunter enhanced some of her senses. Her vision was clearer, her hearing more precise and her sense of smell was heightened. She ran, moved and healed faster than regular people and was far stronger than most.

Betty could smell his blood, it was coppery mixed with a dull meat and wet dog smell. It was what she was smelling on him earlier but she couldn’t place it. Up until that moment she hadn’t been face to face with a werewolf.

She stilled and put her hand up motioning to her companions to stop. She could hear talking. There were three people in the clearing up ahead. They had stopped in front of a rickety old bridge that used to be the main connection between Riverdale and the Southside.

“What are we doing?” Kevin asked, his voice barely a whisper knowing she could hear him.

“I can’t decide if we should go in guns a blazing or be a little more stealthy.” She answered.

“Well, considering Cheryl and I won’t be much help, guns a blazing?” Kevin suggested.

Betty looked at both of them. “Hide.”

They nodded and disappeared into the woods as quietly as possible.

Betty walked towards the men, Shadowmoon in her hand. She could feel it heat up in her hand, the weapon sensing there were werewolves in the area.

She stepped out of the bushes. “Hands up boys.” She said firmly.

Jughead scoffed in annoyance, still holding his side. “You don’t know what you’re doing, wolf slayer.”

“I know your pack is killing people in my town and that is something I cannot abide.” She took a step towards them.

“Lycans never left Riverdale, did you know that? We have a renegade member of our pack and we want him brought to justice just as much as you do.” Jughead reasoned, the other two men stepped in front of him, protecting him. She knew he wasn’t the Alpha, but based on their movements he was the Beta.

“I know all about your kind, when you phase you have no control over yourselves. You’re killing machines and there are bodies in the morgue to prove it.” She shot back.

“I don’t know what your keepers told you but it’s a load of bullshit. We aren’t werewolves, we’re lycans, half man, half beast, we are cognizant when we shift. Your kind has been hunting my kind for centuries thinking we are something we’re not. Everything you stand for is built on a lie.” Jughead stood up straighter.

“You’re murders.”

“Funny, that’s how we feel about you.”

Betty took another step towards him.

“You aren’t going to back down are you?” He asked.

“I rarely do.” She leered at him.

He sighed and shrugged. “Fine, I guess we are fighting tonight boys.” His eyes shifted from the bright blue to a glowing yellow. “Tear her apart.”

The two men transformed quickly and it shocked Betty, she had never seen someone phase before. She couldn’t get over the sounds of their bones cracking as they expanded. Their hair grew at an alarming pace and their faces elongated into a snout, fangs replacing their human teeth. They stood up right.

The wolves came at her and she fired her first shot, nailing one of them between the eyes. He crumbled to the ground and she heard Jughead wail. She wasn’t quick enough for her second animal and he tackled her to the ground. She lost her grip on Shadowmoon and it landed at the edge of the woods.

Betty pushed against the creature as she struggled to get a grip on her knife but she wasn’t strong enough. The beast sunk its teeth into her shoulder and Betty was in so much pain she saw white. She released a blood curdling scream.

Cheryl stumbled forward from the woods and grabbed the gun which had landed a few feet away from her.

Betty saw the redhead reach for her families gun and she fought through her pain to reach for her knife. “Cheryl! That gun will not work for you! Get away from here! Run!” The Blossoms already lost a child, she wouldn’t allow another. She sunk the blade into the animal up to the hilt.

Cheryl didn’t listen. Betty should have suspected as much, before her mental break Cheryl always did what she wanted.

Betty continued to struggle with the wolf. “Toss me the gun!”

The redhead’s fingers wrapped around the weapon which came alive her hand.

Betty was beyond confused, only people with hunters blood from her family could use that weapon. Even then, the gun had to react to your touch and it didn’t for everyone. She knew an opportunity she saw one and pushed the creatures head higher. “Shoot! Don’t worry about aiming, just shoot!” Betty shouted.

Cheryl closed her eyes and fired the glowing pistol. It hit the creature between the eyes, firing true, something it had only ever done for Betty. She pushed the animal off her and stood.

Cheryl’s eyes were wide as she stared at the gun in her trembling hand. “How? How?”

