"For as long as she could remember, Fangs had been calling her Kenzie or Kenz, alternating between those and Mack. They were nicknames she detested, names that were nearly as bad as Mackenzie. They didn't fit her — too flowery, too sweet. The kind of name that made people think of a bubblegum popping Northsider who shared vanilla milkshakes at Pop's. That wasn't Mack by a long shot. She wasn't the kind of girl who gasped in horror at the idea of fighting, she was the girl who was involved in the fight. Hell, nine times out of ten, she'd probably be the one starting the fight. Kenzie was a name she detested, a very name that she'd punch someone for calling her. But Fangs ... well, Fangs was an exception — the exception. He always had been, that's just the way the world worked."
hi hello omg babe happy birthday!!! i got it 12 am on the spot lol look at me go! anyways, i know we have been friends for almost a year now, but i honestly feel like it’s been so much longer. in just a short amount of time, you have been one of the few people that have been there for me no matter what and i cannot thank you enough for that! you are my sassy, adopted mother and i am so fortunate to have you in my life! thank you for being a wonderful friend and i hope you enjoy your gift! ( p.s. i lied about that gifset thingy i told you about the other day lol this was what i was working on instead )
pairing(s): very-minor-if-you-squint fangs fogarty x mack petite
warning(s): underage drinking and the serpent dance
word count: 862
author’s note: for the southside archive discord daily prompt ‘triumphs’
Misogyny dies hard are the only words that Toni will repeat as Mack gets ready in the small, somewhat dingy bathroom of the Whyte Wyrm.
And it’s true. Misogyny does die hard. Because while people like her father and Sweet Pea and all the other guys who become recruits for the Serpents can run the Gauntlet, girls are subjected to the Holy Grail of sexist trials. No matter how much Toni and Mack protest the Serpent Dance, no matter how much they pull the Serpent Legacy card as a reason for why their opinions should matter, nothing gets changed. Mack’s own father is FP’s right hand man and yet here she is, gripping the sink in the bathroom as she’s forced to accept her fate.
A logical argument to this is that Mack could just not join the gang but that would mean abandoning years of Petite family legacy and turning her back on her friends and family. And as much as Mack can’t stand the idea of what tonight entails, she knows that the end result is what she wants. She’s a Serpent by blood. She just needs to become one by completion of the trials.
Misogyny dies hard are the words that Mack spits at Fangs and Sweet Pea when they tease her for needing a shot of vodka an hour before her dance.
Most of the older Serpents don’t bat an eye at the younger members drinking before they’re twenty-one, but she knows that Hog Eye’s giving her a pointed look from down the bar. She ignores it, ignores everything, the sounds of the bar’s typical ruckus drowned out by her mind replaying her song of choice on a loop. The song, something sultry and bitter, had made her grin when she first selected it, but now with her final trial looming in the balance, it feels like a death march.
She grips the shot glass tightly in her hand, before leaning her head on Fangs’ shoulder. Mack doesn’t regularly show any sort of affection in public, but right now her stomach feels like it dropped to the floor and her heartbeat is thrumming loudly in her ears and fuck, she needs something to ground her. Her best friend slips an arm around her waist, tugs her into his side, and murmurs words of encouragement softly in her ear.
Misogyny dies hard are the words that Mack repeats to herself under her breath as FP Jones takes the stage and announces that they have an initiation tonight. There’s a grin on his face, clearly proud of his right hand’s daughter taking the steps to join the gang but Mack can only eye him bitterly as she moves through the crowd to take the stage.
Her song cues up and the light centered on the stage feels blinding and she swears she can taste bile rising in her mouth, but she refuses to show fear. A Serpent never shows cowardice, she reminds herself as she goes through the motions, circling the pole and letting her eyes flicker out to the crowd to focus on Fangs for the briefest moment. He sends her a corny smile and a cheesy thumbs up and it makes a smile want to crack across her face. She doesn’t, but somehow it makes the nerves pounding inside her to cease for a moment.
If she blacks out somewhere during the dance, just going through the motions like a mindless zombie, the crowd is none the wiser. The song ends and the bar claps for her thunderously as FP takes the stage again, setting a jacket — her jacket — with the infamous ouroboros patch sewn on the back atop her shoulders. He turns to the crowd, telling them to give it up for their newest Serpent.
She’s quick to flee the stage, her simple black dress that got balled up in her hands being slipped over her head the second she makes it down the stairs. Mack only has another second to slip her jacket on, the leather feeling like it truly belongs against her skin, before a blur of tanned skin and dark hair rockets towards her. Fangs wraps his arms tightly around her, her feet lifting off the ground as he spins her around in a circle. Mack squeals in shock, an out of character giggle escaping her lips as he does so.
