#lolol i should be writing one of my 80 WIPs but i could not get this au prompt out of my head so here we are

[imreallyloveleee]

“Jughead?”

At the sound of his name, Jughead shoves his phone into his back pocket, looks up, and freezes. 

The woman standing in the doorway — with a bouncy blonde ponytail, collared sweater, and the greenest eyes he’s ever seen — is not what he’d envisioned when he scheduled a consultation with a tattoo cover-up specialist. 

“Jughead Jones?” she repeats, sounding slightly unsure this time. 

“Yeah, no, that’s me.” He clears his throat as he rises to his feet, and she smiles.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Betty.” With a wave of her hand, she leads him into a small room at the back of the shop, gesturing towards the black tattoo chair in the corner for him to take a seat. “And you’re looking to cover up a back tattoo, is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“Great.” Betty blinks at him for a moment, then asks, “So can I see it?”

“Right. Yeah, of course.” With a slight shake of his head, Jughead pulls his t-shirt over his head, taking care to ensure his gray beanie doesn’t come off with it. 

He twists around so she can see the tattoo in question, a name spelled out in black script across his left shoulder: Jessica.

“Okay,” Betty says after a brief pause. “So this is either going to be fairly easy or really hard, depending on what you want.”

Jughead cranes his head over his shoulder to see her, and immediately regrets it. From a distance, she was distractingly pretty; up close, she’s dazzling. 

Turning back towards the wall, he says, “Easy, please.”

“Oh — so you don’t have a design in mind?”

He glances at her again. “Not really. Was I supposed to?” 

“Well, usually, but — we can work together on something. That actually might make it easier. Some people come in with, like, a big black Celtic knot on their chest and think I can magically turn it into a field of yellow daisies.” 

Betty smiles again, and Jughead feels his insides turn to goo. 

Goddammit.

He’s here to erase the final vestiges of his latest romantic entanglement — not knot himself up in a new one. Especially not with the woman doing the erasing, for that matter. 

“Of course, you could also go the laser removal route, if there’s nothing you’re excited to replace it with,” she continues, oblivious to the fact that she’s utterly charming him with nothing more than what is probably her standard spiel for new clients. “But since it’s black, you’re probably looking at at least ten to twelve sessions, and there still might be kind of a smudge left there at the end.”

Jughead had in fact looked into laser removal, and come to the similar conclusion that driving over an hour back and forth to the dermatology clinic in Greendale a dozen times was an exorbitantly long amount of time to spend undoing a decision that he’d made in roughly ten seconds. Besides, spending more time around Betty hardly seems like a chore.

“I’m sure we’ll come up with something I’m excited about.” 

Betty leaves the room, returning with an armful of books and binders filled with design ideas. “See if anything in these inspires you, and I’ll tell you if it’s doable,” she explains.

To his surprise, rather than leaving Jughead alone to peruse the artwork, she settles back into the chair opposite him and begins to flip idly through one of the books herself. “Feel free to tell me if I’m being too nosy,” she says lightly, “but sometimes it’s helpful with creating a new design if I know the story behind the old one.” 

Jughead cringes — he’d figured this was coming. “There’s not much of a story,” he admits. “My now-ex-girlfriend and I did shrooms on a weekend trip to the city and she somehow convinced me to get her name tattooed across my back while I was tripping balls.”

Betty clucks her tongue in disapproval. “A decent artist wouldn’t tattoo a guy who shows up tripping balls.”

“A decent artist wouldn’t get the phone number of the girlfriend whose name a guy was getting tattooed across his back,” he replies. “And a decent girlfriend wouldn’t text him for a booty call literally the next day. But that’s why she’s an ex-girlfriend, not a decent girlfriend.”

Betty snorts, immediately followed by a soft gasp as she claps her hand across her mouth. “I’m sorry. That’s not funny.”