Betty snatched it from her and turned it on Jughead who hadn’t transformed.

“Just like I said, you’re a murderer.” There was a morbid smugness in his tone.

“They attacked me, took a good chunk out of me too.” She motioned towards her shoulder.

“Well, you took their lives.” He crossed his arms. “I would say it’s more than fair.” He spat.

“Why didn’t you protect them?” She asked. “You didn’t phase because you know you lose your senses when you change. You’re a man that likes control and you must hate every moment you’re a beast. You proved my point by not shifting.”

“There is a hierarchy in our group. They died protecting their Beta.” He justified.

“So why haven’t you changed then? Are you afraid to fight me?” She taunted, stepping towards him. Shadowmoon was steady in her hands even though her shoulder was killing her.

“I know you won’t kill me in human form.” He smirked.

“I think you underestimate me, Dog.” She raised the gun in her hand.

“You wouldn’t.” He tried to call her bluff.

“Fuck you, Mutt.” She squeezed the trigger but before she could fire another wolf lunged out of the woods putting itself between her and Jughead. Betty instinctively fired at it.

Jughead was yelling, screaming really as he ran towards the wolf who was already falling to the ground.

She lowered the gun and watched as the animal Jughead hovered over turned into FP Jones, the packs Alpha.

“Dad? Dad!” He shouted shaking his father knowing the gun of hunter never missed and once you were hit, you were dead. Tears were dripping down his face as he looked up at her. “I deserved this? Did I? DID I?” He shouted at her.

Betty took a step away from him clenching her jaw. FP jumped in front of Jughead in wolf form, he was protecting his son when he shouldn’t have been able to. Betty didn’t understand how that could be so. Everything she had ever been taught told her otherwise. She couldn’t help but wonder if Jughead was right and everything she knew was a lie.

She kept retreating until she bumped into Cheryl and Kevin.

Other members of the pack came out of the forest to retrieve their dead. Betty felt a red hot surge of guilt flow through her. She had spent so much time learning to kill, she never actually thought what it would be like to take a life. She supposed she never thought it would matter, she never had a problem killing bad guys.

Now she wasn’t sure if that was them or her.

Jughead shot one final look in her direction. “I will see you again wolf slayer and I promise when I do, it won’t be friendly.” His mouth was drawn into a straight line and his eyes were puffy before he disappeared into the woods.

“That was intense.” Kevin remarked.

Betty holstered Shadowmoon and looked at her hands, they were trembling. “It didn’t go quite the way I imagined.” She admitted.

“Why did that gun light up when I touched it?” A wide eyed Cheryl asked.

“I think I need to speak to my mother about out family tree. If you can operate Shadowmoon we share a female relative.” Betty rubbed her face and flinched when her shoulder began to throb.

“Does that mean Jughead is the new Alpha?” Kevin asked, his face being illuminated by the red and blue lights of his father’s police car.

“Yeah, I think it does.” Betty lamented, flinching in pain, removing her jacket to reveal a bloody shoulder from where she was bitten.

“Are you going to turn into one of them now?” Cheryl asked looking at the wound with fascination.

“Hunters can’t be turned. We have something in our blood that won’t allow it.” Betty exhaled. “I gotta go to the hospital.” She admitted.

“I’ll drive you.” Cheryl offered.

“And as always, I’ll clean up the mess.” Kevin said exasperated.

“Thank you for your help tonight. I’d be dead if it wasn’t for you.” Betty placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed lovingly.

She slung her arm around Cheryl’s shoulder and they slowly moved towards the car to get Betty stitched up.

Betty sat on the metal examination table as Doctor Mark Brown got ready to stitch her up. The Browns had been doctors for generations and were in the know about Riverdale’s werewolf problem. This was the first time Dr. Brown had to put his knowledge to use.

She hissed when he treated her wound with antiseptic. “Can you ease up, doc?” She spat.

“I can let it go untreated and it will take days longer to heal and that’s if you didn’t get a lot of his saliva in the bite. If you did, you can come back in two weeks when it’s infected and I can amputate your arm.” He gave her an annoyed smile. “You know bites don’t heal well or fast, so suck it up Cooper.” The doctor began to get his tools ready.

