#Off the top of my head - in bed with the Tudors is a source

[ondeadpeasantgirls]

what’s especially irritating about Philippa Gregory (and most other European historical fiction/fantasy writers (HOTD *cough*) is how they do childbirth. IT WAS STANDARD PRACTICE TO SAVE THE MOTHER OVER THE CHILD!!!! Midwives would pull babies out with hooks or break their bones. The only time c-sections were preformed were when a woman was already dead.

[m-jelly]

Hey Jelly!

Can I please request an head cannon of Levi falling in love with a British Queen Regnant ( Like Queen Elizabeth I, Elizabeth II and Queen Victoria)

hope you've had a great day! <3

So, I'm going to split this into threes as the three Queens are from different time periods in my county. I will also be spitting out some facts too! I'll do it as first lot will be realism and facts, then it'll be in a fictional world for each Queen. I'm writing a lot, so below the cut is all the info :D

Elizabeth I

Facts and realism

Queen Elizabeth 1 - Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 - 1603. Known as the Virgin Queen because she never married, not because she was a virgin. Last monarch from the Tudor household.

Tudor life was not a nice time in England. It was very hard, people didn't clean themselves, mud and filth were everywhere and even in major cities. 14% of people died before their 1st birthday. Women had a lower life expectancy due to childbirth being a high cause of death. A lot of women were married off very young to men a lot older. Sexual health was very bad, respect for women and their rights didn't exist. Women were property to men.

Around 90% of our country lived in small towns or villages and farmed. Farming was the main source of income for people. Mining started to become more popular during this time, mainly for coal, tin and lead.

Romance? Did not exist. If you married for love, you were very lucky to do so. Marriage was mostly for money, trading, making deals and treaty-making. (As I said women were property).

Royal romance? Women were mostly married off to family members. There was a lot of inbreeding in the royal family to maintain the bloodline, which is why so many looked weird and had terrible health conditions. If you were a Queen, a man would be picked for you who had the most power or if you needed to make a deal with a foreign country. Marriage was arranged and you'd only see a painting (if you're lucky) of your beloved before the day you get married. So, you don't get to date and most of the time the paintings were a lie.

Levi and you? If you were Queen, then it is likely if you want to marry Levi he would have to be related to you in some way, such as a distant cousin. He can be from another country, he'd most likely be from another country so you can keep the peace and prevent war. Once he marries you he would be called Prince, not King as the title King outranks Queen. If he wasn't a royal, you'd be married off to someone and you'd be having an affair with Levi. A LOT of royals had affairs and lovers on the side.

Fantasy

In a fantasy world, he could be a knight when it comes to being your lover or marrying you. Knights are of high blood though. A knight has to be from noble birth. Below is what a Tudor knight would wear. As stated, they would be of noble birth so Levi's origin story would have to be changed.

Levi would never be able to meet you as a poor person. Royals stayed far away from the poor, so if he was the original background you would never have contact. Levi has to be of noble birth, noble background and be either a nobleman or a knight in order to get some sort of contact with you and have a chance of marrying you or romancing you.

Victoria

Facts and realism

Queen Victoria - Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 to 1907. She reigned for a very long time. She married her first cousin Prince Albert and it was a very passionate and romantic marriage. They had nine kids even though Victorian was terrified of childbirth. A lot of the family had blood conditions due to many centuries of inbreeding.

Victorian Britain was not the best, but it was better than Tudor life as you had warmer homes and more jobs but that is kind of it. There was overpopulation in cities, so lots of people had to share one bed in a home and to top it off, crime was really high! Due to all this mixing together, there were so many sexual diseases and diseases in general. A lot of the time people had to steal food just to live, but that would send them to prison where they'd do hard labour. Children had to work and no one really had any rights or unions. Beating a child was normal, even in schools they'd get hit. Women were treated like crap, but there was this new view of women of them being VERY sexualised.

The world was changing fast during the Victorian era, with new things to make people's lives better and people started protesting more and unions started thanks to Karl Marx kicking up about people's rights.

Romance? There was a higher chance of you marrying for love in Victorian Britain. It was a bit more normal, but again a lot of women were married off very young. You'd be picked by a man and go on dates with him and marriage would be very quick if you showed desire back for them. Rich people still kind of married for power again, so it wasn't so good for people.

Royal romance? Again, royals were expected to marry other royals and you would be related by blood in some sense even though it was becoming very clear that inbreeding was leading to huge health issues in kids.

Levi and You? He'd have to be a royal or of high status to marry a Queen. When you get married, he'd never get the title of King and always be a Prince because King outranks Queen. Probably have to be related in some sort of way, but then again it's at the point in this time phase where almost all royals were related to each other.

Fantasy

In a fantasy world, Levi would be able to romance you if he was rich or from a noble background. His background we all know would not be possible if you wanted a romance in this setting. There is a higher chance of you two having dates, being cute with each other and him really getting the chance to romance you. Letters would be a very big thing and the phone was invented during this period, so you both could get a phone. However, it'd most likely be letters being sent to each other.

Your dates would be monitored by guards though. It's mainly for your safety and anyone would happily kill a royal if they had a chance.

Elizabeth II

Facts and realism

Queen Elizabeth II - 1953 to present-day she's been Queen of the United Kingdom.

From the 50s to now a lot of different things happened in the UK when it comes to life. We had to rebuild a lot after the second world war. We then had issues with the IRA with bombings happening. In the 70s and 80s, we had issues with mines being closed down and people losing their jobs. There was a war as well in the Gulf. Things picked up in the late 90s and up.

Royal Romance? Early 50s time you needed to marry royalty and Elizabeth married a distant cousin, so again you marry family. If you married a common person, you'd likely lose your title. Edward VIII was abdicated due to him being in love with an American socialite. He chose love over being a King.

It is only in recent years that marrying outside the royal family is seen as okay, but they had to work really hard for it. It was a battle and it really did take a scandal with Charles and poor Diana losing her life for people to take it a lot more seriously and let the royals marry for love.

