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fandomweekly2016-06-24 09:35 pm
alobear) wrote in fandomweekly2016-06-24 09:35 pm
Entry tags:
[018] Tough at the Top (Orange is the New Black)
Theme Prompt: Law and Order
Title: Tough at the Top
Fandom: Orange is the New Black
Rating/Warnings: Spoilers for the first few episodes of Season Four
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 517
Summary: Chapman reflects on her rise to power. (Set around episode four of season four.)
Chapman walked down the corridor, her new bodyguard at her back. She saw several of the other inmates watching her warily, and she couldn’t help feeling just a little smug. When she thought back to the scared, pathetic girl she had been when she first arrived at Litchfield Prison, she couldn’t even recognise that person as her. Now, she walked tall, and other people got out of her way.
She had felt so helpless when she got here, as if every aspect of her life had been stripped away, leaving her with no agency at all. But she had worked hard, learned the system, utilised her creativity, and now she had a thriving business. She felt proud of her accomplishments, and how the other women in her employ looked up to her and relied on her.
Deep down, Chapman knew the whole thing was built on a house of cards, though. One tiny slip and it would all coming crashing down around her ears. The power she felt was illusory, and she was still subject to the laws set down by those who ran the prison. If they ever found out what she was doing, it would have terrible consequences.
But the worst thing about prison was feeling as if she had no control over her own life, that she couldn’t do anything to make her situation better or more secure. The business, while technically putting her in greater danger of reprisals, gave order to her existence and provided a purpose that made her feel like a real human being again.
That was why Stella’s betrayal had hurt so much. It wasn’t just the loss of the money, though that was a serious concern, since the other women were very unhappy about losing their income. It was much more that Stella had shaken the foundations of the house of cards, and Chapman was still feeling the aftershocks. It had brought home to her just how fragile her new kingdom was. It had taught her that she really couldn’t trust anyone to look out for her but herself. It had made her harder, and colder, which, ultimately, would serve her well.
There would be hard times ahead, Chapman was sure. She didn’t know how she was going to keep her employees happy without the pay they were expecting. She didn’t know how long their system would continue to work, given that more and more people knew about it. She didn’t know if running the business would end up with her reaping rewards or screwing up her life even more than she had already. And it turned out that it was pretty lonely at the top; she might have won some respect and some fear, but she couldn’t say she really had any friends, and that was hard to get used to. The old Chapman would probably have curled up into a ball and just cried by now, and sometimes the new Chapman still felt that way.
For now, though, she was strong and she was protected. And, in the world of the prison, that counted for a lot.
Title: Tough at the Top
Fandom: Orange is the New Black
Rating/Warnings: Spoilers for the first few episodes of Season Four
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 517
Summary: Chapman reflects on her rise to power. (Set around episode four of season four.)
Chapman walked down the corridor, her new bodyguard at her back. She saw several of the other inmates watching her warily, and she couldn’t help feeling just a little smug. When she thought back to the scared, pathetic girl she had been when she first arrived at Litchfield Prison, she couldn’t even recognise that person as her. Now, she walked tall, and other people got out of her way.
She had felt so helpless when she got here, as if every aspect of her life had been stripped away, leaving her with no agency at all. But she had worked hard, learned the system, utilised her creativity, and now she had a thriving business. She felt proud of her accomplishments, and how the other women in her employ looked up to her and relied on her.
Deep down, Chapman knew the whole thing was built on a house of cards, though. One tiny slip and it would all coming crashing down around her ears. The power she felt was illusory, and she was still subject to the laws set down by those who ran the prison. If they ever found out what she was doing, it would have terrible consequences.
But the worst thing about prison was feeling as if she had no control over her own life, that she couldn’t do anything to make her situation better or more secure. The business, while technically putting her in greater danger of reprisals, gave order to her existence and provided a purpose that made her feel like a real human being again.
That was why Stella’s betrayal had hurt so much. It wasn’t just the loss of the money, though that was a serious concern, since the other women were very unhappy about losing their income. It was much more that Stella had shaken the foundations of the house of cards, and Chapman was still feeling the aftershocks. It had brought home to her just how fragile her new kingdom was. It had taught her that she really couldn’t trust anyone to look out for her but herself. It had made her harder, and colder, which, ultimately, would serve her well.
There would be hard times ahead, Chapman was sure. She didn’t know how she was going to keep her employees happy without the pay they were expecting. She didn’t know how long their system would continue to work, given that more and more people knew about it. She didn’t know if running the business would end up with her reaping rewards or screwing up her life even more than she had already. And it turned out that it was pretty lonely at the top; she might have won some respect and some fear, but she couldn’t say she really had any friends, and that was hard to get used to. The old Chapman would probably have curled up into a ball and just cried by now, and sometimes the new Chapman still felt that way.
For now, though, she was strong and she was protected. And, in the world of the prison, that counted for a lot.
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