I grab the remote, hit the channel, and land just in time for the “Previously on…” to begin.
The theme song swells and all the old emotions come back. We sing along with the song as it plays under the clips from season one. I used to sit right here in this spot last year and watch these episodes every Monday night. The only difference was, I did it alone.
Now my knees knock against Tess’s, and she’s wearing an old Demon Heart T-shirt of mine, and I’m getting selfies from friends on the road. A lot’s changed.
The “Previously on…” reaches the last clip. Smokey lies bleeding and dying in Heart’s arms in the alley at the end of last season’s finale. They stare into each other’s eyes, and we say the lines right along with them.
Smokey and Tess say in unison, “I’ll be with you…”
And I finish the line along with Heart. “’Til the dirt hits my chest.”
THANK YOU TO Aya Burgess, who was the first person I told the nugget of this story to while we waited in the dark for a concert to begin. After listening carefully to the whole idea, she said… “I don’t get it.” Thank you for always encouraging me, rooting for me, feeding me, and nudging me out of bed when the alarm rings even—especially—when you don’t get the idea. It must mean you believe in me.
To Jim Ehrich, my wonderful agent, and the essential Helen Burak, who both read the original screenplay version of Ship It and saw a story people might relate to. This wouldn’t have happened without you and everyone else at Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston.
To Brooke Bowman and the folks at Freeform Books for reading the script and seeing the bones of a book in it. To Kieran Viola, who helped this trepidatious screenwriter find my writing legs in the wide open sea of fiction and who never got frustrated when I forgot to describe what the room looked like.
To all the real-life friends, writing group members, internet friends, and fans, who read drafts of this story along the way. In particular, to Zach Gonzalez-Landis, who, despite never having read a word of fanfic in his life (until this book), has shown endless support for this project and read literally countless drafts. (I tried to count them; I couldn’t.) Also thanks to my other readers: Heather, Catherine, Karen, Jillian, Beth, Augusta, Molly, Lyn, Flourish, Meredith, Corrie, Shannon, Kelsey, Brian, Laura D., Brandi, Amanda G., Hope, Riley, and many others. To everyone who read a version of it along the way and told me they saw themselves in it, this is actually for you.
To the many associations I’m a part of, which make my writing experience, my internet experience, and my life experience immeasurably better, starting with FTH, where I can confess my fannish side and be understood in a way I can’t nearly anywhere else. Also to the AA Fems, SHOUTIES, Broads, Electrics, and Binders, where I can seek answers, intel, a script, a book, a name, a hand, a swift kick in the ass, or a ruthless online battalion. The internet wouldn’t be tolerable without you.
To my Riverdale family, who taught me more about how to write than anyone else.
To my fandom families and internet friendships. When understanding my sexuality as a teenager seemed impossible, there were others on the internet who were going through the same thing, writing stories about it, and publishing them, for free, online. Without fanfiction and fan communities, my middle school experience would definitely have been atrocious. Also high school. Possibly also college. Definitely that period after college before I knew what I was doing. And again later, and again after that, and again last week. When the real world feels like one giant demon portal, fandom friends are there to help, ready to lend me their battle-axes. Because family don’t end with flesh and blood.
To my family, especially my parents, who never made me feel weird about wanting to get into creative fields. Thank you for teaching me to be a reader, and for all the trips to Powell’s, and for getting us the internet in sixth grade, which quite literally changed my life.
To every actor, creator, show, movie, book, or band I ever loved to an extent I’m told is unusual, thank you for the inspiration. This isn’t actually about you, even if it seems like it’s about you.
And to Aya again, because I promised you I’d thank you first and last, and you deserve it. Thank you for being unreasonably supportive. Now that this book is done, let’s go watch some TV together.
BRITTA LUNDIN is a TV writer, novelist, and comic book author. She currently writes on the hit CW show Riverdale. A longtime fanfiction reader and writer, she can track her life milestones by what she was shipping at the time. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives with her wife and their lime tree in Los Angeles. Follow her on Twitter @brittashipsit.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-one
Chapter Forty-two
Chapter Forty-three
Chapter Forty-four
Chapter Forty-five
Chapter Forty-six
Chapter Forty-seven
Chapter Forty-eight
Chapter Forty-nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-one
Chapter Fifty-two
Chapter Fifty-three
Chapter Fifty-four
Chapter Fifty-five
Chapter Fifty-six
Chapter Fifty-seven
Chapter Fifty-eight
Chapter Fifty-nine
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Ship It Page 30