Levi and you? If it was back in the 50s, then you'd be looking at Levi having to be a royal or a nobleman. If it was modern, then he could be a commoner I guess? But he would have to abandon a lot of his dreams to be married to you, so no teashop or anything because once you marry a royal, all eyes are on you.

Fantasy

In a fantasy world, you can marry Levi with no problem at all if he was from a common background. You're likely to meet him at a charity event, or he's your bodyguard. Your romance could be kept secret, that wouldn't be a problem at all. Once you're engaged though, everyone would know about it and you'd be all over the news.

As said in an old post, it would be a lot of hard work for you both to be a royal couple, but you'd make it work.

[dwellordream]

“…Many parents of all classes sent their children away from home to work as servants or apprentices - only a small minority went into the church or to university. They were not quite so young as the Venetian author suggests, though. According to Barbara Hanawalt at Ohio State University, the aristocracy did occasionally dispatch their offspring at the age of seven, but most parents waved goodbye to them at about 14. Model letters and diaries in medieval schoolbooks indicate that leaving home was traumatic. "For all that was to me a pleasure when I was a child, from three years old to 10… while I was under my father and mother's keeping, be turned now to torments and pain," complains one boy in a letter given to pupils to translate into Latin. Illiterate servants had no means of communicating with their parents, and the difficulties of travel meant that even if children were only sent 20 miles (32 km) away they could feel completely isolated.

So why did this seemingly cruel system evolve? For the poor, there was an obvious financial incentive to rid the household of a mouth to feed. But parents did believe they were helping their children by sending them away, and the better off would save up to buy an apprenticeship. These typically lasted seven years, but they could go on for a decade. The longer the term, the cheaper it was - a sign that the Venetian visitor was correct to conclude that adolescents were a useful source of cheap labour for their masters. In 1350, the Black Death had reduced Europe's population by roughly half, so hired labour was expensive. The drop in the population, on the other hand, meant that food was cheap - so live-in labour made sense.

"There was a sense that your parents can teach you certain things, but you can learn other things and different things and more things if you get experience of being trained by someone else," says Jeremy Goldberg from the University of York. Perhaps it was also a way for parents to get rid of unruly teenagers. According to social historian Shulamith Shahar, it was thought easier for strangers to raise children - a belief that had some currency even in parts of Italy. The 14th Century Florentine merchant Paolo of Certaldo advised: "If you have a son who does nothing good… deliver him at once into the hands of a merchant who will send him to another country. Or send him yourself to one of your close friends... Nothing else can be done. While he remains with you, he will not mend his ways."

Many adolescents were contractually obliged to behave. In 1396, a contract between a young apprentice named Thomas and a Northampton brazier called John Hyndlee was witnessed by the mayor. Hyndlee took on the formal role of guardian and promised to give Thomas food, teach him his craft and not punish him too severely for mistakes. For his part, Thomas promised not to leave without permission, steal, gamble, visit prostitutes or marry. If he broke the contract, the term of his apprenticeship would be doubled to 14 years. A decade of celibacy was too much for many young men, and apprentices got a reputation for frequenting taverns and indulging in licentious behaviour. Perkyn, the protagonist of Chaucer's Cook's Tale, is an apprentice who is cast out after stealing from his master - he moves in with his friend and a prostitute. In 1517, the Mercers' guild complained that many of their apprentices "have greatly mysordered theymself", spending their masters' money on "harlotes… dyce, cardes and other unthrifty games".

In parts of Germany, Switzerland and Scandinavia, a level of sexual contact between men and women in their late teens and early twenties was sanctioned. Although these traditions - known as "bundling" and "night courting" - were only described in the 19th Century, historians believe they date back to the Middle Ages. "The girl stays at home and a male of her age comes and meets her," says Colin Heywood from the University of Nottingham. "He's allowed to stay the night with her. He can even get into bed with her. But neither of them are allowed to take their clothes off - they're not allowed to do much beyond a bit of petting." Variants on the tradition required men to sleep on top of the bed coverings or the other side of a wooden board that was placed down the centre of the bed to separate the youngsters. It was not expected that this would necessarily lead to betrothal or marriage.

To some extent, young people policed their own sexuality. "If a girl gets a reputation of being rather too easy, then she will find something unpleasant left outside her house so that the whole village knows that she has a bad reputation," says Heywood. Young people also expressed their opinion of the moral conduct of elders, in traditions known as charivari or "rough music". If they disapproved of a marriage - perhaps because the husband beat his wife or was hen-pecked, or there was a big disparity in ages - the couple would be publicly shamed. A gang would parade around carrying effigies of their victims, banging pots and pans, blowing trumpets and possibly pulling the fur of cats to make them shriek (the German word is Katzenmusik). In France, Germany and Switzerland young people banded together in abbayes de jeunesse - "abbeys of misrule" - electing a "King of Youth" each year. "They came to the fore at a time like carnival, when the whole world was turned upside down," says Heywood. Unsurprisingly, things sometimes got out of hand. Philippe Aries describes how in Avignon the young people literally held the town to ransom on carnival day, since they "had the privilege of thrashing Jews and whores unless a ransom was paid".

In London, the different guilds divided into tribes and engaged in violent disputes. In 1339, fishmongers were involved in a series of major street battles with goldsmiths. But ironically, the apprentices with the worst reputation for violence belonged to the legal profession. These boys of the Bench had independent means and did not live under the watch of their masters. In the 15th and 16th Centuries, apprentice riots in London became more common, with the mob targeting foreigners including the Flemish and Lombards. On May Day in 1517, the call to riot was shouted out - "Prentices and clubs!" - and a night of looting and violence followed that shocked Tudor England. By this time, the city was swelling with apprentices, and the adult population was finding them more difficult to control, says Barbara Hanawalt. As early death from infectious disease became rarer the apprentices faced a long wait to take over from their masters. "You've got quite a number of young men who are in apprenticeships who have got no hope of getting a workshop and a business of their own," says Jeremy Goldberg. "You've got numbers of somewhat disillusioned and disenfranchised young men, who may be predisposed to challenging authority, because they have nothing invested in it."