“Mom, I need to talk to you about a few things.” Betty said flinching as the needle went in.

“It was your first encounter with the wolves, you did a good job.” Alice praised but in a somber way. “There’s nothing to worry about.” She sat perfectly still in a chair in the corner of the room.

“You told me they lose all their humanity when they phase but FP knew Jughead was his son, he saved him.”

“Maybe it was pack mentality.” Alice reasoned.

“The wolves attacked me, they had no interest in hurting each other or Cheryl, just me.” Betty glared at her mother. “Jughead told me they were Lycans.”

“Lycans and werewolves are the same thing.”

“Werewolves are animals that don’t have control but Lycans are half man, half wolf. They have control over when and how they phase and they can control their actions when they do. That makes more sense then werewolves. He told me they have a renegade member of the pack who is committing the murders.” Betty felt rage building up inside of her. “We should be working with them to hunt the actual killer. Is this news to you or did you know they weren’t wolves?”

Alice rolled her eyes. “So, I may have told a few fibs to make the job easier for you.”

Betty’s mouth dropped open. “Mom, that’s not a fib, that’s the difference between protection and murder.”

“They are murders, Betty! Explain to that girl in the waiting room why she doesn’t have a brother anymore. Or why the Mason’s don’t have a son. They were innocent!” Alice shouted at her daughter.

“And from the sounds of it so were FP and the two other men I killed tonight.” Betty laughed through a scoff. “Not to mention the wolf Cheryl killed, with Shadowmoon. You wanna explain that to me?” Betty’s hand gripped the table, denting it.

Alice shrugged. “The Blossom family is as old as ours, its possible hunter blood runs through her veins.”

“Not possible, she picked up the gun, fired it and it shot true. It won’t even do that for you mother.” Betty cocked an eyebrow.

Dr. Brown finished putting gauze over the wound. “You’re just like new.” He quipped.

“Thanks doc.” She jumped off the table. “Tomorrow, I’m going to the Southside and I’m working this out.”

“They will kill you.” Alice grabbed her arm and squeezed as hard as she could.

Betty looked down at her mothers hand and tore her arm away. “Maybe I deserve it. Maybe you should have prepared me properly. Most importantly, you should have learned who I am and that I would never would have agreed to go along with this. I took an oath to protect this town but if I keep going the way I’m going, who is going to protect them from me?” She glowered at her mother who looked so much like her she could have been a clone. “I’m going to the Southside and you can’t stop me.”

She grabbed her torn jacket and headed it out to the waiting room motioning for Cheryl to follow.

Jughead stood in front of his fathers trailer and looked out over his community. The faces were somber and the rage that coursed through his veins was unlike anything he had ever felt.

“I want to blame this all on the hunter but I can’t.” He began and people started to whisper amongst themselves. “The reason she is active is because someone in our community has gone rouge. This person is killing people in the community our kind have called home for decades.”

Jughead sighed and looked at the pyres beside him. He looked at his fathers unmoving face and tried to think of a time he looked that peaceful.

"We have to find the renegade and put him down. This kind of behaviour will not stand and he will be made an example of. If you agree with me on this, we should put together a search party and nip this in the bud right away. We’ve let it go on for far too long.” He looked out over his people. “We owe it to ourselves and Riverdale to make sure this place is safe for everyone.”

He paused and decided how to talk about Betty. “As for the hunter, I will pick a handful of you and we will create a search party of our own. We need to fight back against the lies and propaganda the slayers have spread for decades to end our kind and satisfy their bloodlust. She killed four of us in cold blood tonight and we need to hit her back and hit hard. She threatens our entire way of life.“

He was silent as he looked over the pack that was now his. He could see the fear in their eyes. These were good people with family, lives and jobs who just happened to be afflicted with a curse. They didn’t deserve the prosecution they were facing.

“Tonight we put our dead to rest and mourn. Let’s tell stories of the people we lost and continue to tell those stories so they are never forgotten.” He swallowed hard as his eyes went dark. “But tomorrow this ends. Tomorrow we kill Betty Cooper.”