Sweet Pea and Toni are making their way through the crowd through them, but all Mack can focus on is the way that Fangs gently sets her down on her feet and whispers in her ear.
“You did it, Kenzie, you did it.”
Normally, she’d roll her eyes at his use of her least favorite nickname that the name Mackenzie bears, but she can’t feel anything but pure joy. Because he’s right — she did do it. She conquered the dance.
Misogyny dies hard. But somehow, with her jacket on and her friends surrounding her, exclaiming bits of praise at her, she can’t help but feeling a small triumph at having finished the dance once and for all. She’s a Serpent now, officially, and despite everything else, that’s what matters to her.
plots in progress: mackenzie petite, featured in babylon
In retrospect, it was a bad idea. To be fair though, Mackenzie Petite was accustomed to bad ideas. It was part of the territory that came with being a Southside Serpent, especially one that was inducted into the gang at a young age. But then again, being apart of the Serpents wasn't something she necessarily had control over. Going through the trials and gaining her jacket was something that was expected of her, given her father's position as the King's right hand man. Becoming a member of this gang and pledging her life to the rag-tag family she gained through it was something that was written in the stars for Mack.
Becoming friends with benefits with her best friend, the same best friend that she had been crushing on for years, was something she had control over. It was something that she could have prevented. Sure, it was something that allowed her to be closer to him, give her a semblance of a relationship when she knew that was a road they'd never walk down together. It gave her a chance to be vulnerable with the one person she wasn't a stony fortress with. It gave her Fangs Fogarty in basically all the ways she wanted: the friendship basis of a relationship with the added intimacy. Everything but the label of dating. It was a shit idea and it was even shittier to think that this would ever be enough for her, that she wasn't just digging a bigger hole in her heart for him to fill. But it was fine. They were fine.
hi, so I don’t wanna intrude or anything but I just wanna let you know that I love mack and also I believe very very strongly that aspen would love mack also. okay, thank you good night ❤️
omfg this just made my heart go whoosh because i adore aspen a whole lot like jfc she’s a whole gem. but i 100% agree, i think that their personality’s would mesh well and they’d totally be a really rad duo and good friends. like mack’s not exactly a people person, but i could totally see her being wicked good friends with asp.
❖ a brotp no one expected❖ bc mack is lowkey rude to dakota in the beginning❖ but then mack realizes that she’s nice and super sweet❖ which results in mack being lowkey protective of her❖ hang out at dakota’s house a lot ❖ both lose their shit is someone says something rude about them❖ treat each other like sisters❖ dakota forced mack to go to church a few times❖ mack lowkey corrupts dakota❖ and is perfectly okay with it
do you have any ideas about how brooke, mack, or kristin would fit into season 3 so far?
i have so many ideas, rachel, it’s not even funny oh my god
so for brooke
❃ okay so i was gonna keep this a secret but i have an even bigger bombshell for brooke so i might as well reveal this tidbit❃ as of right now, brooke is slated to become a serpent❃ so basically she’s betty 2.0 in a serpent jacket but she actually like tries to prove herself to the serpents instead of just calling herself queen❃ helps find joaquin and is not pleased that he shanked archie (like he’s dumb but he’s basically her brother)❃ hot and heavy with sweet pea x3000❃ she plays gryphons and gargoyles (as of rn since they sorta trashed the serpents playing g&g, i can say that she’s the knight because they never said what sweet pea and toni were)❃ i’m doing a flashback chapter for the midnight club to give insight to brooke’s mom (which also leads into stuff about brooke’s mystery dad)
for mack
❃ she’s sort of still adjusting to losing her dad (bc tall boy gets gunned down by the cops)❃ getting more involved with fangs❃ doesn’t play g&g with the gang, thinks its dumb and basically tells fangs not to be a fucking idiot with it❃ actually ends up helping veronica and co break archie out of juvie❃ sees reggie’s black eye and is the only one out of the group who says a damn thing❃ tells reggie if he ever needs help she has a bat with his dad’s name on it❃ sorta becomes interim serpent leader when jughead ditches town with archie❃ finds out about fangs mom and honestly it breaks her fucking heart❃ is prepared to fight jughead, toni, and cheryl when fangs gets kicked out❃ not a fan of fangs “joining” the gargoyle gang but yknow
and for kaitin
❃ sort of having an easy time?❃ like reggie isn’t being a complete dumbass❃ she might help out at either pops or the speakeasy depending❃ helps break archie out of juvie and subsequently helps kevin smuggle archie around town in that one episode❃ reglin heats up af❃ is not here for mr. mantle and the gargoyle gang attacking her boy❃ also not here for kevin doing fizzle rocks in that one ep❃ is just a small artsy bean who just wants this town to calm tf down❃ also has a fucking stroke when her dad and ms mccoy announce their engagement or whatever the fuck they’re doing