How different were the young men and women of the Middle Ages from today's adolescents? It's hard to judge from the available information, says Goldberg. But many parents of 21st Century teenagers will nod their heads in recognition at St Bede's Eighth Century youths, who were "lean (even though they eat heartily), swift-footed, bold, irritable and active". They might also shed a tear over a rare collection of letters from the 16th Century, written by members of the Behaim family of Nuremberg and documented by Stephen Ozment. Michael Behaim was apprenticed to a merchant in Milan at the age of 12. In the 1520s, he wrote to his mother complaining that he wasn't being taught anything about trade or markets but was being made to sweep the floor. Perhaps more troubling for his parents, he also wrote about his fears of catching the plague. Another Behaim boy towards the end of the 16th Century wrote to his parents from school. Fourteen-year-old Friedrich moaned about the food, asked for goods to be sent to keep up appearances with his peers, and wondered who would do his laundry. His mother sent three shirts in a sack, with the warning that "they may still be a bit damp so you should hang them over a window for a while". Full of good advice, like mothers today, she added: "Use the sack for your dirty washing."

- William Kremer, “What medieval Europe did with its teenagers.”

[weirdnessandlove]

Bughead post 2x05 fic

*Part 2* About 4.5k words, lots of angst. Part 1 here

   Truth be told, Jughead was still sort of angry at Betty. He understood why she did what she did and really he couldn’t blame her for going through Archie. He knew no matter the circumstances, he wouldn’t be able to break her heart in person either. He was angry because she hadn’t trusted him with this. She hadn’t told him about the letter she got at the Blue and Gold either. Then she hadn’t trusted him with the calls. She was being tortured and he could do nothing to comfort her. Mostly Jug was angry that she hadn’t trusted his safety. She made a decision for him without even bothering to tell him and she knew he hated that.

   He pushed the thoughts away as he tried to focus on the dealings going down with the Ghoulies. Essentially, if the Serpents won, the Ghoulies would stop distributing Jingle Jangle in Riverdale. If the Ghoulies won, the Serpents would have to forfeit some of their territory in the southside, making the Ghoulies the larger landowners, if still the smaller group . The Ghoulies were bargaining for something else to sweeten their pot when all eyes turned to Jug. Not hearing the last bit of the conversation in his distraction, he straightened a bit, looking around. “What?” he asked, not understanding why everyone’s attention was on him.

   Tall Boy turned to their leader, and said “No deal. That is personal, not clan business.” Jughead absolutely hated being confused but he knew he should feel relieved Tall Boy refused. The one who called himself Osiris straightened and turned back to Tall Boy. “These proceedings feel personal to me. We are willing to part with our major source of income but you insult us by only offering a small portion of land. That-” he pointed toward Jughead’s face “-is how you show me this isn’t personal. That you aren’t trying to screw us over…. Besides. The winner of the race needs a crown.” Oh no no no. He wasn’t parting with the beanie. He looked at Tall Boy, hoping he would stay his ground. Tall Boy gave Jughead a sad look before turning back to Osiris. “I guess we’ll just have to win, then.”

• • •

   Betty paced in her room and waited for the next call. The Black Hood said he would give Betty the whereabouts of Nick St. Clair on one condition. Betty had to tell Sheriff Keller about Archie’s relationship with their late music teacher, Mrs. Grundy. Betty had went to the station and talked with the sheriff about it when he agreed that Archie was not at fault and sent Betty home.

   When the phone rang she picked it up and the first thing the distorted voice said to her was “That is not what we agreed.” Betty answered exasperatedly “We agreed on nothing. You gave me a direction and I followed it to the letter. I held up my end. Where is Nick?” After a pause, he gave an address and hung up. Nick was at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy? Why? How would she get him out? The Sisters wouldn’t let him leave their custody without a significant reason. She would need Nick’s parents. Betty made the phone call and left for her office at the Blue and Gold. This had to end. The Black Hood couldn’t continue hurting people in Riverdale.

   By the time she arrived and had gotten into the office, Betty had a plan. She took a picture of the murder board her and Jug had created after Jason Blossoms murder to be saved for later and then emptied the board, instead replacing it with a sign up top that said “Black Hood.” It felt wrong to be working on this without Jughead. They had solved Jason’s murder together. They had cleared his father together. “That’s it!” she thought. She locked the office back up and left for the prison. FP Jones would know what to do about Jughead and if investigative skills were at all hereditary, he could point Betty in the right direction. Plus it’s not as if the Black Hood could threaten him either. He’d been moved out of the county jail into a secure facility while the judge deliberated on his sentence for helping cover up Jason’s murder.

   An hour later she was sitting waiting for Forsythe Pendleton Jones II and for the first time in a while she found herself smiling. Today felt like progress. When he sat down he seemed surprised to see her. Picking up the phone off the receiver he said, “Betty. Is Jughead okay? What is going on?” She wondered if Jughead had told him about the breakup yet. “Yes Mr. Jones. He’s doing fine. Healing well, I think. Truth be told I haven’t seen as much of him the past few days. He’s racing the Ghoulies tonight.”

   FP didn’t seem to understand. “Healing? Was he in an accident? Why is he racing the Ghoulies?! Only official mem….” Betty saw his face change in comprehension and she realized Jug hadn’t told him about his initiation. “He joined up?” Betty nodded slowly. She noticed their similar mannerisms when FP turned his head, jaw ticking. He was trying not to cry. She felt terrible he found out this way. “He’s doing fine from what I understand. Archie talked to him and relayed to me that he’s doing it to keep the peace. He’s trying to stop bloodshed. He’s filling your shoes.” Betty hoped this would ease whatever he was feeling.