#bughead fanfiction #Bughead #betty cooper #jughead jones #one shot #werewolves #fan fiction

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hellosaltysaladcollectionstuff · 6 years ago

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SEVENTEEN AND HIGH, Nikki Darling swaggers down the middle of Garvey Boulevard, a busy thoroughfare in the San Gabriel Valley, as cars swerve around her: “‘Three Days’ by Jane’s Addiction is playing on my Walkman and I feel like I’m in a movie, like I’m an assassin.” She stands in the street with a cigarette hanging from her lips, with “someplace to be or maybe nowhere to go.” She taunts the cars as they pass: “Fly around me, motherfuckers! Fly around me like I’m not even here!”

In an opening scene brazen with feminine adolescent rage and emotion, Nikki Darling the author dares readers of her debut novel, Fade Into You, to come in close. By writing in the New Narrative style popularized by Eileen Myles (Chelsea Girls) and Michelle Tea (Rose of No Man’s Land), Darling keeps the veil between fiction and nonfiction purposefully thin, and having her protagonist carry her name builds intimacy. In an interview with the popular feminist podcast Call Your Girlfriend, Darling said she named her character Nikki because “being in the interiority of a teenage girl is not something readers are always familiar with.” In Fade Into You, Darling gives us more than an intimate view of a teenage girl; she gives us an intimate view of a young, mixed-race Chicana living in the suburbs of Los Angeles, the kind of portrait that is nearly nonexistent in L.A. letters.

Luis J. Rodriguez’s Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A., an award-winning 1993 memoir that shares the tale of a young man struggling to survive gang life and addiction in the 1980s San Gabriel Valley, is the most notable and celebrated literary depiction of Chicanx teen life in Los Angeles. But not every Chicanx can identify with living “la vida loca.” Darling’s protagonist struggles to find her identity in a city that says to be Mexican can only be one thing, an issue many Mexican-American/Chicanx Angelenos understand. As Nikki thinks,

It would be my luck not just to be half-Mexican, but the wrong kind of Mexican. I am not from East Los. My people are borderlands, the frontera. I am a pale ghost of a bloody past. A daughter of the viceroyalty. A lady of Spain. But I’m not that either. I’m me. I’m SGV. I watch from the schoolyard as the sad boys mark up the EMF, throw down the emero. I live in the cool shadows of libraries.

I grew up in the SGV in the ’90s, and when I was 17 I liked to wear loose-fitting, faded blue jeans with a white T-shirt and blue Chucks. It’s how I felt most beautiful. One afternoon as I was sitting on the front stoop of my grandparents’ Boyle Heights home, my party-crew cousin from La Puente, in stiff Dickies and dark hoodie, looked down his chin at me and asked, “Eh, you like a rocker? You a skater? What are you?”

“I don’t know,” I said. I read his questions to mean, Why aren’t you more Mexican?

On a different day, a friend from my hometown of San Gabriel came with my family and me to that same Boyle Heights home for Sunday menudo. When my father parked in the driveway and I slid open the door to our Dodge van, she refused to get out. “I’m going to be shot!” she screamed, tears running down her face.

Her shocked reaction meant, I didn’t know you were that kind of Mexican.

By the late ’90s, I had not yet seen in books or TV these disparate expectations of what it meant to look and act Mexican. But I had seen them in two movies: My Family (1995) and Selena (1997). The latter, written and directed by Gregory Nava, put into words how I often felt, a dilemma perfectly articulated by Selena’s father, played by Edward James Olmos, as he rants to his family about the possibility of Selena touring in Mexico:

We gotta prove to the Mexicans how Mexican we are. And we gotta prove to the Americans how American we are. We gotta be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans both at the same time. It’s exhausting! Man! Nobody knows how tough it is to be a Mexican-American.

But Selena grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, a vastly different setting from Fade Into You’s San Gabriel Valley, California, which in Darling’s hands becomes its own character. Schools, streets, and favorite hangouts of this L.A. suburb east of downtown are namedropped with acute knowledge, and the dialogue between Nikki and her friends — with all its dudes, mans, and bitches — is so accurate to the time and place it sounds more like transcription than fiction.