Jughead grins as he flips to the next page in his book. “No, it is. And it was months ago, I’m over it. You’re welcome to viciously mock me for my poor decision-making skills. Everyone else in my life already has.” Chief among them being his sister, JB, but even his best friend Archie — who himself harbored a laundry list of embarrassing romantic mishaps — had got in a few good digs. 

“I have one rule: I don’t make fun of my clients,” Betty insists, though the slant of her mouth suggests otherwise. “But maybe it’ll make you feel better to know that you’re not alone.” 

“Honestly, it makes me feel like a cliche.” 

“Well, everyone deserves a second chance.” 

Something about the way she says it draws his gaze back to her face, but her own eyes are trained down on the pages in her lap. Jughead feels a sudden, desperate urge to know more about her. 

“Feel free to tell me if I’m being too nosy,” he begins slowly. “But most tattoo artists I’ve met are pretty much covered in tattoos themselves.” 

A faint pink flush rises on Betty’s cheeks as she meets his questioning gaze. “How do you know I’m not?”

It’s a fair point. The only bare skin she has on display is that of her hands, her neck, and her face. 

But the mere suggestion of more — the thought of peeling away her clothes to find the warm, smooth, inked up skin beneath — is too much for him to handle right now.

With a sly twist to her lips, Betty holds one arm out towards him, pushing back the sleeve of her sweater to reveal the underside of her wrist. What looks like the curled end of a dragon’s tail peeks out from the edge. 

“My parents strongly disapprove, so I don’t get inked anywhere that I can’t cover up with my clothes. It’s silly, but makes visits home a lot easier to bear.” She shrugs. “And it’s cold out today.” 

Jughead swallows. “That’s a shame. Just that little bit of it looks pretty cool.”

“Maybe I’ll let you see the whole thing when you come back for your next appointment.” 

Betty holds his gaze for a beat. Then — to his horror — she bursts into laughter.

She presses her palms to her cheeks, which have grown bright red. “I’m so sorry. I’m not normally this…I didn’t mean for that to sound like…god, you must think I’m so unprofessional.”

“No, no. It’s okay.” Jughead laughs, too, certain his own red-hot face matches hers. “I — well, I’d like that.” He closes the book in his lap, leaning slightly forward. “Maybe we could keep working on a design over drinks tonight?”

Betty presses her lips together, her nose scrunching up adorably. “I actually have two rules. I also don’t date my clients.” 

Jughead shoots her a crooked smile. “Then I guess I’ll have to go with the laser removal, after all.” 

[the-mermaid-typist]

Meet The Writer Tag Game

@pens-swords-stuff tagged me for this fun thing, thank you so much, my lovely ~ :D

Rules: Answer the 10 questions, write 10 questions, then tag 10 people.

1. Your main character is designing their own Dream House. What does it look like?

Oh how fun! Lemme think …

Well, Lexia, I think, would like something by the beach. She’s not a city girl, despite what many might think (you know, always sneaking off with Adom to some far off place, adventure-seeking and all that). I think she’d want a nice porch, and lots of windows, too, so she can always be connected to the outside without always having to actually go outside. And, the more I think about it, her house would be filled with things that remind her of other people (Rembrant and Hera, her parents, Miles and Stephen, and lots of things from her travels) so from the outside I can imagine it might look something like a museum of maudlin. Kinda has that sadness that comes along with holding on and nostalgia. You just know she’s seen through a lot and doesn’t really want to let go of much.

This tenancy would probably annoy her boyfriend, Miles, a lot because I see him as something of a minimalist. He values simplicity and wouldn’t want anything super big. If he lived in the real world, he’d be enamored with the emphasis on simplicity you find in Eastern homes and culture. So, when Miles and Lexia inevitably share a home together, that will be something they’ll need to work out! I feel like Miles could help her let go of some of that baggage, though (”Collect moments, not things” style). I think Miles would have a killer garden though; that’s where his money goes.