   FP turned back to Betty, reading more into her words. “Why did Archie relay it to you? Why didn’t Jug tell you himself?” She took a deep breath. This was not going to be an easy conversation. “That’s sort of why I came down here Mr. Jones. The man who shot Archie’s dad told me he’d hurt Jughead. He’s been calling me and making me do all these things or he’ll hurt people. He calls himself-” “The Black Hood. Yeah I know. That Jughead did tell me about.” Betty put her head in her hand. “The Black Hood forced me to break up with him. I had to do it to keep him safe. I need to find out who he is so I can end this cat and mouse game and get my Juggie back.” FP sat back and waited for her to meet his eyes, giving her a proud look “Aren’t you Betty Cooper?”

• • •

   The Serpents arrived early to the meet for the race, wanting to scope everything out ahead of time. When they finished up, they stood in a group as Tall Boy made an announcement. “Alright listen up! We’ve all been pretty clear about staying out of northsider business. They have no love lost for us. Except one. By now you all know Betty Cooper. She solved the murder of the Blossom kid and got FP off the hook for it. Girl has more balls than most of us I’m ashamed to admit.” Most in the crowd looked incredulous at the statement but there were a few that nodded shamefully.

   “Well, Betty is Jughead’s old lady and this ‘Hood character is making her life a living hell. We can’t sit by and let this happen to her. So now she is officially under our protection.” Tall Boy paused for a second for murmuring to die down. “Now we know this Black Hood follows her every move. If he’s following her, we’re going to follow her. We’ll find this guy out and put an end to it. And maybe once the mayor realizes he isn’t one of us, she’ll lay off our backs. You’ll all be put on a shift of Betty Watch. Report anything you see to Jughead. He’ll be running point on this. And remember... don’t let her see you.”

   Everyone talked amongst themselves and Jughead looked over at Sweet Pea, who nodded at him. Toni came over to Jug and leaned her head to the side. “So are you taking first shift then? Sweet Pea tells me the northsider is bringing her here tonight. I think you two should talk.” He was about to tell her he had decided to race tonight when he heard the first cars coming up the drive. He recognized Fred Andrew’s truck immediately. Archie was in the front seat with Veronica. Jug couldn’t help but frown. Archie was supposed to bring Betty. Cheryl’s car pulled in next, followed by Reggie’s. Everyone had started to get out, Archie and Veronica, Cheryl and Kevin, Reggie and Josie, when Jughead noticed movement from the back of the truck.

   Then he heard her voice. “Will someone please let me out?!” Archie cursed as if he’d forgotten something and went over to the massive bag in the back and unzipped it. As if on cue, Betty sits up and out of it and he notices her hands are ziptied. Striding over, he pushes Archie out of the way and pulls out his pocket knife to cut her free. “Why the hell would you do this?!” Jughead climbs over the side into the bed and reaches over to grab Betty’s wrists, ignoring the alarmed look on her face. Veronica popped around to their side of the truck. “Actually that was my idea. Archie finally caved and told me what was going on. She didn’t want to come and put either you or myself in danger.” Veronica shrugged nonchalantly. “So we kidnapped her. Also I told everyone about the situation.” Cheryl leaned over from the hood of her car. “Strength in numbers and all that. I personally can’t believe Betty wouldn’t tell us we were all in danger. Seems so selfish.”

   Betty leaned away from Jughead a little bit and whispered softly “I didn’t want you to get hurt.” She looked at the gloves on his hands and added, “You said you weren’t going to race, Jug.” Jughead sighed and cut her loose before leaning back in to her and whispering, “Can we have this conversation later?” before jumping back to the ground. “The race is for my beanie,” he said for everyone. “I’ll be the one who decides it’s fate.” Before anyone had time to respond, more cars and bikes came racing up the road and banked hard, barely missing the closest Serpent bike to them. Most of them stopped in a row but one red car sped a couple laps around the meet site before skidding in next to the others Ghoulies.

   Osiris got out of the 1940s Tudor and walked to the center where everyone was gathering. Raising his voice and throwing his arms wide, he yelled, “Let’s race!” and then he pointed at Jughead “For the prodigal son’s crown.” Reggie threw Jughead his keys and then walked over to wrap his arm around Josie. He pulled up to the designated track and got back out, leaning on the hood of the black Chevy while he waited for the customary opponents handshake. Betty wandered over and leaned on the car next to him. She bumped his shoulder and gave him a small smile.

   “Don’t die okay? I’ve been actively avoiding burying the people I love lately. Don’t break my streak.” He gave her a small smile back. “I love you too. But we still aren’t okay, yet.” His smile turned a little playful. “Now stop distracting me before my potentially life threatening engagement. We’ll talk later.” Betty walked back to where her team was, throwing a “Get over there” thumb to tell Archie it was his turn. Archie nodded at her, smiling, before going to stand over behind Jughead as the makeshift ceremony started.

• • •

   Betty went and stood in the spot Archie had just vacated, where Veronica proceeded to throw her arms around her and rest her head on Betty’s shoulder. Betty put a hand on V’s arm. Their men were going off to battle together. She crossed her fingers that they would come back unscathed. The four men got in the two cars and Toni stood on the line in front of them. Right as it was about to start, Cheryl leaned over and whispered in Betty’s ear, making her jump. “Don’t worry, Bride of Hobo. He’ll come back to you. I have a plan.” Betty turned and was saying, “Cheryl, No!” when the cars fired down the road. Betty could only watch in horrified anticipation of whatever was going to happen.

   The race started off well but soon Reggie’s car started lagging behind. It all happened faster than she was expecting. The end of the line was coming up and she could barely see the cars anymore let alone the figures on the side of the road. What? She blinked and moved a little closer, hoping to clear her vision enough to make out what was happening. Instead she saw a lot of what looked like flesh and the unmistakeable sound of squealing brakes before the figures ran off. What the hell?

   She turned on Cheryl. “What did you do?!” Cheryl put on her best innocent smiles and said in the sweetest voice, “Well nothing, of course. I just asked the Rivervixens if they wanted to help get revenge for Moose and Midge.” Things were getting louder now and the Ghoulies left behind with them were trying to start a fight with the Serpents. The Serpents obviously denied any knowledge of what happened. Still, with the red classic braking right before the end of the race, it was pretty clear who had won.

