"We're all on the edge of madness; deep down, darkness is within all of us and we're on guard constantly trying to avoid losing control."
In which Mickey Lodge has a few skeletons in her closet.
{COMPLETED WITH ALL SEASONS + epilogue}
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
✿
"Wait, so someone just submitted this to you?"
Mickey leans over Tabitha's shoulder to get a better look at the article Jughead asked them to read. The two women are skimming the revolting review of Riverdale.
It's become a usual occurrence for Mickey to show up at Jughead and Tabitha's place as of late. Part of it was to to check up on Jughead, but now that his hearing is back miraculously, she just likes being around Tabitha and Jughead.
From the kitchen only a few feet away, Jughead says, "Yeah, to my Riverdale Choice email." He uses the dish towel to dry the dishes he's just washed. It's all be can manage to do as he tries to read Mickey and Tabitha's minds simultaneously. He's convinced everyone that his hearing is back just so he didn't have to tell them he could read their minds. Post-explosion, he can hear the words forming in a person's brain just before they speak them, but it's slightly disorienting.
Mickey stands straight, unable to read another word. "That's pretty bad. I mean, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but yikes!"
"I know," he leans against the sink. "That's why I published it anonymously, to protect our identity, which they asked me to."
Tabitha puts the paper down, turning to face her boyfriend. "I don't know, Jughead. What will the town think? What will they do?
The article wasn't just critiquing Riverdale. It was burning it to the ground. What the town presented as versus what it truly was. It excoriated Veronica and Reggie's Casino, calling it illegal, claiming it would be a gateway to crime, drug use and violence. It condemned Riverdale's culture of street gangs. The Serpents and Ghoulies forever teetering on the brink of war. It called out the town's long history of intolerance, ignorance, persecution and backwards thinking. It highlighted the overtaxed, ineffectual law enforcement, the utter lack of culture and the performing arts. But its most scathing critique took aim at Riverdale's struggling economy, soaring unemployment and quote, "Homeless encampments on every corner." Every word was a razor blade that cut to the very heart of Riverdale itself.
Concern dominates Mickey's features. "Jug, this is anonymous. Don't you think that means you're going to take the brunt of the blowback?"
"I'm expecting it," he admits to them.
✿
That very night, an emergency town hall meeting was scheduled so everyone could respond to the garbage review in person.
All the chattering at the meeting stops when Alice begins speaking. "All right. All right, I'm sure everyone has read the article written by our mysterious author. And, yes, there is a lot to dispute. But not the fact that we do have an illegal casino operating covertly and corruptly within our town limits." Alice is on a mission. She has tunnel-vision for the casino ran by Veronica.