Isva’s house would be full of art, I know that much, but I don’t know where exactly it would be or what it would look like from the outside. Like Lexia, she’s kind of a relic-keeper herself! (there’s a pun in there if you’ve read my draft, but you haven’t, so lmao) lots of stuff from her adventures and just … trinkets. Like an old witch’s house, really. Very bohemian and soft.

2. What is the weirdest thing that has ever inspired a WIP?

Honestly, my inspirations for most of WIPS have not been fairly weird. Most of the time I’m inspired by something I’ve seen or read, or my imagination going to places it wants to for fun’s sake, conjuring up things that light me on fire. So I can’t really think of anything that would be weird by anyone’s standards.

3. Which character in your current WIP is the most fun to write, and why?

So far, Lexia and Rembrant have been the funnest to write so far. The more I think about it, the less surprised I am by how interesting Rembrant is to me; I’m a sucker for serious dad characters. I love dad characters. Dads, guardians, you name it. Maybe because I never had a father myself, exploring those “Batman dad” types is always really interesting to me and they always unfold in a way that’s particularly fascinating for me.

Lexia is fun mainly because she’s the type of main character I’d love to read about. Really courageous and compassionate, really sexual (which is an aspect of female characters that’s always ignored or not touched upon in YA or New Adult fiction; it’s always the guys!) and she’s awfully funny to me, as well. Just a little gumdrop I wanna hold close lmao.

So far, in The Raven’s Wing, all the characters have been very fascinating (Honorable mentions to the twins, Miles and Stephen, who are also pretty fascinating!)

4. Choose an 80s song for your main character(s) theme song!

Not really theme songs but songs that suit the characters and their conflicts so shushh

Lexia: What a Feeling by Irene Cara

Miles: Rush Rush by Paula Abdul (it came out in 1991 but shut up shushh) or Take My Breath Away by Berlin

Stephen: Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey

5. The characters in your current WIP are in high school. Who gets voted “Most Popular/Most Likely to End up In Jail/Friendliest” etc?

Lexia: Most likely to travel the world

Miles: Most likely to befriend everyone at his first job

Stephen: Most likely to … (I have no idea so imma leave this blank lol)

6. Tell us a place in the world that you desperately want to visit, and why.

Idk man, I just want to visit every place Europe has to offer me. I love Europe, but I really want to go to England, as it’s called to my heart for so long now. I’ve never liked living in the US and probably never really will if we keep going in tHIS DIRECTION

7. What is the absolute trashiest TV show that you’ve ever watched?

I’ve loved Maury ever since I was a little girl *insert laughing-crying emoji* Do not idolize me for you do not know my flaws.

8. Hollywood comes knocking, wanting to put your life story on the big screen. Who’s cast to play you? What about your nemesis/love interest?

I honestly don’t know who would/should play me, as no one really reminds me of myself? As long as it’s a black actress and they get my deep voice right lolol I don’t care.

And as for love interest… Someone older than me, like Hugh Laurie or Tom Hiddleston … Or Cillian Murphy. Also any actor who has ever played the Doctor is fine it’s all fine lmaooo.

As for a villain, idk it has to be someone who’s really good at evil like Isabelle Fuhrman or Sean Harris (and idk I think I’d just be smiling at them the whole time)

9. Favorite flower(s) and why?

I love me some roses because I am a starry-eyed maiden at heart. It’s just the classic romantic flower, and I’m a sucker for traditions and cheesy romantic cliches like that.

Lotus flowers are breathtaking, also lilies and if I ever have a daughter her name is gonna lily (or ivy — see what I’m doing here? Lol)

10. Is there a genre that you’d love to break into in the future?

Spy fiction!!!! I have a spy WIP but I have no idea what I’m doing and I’ve seen all the mission impossible movies is thAT ENOUGH

TAGGING: @promptsforthestrugglingauthor @kagami-sage @reining-in-the-fire-writing @write-like-a-freak @brynwrites I can’t think of anymore people so lmao You dont have to participate if you don’t want to! No pressure!

And whoever wants to do this, I’m tagging you too!