   The cars were on their way back, not too far out now, when the Ford turned hard, colliding right into the driver’s side of the Chevelle SS, pushing it off the road. Just like that the world was suddenly quiet and Betty wasn’t really aware of what was happening as she broke into a full sprint down the way. She wasn’t the first to make it but she wasn’t too far behind. She arrived in time to see a bleeding Archie pulling an incoherent Jughead through the passenger side door. She knelt beside him and screamed for someone to get help while she frantically tried to find any major bleeding.

• • •

   Betty sat in the hospital room, the pain in her chest overwhelming her. It’d been hours since the race and Jug was still in and out of consciousness. The doctors told her a bunch of stuff about needing time to heal and how she should go home and get some rest. Truly though all she could focus on was when they said if he came out of this state, he’d be okay. Betty needed to be here when Jughead woke up. She felt stuck to this spot like concrete until he opened his eyes. She ran through the events after the accident over in her head again.

   She had felt the pocket knife in Jughead’s leather when searching for wounds so she grabbed it and started stalking her way over to Osiris, snapping it open right before Sweet Pea caught her. Toni carefully took the knife and they dragged her away. Dark Betty grinned in evil satisfaction when she saw the rest of the Serpents close in on him. The rest of the Ghoulies had fled. Free of Sweet Pea, Betty shoved Cheryl hard. Tall Boy had commandeered one of the Serpent’s trucks and they carefully lifted Jughead inside, Betty holding him upright while Archie and some of the other Serpents rode in the back.

   They’d arrived at Riverdale Hospital and gave the staff a story about Jughead driving his motorcycle into a tree to avoid police involvement. Eventually everyone else showed up. Alice arrived and tried to take Betty home but she had yanked free and sat back down, before being surrounded by Serpents. Alice gave her daughter a horrified look, alarmed at her increasing involvement with the gang Alice had left.

   Since then, no one has bothered her. The Serpents stay close but give enough space for her to have privacy. Her friends were in the waiting room, desperate for news. Betty held Jughead’s hand, his continued heartbeat keeping her sane. When his hand twitched she didn’t notice from inside her own thoughts. But when she felt a squeeze she jolted back into reality and looked up, seeing his dark blue eyes looking at hers.

• • •

   Jughead knew before he even opened his eyes he wasn’t hallucinating this time. He hurt all over. He regretted his decision to even open them at all under the harsh hospital lights. But he saw Betty there with him and he couldn’t help the swell in his heart. Of course she was there. He watched her for a minute as she stared down at their intertwined hands, her eyes unfocused and her face set into this permanent look of dread. Even like this she looked absolutely beautiful.

   He hated that she was in pain though so he squeezed her hand to get her attention. She jumped a little but when she looked at him and her face lit up. What he wouldn’t give for her to look at him like that forever. “Hey there, Juliet” he managed to say, if painfully. “Hey,” she said softly. “I’ll go get a nurse.” he tightened his grip on hers for a second. “How about not just yet? I’d like this quiet moment to last a little longer.” Betty smiled softly but it didn’t touch her eyes this time. He was truly grateful for her concern but the sooner he had to see someone else but her the sooner they were back to reality. The reality where he had kissed someone else and she was tortured by the Black Hood.

   They sat there in silence for a couple minutes before he gently released her hand. She looked at him apologetically and left the room. Two minutes later a nurse and the doctor were in the room and ten minutes later it was flooded with Serpents and his few friends from the northside. Eventually everyone drifted off to go home except Betty. She was sitting close enough that he rubbed her back gently as she fought to keep her eyes open. “Betts go home. I’m fine. I promise I’ll still be here in the morning.” she started to protest but he interrupted her. “Betty, no. You’ve been sitting in that chair all day agonizing over me. Go get some sleep. I’m not going anywhere.”

• • •

   Betty held the door to the trailer open with her foot while she propped up Jughead enough to hobble through. After two days the hospital sent him home and Betty naturally, had volunteered herself to be his nurse. She got him sitting at the dining table before she leaned back against the counter, asking if he would like some food. Jughead shook his head, dreading the conversation coming. He stared down at his hands, not wanting to look at her as he pushed her away.

   “Maybe you should just go, Betty.” She brushed it off, not realizing what he meant. “What? Jug no you need help with-” He sighed, wishing she wasn’t so good for once. “Betty, I need space. You hurt me and I’m not over it yet.” She leaned back against the counter, sinking to the floor until she was sitting with her knees to her chest. As she opened her mouth to respond, her phone started ringing. The volume was low but it was that god-awful jingle he wanted nothing but to forget. She reached in her pocket and silenced it, which caused Jughead to really look at her, stunned.

   He knew what he had to do though. The events of the last week proved they spiral out of control for each other. Tall Boy told him (impressed, of course) that she’d gone after a gang leader with just a pocket knife. Betty would end up getting herself killed to keep him safe. He couldn’t let her go down that path. Jughead steeled his voice and said, “Betty, you should go. He’ll be angry you’re here.” Jughead couldn’t help the sourness in his tone. “And we wouldn’t want to make him angry.” She looked at him, hurt by his words. He would give anything for her not to make that face at him but if he didn’t do this now he wouldn’t ever.

   “You just don’t get it, Jughead. I couldn’t lose you. You are the only person that keeps me sane in our crazy town. I hoped once I explained everything that we could go back to normal.” He fought to hide his smile. So she’s fighting for him, then? His frown returned. It just meant he’d have to hurt her.  He raised his voice a little, intentionally sounding harsh. “Is that why you sent Archie to do your dirty work?” She gave him an irritated and hurt look. “I didn’t have a choice.” His derisive snort in response wasn’t completely faked. “Just like you didn’t give me one.”