As I read, I was in awe of how much I had in common with Nikki. I, too, had a gorgeous, gay best friend I was in love with. I, too, studied theater. I, too, got high and went for pancakes at Denny’s before driving up to the mountains because they were close and we could. But as I moved further into the novel, I noticed another layer of the Mexican-American experience that is specific to the suburbs. Nikki narrates,

We are the kids of LA.

They write books about us. They make after-school specials about us. And none of it is the real us. None of it really captures who we are. But we eat it, digest it, and let it redefine us until we no longer know what is real and what is fake.

Nikki inhabits the parts of the SGV where teen movies and TV series such as Pretty in Pink and My So-Called Life are filmed, but these stories never center people like her. When she says, “They write after-school specials about us,” the us is never really us. The best we could hope for was to be the quiet and queer best friend, the Rickie Vasquez to the story’s Angela Chase. Hollywood used our streets but not our faces, and this became a kind of trauma.

I attended a private school in Pasadena not far from Casa Walsh and Dylan’s surfer bungalow (RIP Luke Perry), and my friends and I behaved as if we were characters on Beverly Hills, 90210 even though we were in 91107 and a good 25 miles from the über-rich neighborhood. Like Nikki attending a party at a midcentury home at the edge of South Pasadena, nearly everything we did felt cinematic: “Chelo and I walk into the party and I can tell things are about to get real cinema tonight. It’s a night when this city we live in really shows itself.”

To keep the fantasy alive, many classmates bleached their hair, and when people started driving, a good number opted for convertibles without concern for the make or model. But our proximity to Hollywood teen life affected more than our outward appearance — at least for me, it corrupted my very sense of self. I remember one day bounding into my house after being dropped off by a friend in her white convertible and catching my reflection in the large mirror that hung across from the front door. I didn’t recognize the person I saw. The image of my own brown face shocked me, and for a moment I was invisible.

Latinx people make up nearly 50 percent of the population of Los Angeles, with the majority being Mexican or of Mexican descent. And yet even though most films and TV shows are made here, I can count on two hands the number that center Mexican-American stories. In the afterglow of the 2019 Oscars, Los Angeles Times features writer and taco historian Gustavo Arellano tweeted, “Still waiting for Hollywood to give love to Chicanos.” Sure, over the last six years a Mexican director has won Best Director five times, but these are Mexican nationals, which is a very different experience. What of the immigrant families, children of immigrants, and multigenerational Mexican Americans who live in this town and help make it work?

The literary world maintains a similar sparsity. As a senior in high school in 1998, I read The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros in my English class. Though it is set in Chicago, I saw a young, Mexican-American character in literature for the first time, and the book thrilled me. In my 20s, I obsessed over Michele Serros’s Chicana Falsa: And Other Stories of Death, Identity, and Oxnard (1993), and in my 30s I fell in love with Isabel Quintero’s Gabi, a Girl in Pieces (2014), which follows a 17-year-old, light-skinned Chicana who lives in the Inland Empire and loves poetry and hot Cheetos. Author Helena María Viramontes (Under the Feet of Jesus) also tells stories about young people living in East Los Angeles, but a nuanced view of growing up Chicana in the L.A. suburbs has been missing until now.

We SGV kids live close enough to Hollywood to be infected by its story lines and cultural sprawl, and yet only our streets are worthy of making it onto film. We live close enough to East Los Angeles to know we aren’t the right kind of Mexican, and yet we’re at the same time too Mexican. We are pushed into the margins of pop culture. So while Nikki Darling the character is walking down the middle of Garvey Boulevard dying to be seen, it’s Nikki Darling the author who’s shouting: We’re here! We matter! We live on these streets! And that’s a reflection I recognize.

Women Who Submit co-founder Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo’s work has appeared on Terrain.org and in KCET Departures. She is the author of Posada: Offerings of Witness and Refuge (Sundress Publications, 2016).

The post Invisible No More: How “Fade Into You” Reflects the L.A. Chicanx Experience appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

from Los Angeles Review of Books http://bit.ly/2JR8b01

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