   Now he could see fire in her eyes as she got defensive. Good. “What is that supposed to mean, exactly?!” The hurt he felt toward her when she wasn’t around to wash it away came bubbling to the surface. “You know me Betty! You made a decision for my own safety without speaking to me about it. I had no choice or even knowledge of what was happening.” He couldn’t help the contempt rising in his voice. “Did you really think I could just let that go?” Jughead swallowed a bit. “And then you hurt me in the only way possible. Do you have any idea what it feels like to go through that kind of beating thinking the only person you’ve ever told you love hates you?!”

   She paused back for a second before she said quietly but with anger, “Do you have any idea what it’s like to have the lives of an entire town on your shoulders?” she took a deep breath and sounded calmer. “Why are you pushing me away?” Jughead couldn’t help the loss of steam at her question. “Because every time you walk out the door, I can’t help the resentment I feel towards you over breaking up with me even though I know rationally why you did it. When you’re here I can’t be angry at you, but in the end I am still hurting.”

   Betty lowered her head and he barely heard her whisper. “Does Toni help?” What? Jughead slid down on the floor next to her, ignoring the screaming pain is his side. “What?” he repeated out loud. Betty lifted her head and looked at him. “I see the way she looks at you, Juggie.” Betty looked down at her knees again. “You stopped taking my calls when you transferred and…. And…” Jughead put a hand on her knee, hearing her sniffle. “Toni and I kissed. She spent the night to keep an eye on me after the Gauntlet.”

   He saw the tear fall before she managed to wipe it away. “That’s fine. I hurt you. I understand.” She sniffled and then like a switch being flipped, her entire demeanor changed into bright and Sunny. Perfect Betty smiled at him and stood to get up. “You’re right. I hurt you. I should go. I’ll call… someone to come help you.” Betty took a step over and reached for the space right above his elbows, lifting him enough to get him into the seat as she stepped for the door. Jughead couldn’t let her go like this.

   “Betty. You don’t have to pretend with me. Don’t do that.” She gave him a small smile. “Yes I do Jughead.” Her smile dropped completely. “That’s the only way I can do this.” and with that she opened the door and stepped through. He could hear her crying faintly as she took the steps.

   There was something else he needed to know before she left though. With all the strength he could gather, he stood up and stepped over to the door, leaning on the wall for support. He pulled the door open and stood on the landing, calling her name. After the third time she stopped. He saw her try to discreetly try to wipe her face before turning back around with the forced smile. “Yes, Jughead?” He hated that this was the way she chose to have her last interaction with him. “Why didn’t you pick up? When he just called?” The smile didn’t falter even a little. “Because. He got what he wanted. Now I’m going to catch him for it.”

   Jughead took a step closer “What do you mean?” Betty cocked her head at him a little and gave him a “You can’t figure it out?” look. “This” she said aloud before turning back around and starting to walk again. “Damnit Betty. Leave him alone!” He called to her. He needed her safe. That’s why he was putting up this ridiculous charade in the first place. She kept walking though and he forced himself to take the steps of the trailer and follow after her, ignoring how it made him feel like he was going to pass out. “Betty, don’t do anything stupid!” her voice drifted back to him even though she kept moving. Her voice sounded sarcastic. “Like investigate a murderer? I’ve done it before.” She turned her head a bit. “Go back inside Jughead. You need rest.”

   He was focusing on one foot in front of the other, feeling more sick with each step. “You had a partner in crime last time!” There was a faint crack in her response. “Doesn’t mean I need one!” He was mentally cursing her for being stubborn. “Maybe I do!” Her steps faltered a bit. He didn’t hear whatever she said back since his left leg picked that second to give out on him and he collapsed to the ground. She must have expected him to say something because she turned around and saw him on the ground a couple hundred feet from the trailer.

  Betty rushed over and knelt to the ground looking him over for more injuries. “What’s your problem, Jughead?!” she said angrily. “First you push me away and then you risk more injuries when I go?!” His Betty was back. He couldn’t help but smile up at her. “What can I say? You make me crazy. I was trying to protect you, you big dummy. But no. You can’t keep yourself out of danger.” She smiled a real smile back down at him. “That’s because you make me crazy too.” She lifted him by his hands and put his arm over her shoulder as she walked him back to the trailer. “Hey Betts?” Jug managed to get out as they were nearing the steps again. “Mhm?” He stopped so she would look him in the eyes. “Please, don’t ever do that to me again.” Betty looked at him with a promise that made his heart melt and gave him a soft kiss. “I won’t.”

[theshapeshifter100]

Guess What? I’m Not a Robot RC Ch7

Word Count: 2,472

Chapter Warnings: at gunpoint, some inappropriate behaviour as a distraction

Masterlist

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4.45PM Wednesday 10th November 2038

Alex had stopped the truck half a mile from the back of the compound, and the group was gathered outside the vehicle as dusk fell. Lucas stood on top of the truck with his binoculars, getting a better idea of what they were dealing with.

“Cherry picker kinda portable surveillance tower, can’t see who’s in there. Drones. Guards milling about. There’s an low outer fence with some trucks inside and more guards. Shouldn’t be too hard to slip in though... Oh holy shit.”

“What?” Allison asked and Lucas lowered his binoculars, swallowing.

“They, they seem to have, portable, disassembling machines. Which explains the android parts in the truck beds.”

“This far out, there must be a portable power source,” Nathan added, looking paler than usual. “If we disconnect that-”

“We stop those machines,” Ivy picked up, “and create one hell of a distraction.”

“Someone’s going to need to take out the drones,” Allison added. In response Julia pulled out a handgun, and Alex’s eyes widened.

“Where the hell did you get that?!”

“Our friend who used to drive this truck,” a dangerous glitter sparkled in Julia’s eyes. “There should be enough rounds to take down the drones.”

Alex leaned back a little. “When did you get so scary?”

“When the world turned to shit. What are we going to do about the surveillance picker?”

“I got it,” Oscar offered. “I can get in there and knock ‘em about a bit.”

“They’re wearing body armour and most likely have assault rifles,” Julia reminded. “You could get shot.”

“They won’t shoot in such a confined space. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright,” Alex sighed, easily taking command. “Julia’s on drones, Oscar’s on the picker. Lucas, how many machines are there?”

“Three,” Lucas was looking back through the binoculars. “Each one with their own power supply by the looks of it.”

“Alright, three people take the machines, just in case.”

“I’ll take one,” Allison volunteered. “I’m pretty small.”

“Same,” Lucas added.

“We need you on observation for now,” Alex contradicted. “Since you know how it all looks now. I’ll join you on generators. Megan? You’re pretty tiny.”

“Fine,” Megan sighed, feeling snakes in her belly. “That leaves Nathan, Maggie and Ivy.”

“I can take out the floodlights,” Nathan offered.

“They’re guarded,” Lucas responded, and Megan passed Nathan her taser.

“We’ll distract the guys down there,” Ivy nodded towards the guards. “Act like drunk students. We’ve got experience in that.”

“Guys,” Allison sounded nervous. “We’re not fighters, we’re not strategists, what are we doing?”

“Being awesome,” Alex responded solidly. “Lives are on the line, don’t chicken out now.”

Allison smirked. “I can’t believe you’re the one telling me that.”

“Enough talking,” Ivy squared her shoulders and took off her hat, revealing her pan flag hair. “Let’s do this.”

4.52PM Wednesday 10th

They got halfway to the barriers before splitting up to different directions. Allison, Alex and Megan went more towards the back of the compound, not crossing the barrier yet and watching the guards. Oscar, Nathan and Julia went to the side where the guard picker was; Nathan would split when the generators were dealt with and Julia would start shooting once the first floodlight was down.

Ivy and Maggie got into character, having dumped their bulkier clothes in a furrow. They started giggling and shoving each other, staggering towards the barrier and daring each other to climb over it.

Maggie did a good job ‘drunkenly’ climbing over the chest high barrier, lying on top of it and falling off. She landed on her back in the snow, giggling as Ivy joined her, and this finally got the attention of a soldier.

“Hey! You’re trespassing!” they stormed over. “Get out of here!”

“What’s the big deal handsome?” Ivy slurred “S jus’ a big ol’ empty field. Dis is the only interestin’ thing ‘ere!”

“Yeah,” Maggie staggered to her feet, “Whatcha hidin’ out here?”

“Ladies, I suggest you move along,” seeing that they were drunk the soldier took a different approach. “Nothing to see here.”

“Nothin’? Don’t look like nothin’, do it babe?” Ivy giggled at Maggie before returning her attention to the soldier, “C’mon, whatcha hidin’?” Ivy lightly shoved the solider.

“Ma’am, back off.”

“Aw, is big bad soldier scared of little old me?” Ivy batted her eyelashes, and could hear some of the other guards laughing. “C’mon, let’s get the whole gang together, have some fun! I’m freezin’ my tits off out here!”

The solider looked around as more guards appeared to watch the show. “Bastards,” he muttered before going back to the girls. “Ladies, please leave the premises or I will have to use force.”

“Oh force, kinky,” Ivy waggled her eyebrows, “Ain’t done that before, ‘ave we babe?”

“Nah,” Maggie grinned deliriously. “Might be worth tryin’ though.”

All professionalism went out the window as the guards laughed harder.

Back with the truck Lucas spoke into the radio.

“PO and Rainbow are successful, move in. Over.”

Alex easily got over the barrier; while Megan and Allison had to help each other give their height. Once over they ducked and followed the shadows of the rumbling trucks. Megan tried not to think about the android corpses and parts in those trucks, and followed the other two.

They identified the three compounds, and in a short, hushed conversation, designated who would go where.  Megan got the middle, Allison on her left and Alex on her right.

They moved as another truck rumbled past, covering their mad sprint to the disassembling pods.

Megan pressed her back to the rear of the pod, out of sight of the main compound for now.

Her radio crackled, and she could just hear it over the humming of machinery.

“Mostly drones in the main area now, with some guards at the back. Poison Oak and Rainbow3 are putting on, quite a show. Over.”

“Focus Tudor,” Alex hissed. “NI, Biker chick, have you got a small floodlight by your generator?”

Both Allison and Megan responded with an affirmative.

“I’ll take mine out first, then you guys go, then we unplug the machines. Okay? Over.”

“No better ideas here,” Allison deferred. “Awaiting your signal. Over.”

Megan angled herself so that she could pull out the cord to the floodlights pretty quickly, and waited for Alex.

There was a sudden loss of light from behind her and Megan moved, trying not to give herself too much time to think. The plug took a few goes to pull out, but it was out, and her whole area went dim.

It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, but once they had she turned her attention to the main generator cables. She probably couldn’t turn it off, so pulling the connection cables between it and the disassembling machines seemed like the best idea. The only problem was there was about three of them and each one was twice as thick as her arm.

Megan looked closer at where the wires connected to the generator, and not seeing much, felt around. It seemed like there was some kind of catch holding the wire in place, so people couldn’t just yank it out. Perhaps this was supposed to be a two man job?

She considered asking for help, but there was no one else free, so she did the only logical thing. She held up the catch with one hand, grabbed the wire with other, braced one foot against the generator and pulled.

“C’mon,” she grunted, feeling it shift a little. “C’mon!”

The wire suddenly gave and she fell on her back in the snow from the recoil. She sat up and got back to her feet. One down, two to go.

In the other two sections the machines stopped humming, leaving only the buzzing of the generators, and Megan’s machine.

So if more androids die, it’s kinda your fault.

Megan gritted her teeth and channelled her frustration at both herself and the voice into this next wire. Now was not the time to get caught up in her own head.

Ironically, she was so caught up in what she was doing, she didn’t see the solider walking over, assault rifle pointing right at her.

4.55PM Wednesday 10th

It had been nearly half an hour by now, Paul was just over halfway through the compound. Over halfway closer to death.

He tried not to let it bother him, but there was little less he could think about. He was tempted to try Callum’s trick to talk to other androids, but what would he say? ‘Hi, we’re all about to die, great time to get to know each other!’

Yeah, didn’t seem like a good idea.

Then, one of the floodlights went out.

Not a big one, but the one next to the disassembling machine in the compound to his right. Seconds later the other two went out.

The guards, the one in here anyway, went to the right compound to investigate, presumably because that’s where it started. Before they got there two of the disassembling machines died.

If Paul needed to breathe it would be catching in his throat. Was this real? This was happening? Actually, what was happening?

Paul squinted at the space between his sections machine and the generator, noticing that there other androids doing the same. Other deviants perhaps?

In the gap was a small, stocky figure, fiddling with the generator wires, with two thick wires on the ground. They shrouded in shadow and dressed entirely in black, but Paul caught an escaped wisp of red hair.

No.

Paul reeled back and nearly bumped into the android behind him. Mumbling an apology, he began to step out of line to get a better look. A hum was heard overhead and Paul stepped back into line to avoid the drone’s spotlight.

Paul took a second to gather himself, to calm down. If he drew attention to her, then...

A guard was prowling down the ranks, gun ready and pointed at Megan. Because who else was it going to be at this point?

The soldier was already past him, on the other side of the column to his right, but Paul still took a second to gather this courage. He hated this place, he hated it so much.

“RUN!” he yelled. “GET AWAY FROM THERE! RUN!”

4.57PM Wednesday 10th

“RUN! GET AWAY FROM THERE! RUN!”

Megan’s head shot up and located the origin of the shout. Her jaw went slack when she saw Paul. Even without his skin and signature hair, she could still recognise him. She started to shout his name, before realising why he had yelled.

An involuntary shriek of terror left Megan’s mouth as she scrambled back, away from the approaching the solider. They picked up speed and Megan stumbled, falling on her butt.

Her breathing hitched and sped up. Her limbs begged to move, and she wasn’t sure if they were. It didn’t seem to make a difference as the guard kept getting closer.

Run run run run run run run

Why aren’t you moving? YOU’RE GOING TO DIE!

Oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God

“NO!” Paul was moving, catching the attention of a drone and another of the guards at the back.

“GET BACK IN LINE!” they bellowed and Paul paused, fear and desperation tearing him in two. He couldn’t... he couldn’t... he didn’t want to die, but he couldn’t watch Megan die either.

Megan stared at the barrel of the gun, so struck with terror she wasn’t sure if she was breathing. The soldier was saying something. Something angry, maybe? She couldn’t hear it, her ears were full of her pounding heartbeat.

A loud clonk pierced her hearing, and the gun was no longer in her face. Blinking, she could see that the soldier had turned to face Allison, dual wielding a kitchen knife and a rolling pin.

Megan had the irrational urge to laugh. Allison standing off against an armed solider with nothing but a rolling pin and knife shouldn’t be funny, but, it kind of was.

“Get up!” Alex was suddenly in her face and helping her to her feet. Megan stumbled, and her heartbeat calmed down a little.

“I’m going to help Allison, either give us a hand, or get out of here,” Alex instructed before drawing their own makeshift weapon and charging in.

Megan took a second to catch her breath, and she looked across at Paul, who was staring right back at her. She offered a tired smile, which died as soon as she saw the guard walking towards Paul.

The situation reversal didn’t even register, she was already moving. She flung herself through the fence on pure muscle memory and pelted through the snow. The gun was turning to face her now, and fear threatened to overwhelm her.

Her legs didn’t stop pounding against the ground.

She was suddenly holding the gun in her gloved hands and yanking it down with all of her adrenaline enhanced strength.

The soldier barely even grunted and began to pull it out of her grip. The gloves made it harder to grip and it came away, but Megan was back in, grabbing it again. She needed to get her gloves off, but she had no time.

A flood light went off, taking them both by surprise, but it was the guard who capitalised on it.

In a swift movement the gun was yanked from her grip and the butt slammed into the side of her head.

Megan yelped in pain and stars burst behind her eyes as she staggered back. She bumped into another android, who steadied her.

“Kid, stand down,” they muttered, fear etched into their voice.

With the pause and pain Megan felt fear creep up on her. She needed to help Paul, she couldn’t let it take over now!

Staring down the barrel of a gun in the second time in less than five minutes and being shouted at to put her hands on her head made any last vestige of courage disappear. She couldn’t do this, she couldn’t-

The muzzle suddenly shot up in the air as a drone exploded. Taking his chance Paul ran at the guard and ripped the gun from them. The weapon felt heavy and unfamiliar, but he pointed it at the guard, expression impossible to read on the white chassis.

“Back off,” he tried to growl. It half worked, and almost as if on cue, the last disassembling machine shut down. Above them, more drones were being shot down, and another floodlight went out.

The soldier made the mistake of darting his head to look, and Paul slugged the gun into the side of his head. Much, much harder than when Megan got hit. The soldier staggered back, clutching his head, but eventually took the sensible option and retreated.

A lot happened. Ivy has no shame, Allison's the only one with self preservation. Julia's decided that now's the time to be scary, Lucas has the easy job, Alex is having the time of their life and Nathan, Oscar and Maggie are along for the ride.

Paul nearly dies and Megan gets close to a nervous breakdown/death but you know. Other Options Flowchart

(Megan) Respond to Lucas about the disassembling machines.

(Megan) Decline going to the disassembling machines.

(Megan) QTEs for floodlight and generator.

(Paul) Ignore the drone (either get shot or get the soldier off Megan). Get Megan's attention.

(Paul) Don't draw attention to yourself. Ask someone else to help her.

(Megan) QTEs for getting away from the soldier.

(Megan) Defend yourself (QTEs)

(Megan) QTEs for wrestling for the gun. If done successfully the gun can be taken off the solider.

(Megan) Push the gun away (potential for Megan getting shot)

(Paul) Shoot the solider.

Tags! @nightmarejim @septicart-appreciation