From The Curse of Camp Pickens, Chilling Adventures Presents... Camp Pickens (2023).

readalong riverdale playlist guide

songs have been added in no particular order. sometimes songs tie to broader visions of a musical episode, but some are just “they should have shoehorned this in somewhere in that classic riverdale way”. all songs are musical theater songs. yes i know they did superboy and the invisible girl but they did it wrong (sorry cami, you were great). this is an eternally updating playlist and guide. enjoy!

Corner of the Sky, from Pippin: Archie!!! This literally could happen anywhere at any point in time. What is this song if not Pippin going left Pippin going right. Put this wherever your heart desires. I want to come up with a Pippin musical episode plot because it’s so good. Jughead singing "Simple Joys" over a montage of Archie not dealing with his problems… I’m getting carried away.

Kind of Woman, from Pippin: Veronica would sing this in an entirely unselfaware way. I’m thinking early season two. Isn’t it a beautiful vision?

Superboy and the Invisible Girl, from Next to Normal: THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN A COOPERS SONG. I’m mentally rewriting the n2n episode with this being a Coopers song.

Could I Leave You?, from Follies: A timeskip Veronica and Hermione duet at their respective shitty husbands. It ends with Hermione resignedly going back to the minutiae of marriage and with Ronnie shooting Chad in the face. Don’t worry about how this messes with plot this isn’t about that.

Your Fault, from Into the Woods: Read this post and envision a beautiful ITW episode.

I’ve Never Been in Love Before, from Guys and Dolls: Okay honestly? Archie and Josie duet. Cuter than "Fight For Me", imo.

Mother Knows Best, from Tangled: Alice, duh. Season one or season seven.

Do You Hear the People Sing?, from Les Mis: Season six union stuff baybee! Hand in hand with "Bread and Roses". It also would be really funny to have KJ and Vanessa, who in my opinion suffer the most from iPhone Voice in the cast, to do such a grand musical-y song. It would not be very good but boy would it be entertaining.

Therapy, from Tick, Tick… Boom!: BUGHEAD DYSFUNCTION DUET YES PLEASE. Let’s say season four. "Exquisite Corpse" vibe, but suppress it all. Maybe the problem’s simply codependency!

Get This Right, from Frozen II: Okay hear me out this is one of the most stupidly romantic songs I have ever heard. An Archie song, obviously. Timeskip Varchie. Maybe he’s actually about to propose, maybe not, doesn’t matter. All that matters is how much I genuinely think KJ could have slayed this song.

Being Alive, from Company: Obviously go read Jughead’s Weird Fantasy right now if you haven’t already. But even in Riverdale canon I would want Jughead to sing this in timeskip. If we’re getting specific it feels very Tabby tucking him in after he gets too drunk at the key party. Sorry for nixing the gay subtext by putting it next to a Jabitha moment jail for a million years for me I know. It could also be after Archie calls him when he’s in NYC. There you go, gay people.

Something’s Coming, from West Side Story: Season one or seven Archie. Just feels very wholesome. I think it would be cute. Could be performed on stage if season one.

How Did We Come to This?, from The Wild Party (Lippa): A Veronica La Bonne Nuit performance that somehow becomes a group number (she’s the only one singing on stage though). Season three. No "Queenie Was A Blonde" tag. I could make an AMV to this song. I should not do that I already have three in the works. But I could.

Run Away with Me, from The Mad Ones: This is purely self-indulgent because I like on-the-road Jarchie and I have a soft spot for this mediocre musical for personal reasons. 

Suddenly Seymour, from Little Shop of Horrors: Choni! Choni forever and ever amen. Season seven, I think, when Cheryl finally accepts that she’s a lesbian and is facing homophobia from her family/society/etc. Cheryl is Audrey which is funny because “mama was poor” lol no she wasn’t. They should go all the way and get the rights to change the lyrics to Suddenly Toni. Neither Madelaine nor Vanessa has the right voice for this song even a little bit. I do not care. 

Partner in Crime, from Tuck Everlasting: Betty and Archie. In my wildest fantasies this is like a season four flashback to them as kids and we have kid Barchie sing this song but other than that I think this could be a number when they’re hooking up in timeskip. Even though I don’t approve of Barchie hooking up in timeskip because I hate straight people I do think they would slay this. KJ specifically I think would sound great on this, it’s not really a Lili song but oh well. Another version that would be incredibly funny but not as good would be having timeskip Veronica and Reggie sing it about, like, actual crime.

Totally Fucked, from Spring Awakening: Kevin-centric group number in the style of "In" or "Beautiful". Could be anywhere from seasons two to four. Maybe we include the “did you write this?” thing with Betty and Jughead as Melchior. They did some expose for some paper. You know how it is. I wish the Riverdale characters were allowed to say fuck so bad.

Moving Too Fast, from The Last Five Years: Timeskip Jughead. It almost fits but doesn’t in a way that’s oh-so-Riverdale.

The I Love You Song, from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee: Sad. Shared between Betty, Veronica, and Cheryl, but Veronica-centric (could be an unhinged La Bonne Nuit performance from her with cutaways to the other two, actually). Whenever the most amount of parents in this group are in jail. There’s at least one meaningful shot of Jughead reacting.

I’m Breaking Down, from Falsettos: Okay this one is sort of cheating because I don’t necessarily want to fit it into the actual canon of Riverdale I just think if Archie had come out in high school Veronica would have pulled a "The Ladies Who Lunch" and done this at La Bonne Nuit. I think Cami would body that.

What Is This Feeling?, from Wicked: Hear me out. Bret/Jughead duet.

For Good, from Wicked: Betty and Veronica, season seven. Or quad number in late s4/early s5 before the timeskip. I think Lili would sound gorgeous on this, especially the bridge.

Two-Player Game, from Be More Chill: Look Joe Iconis wrote music that was used in Archie: The Musical let me have this okay. Season one Jarchie. Jughead as Michael obviously even though he’s nothing like Michael and Archie is nothing like Jeremy. I just want to make Cole Sprouse say “favowite”.

Mother’s Gonna Make Things Fine, from A New Brain: I have a whole beautiful vision for an A New Brain musical episode that takes place in season four. It’s too long to get into right now but just know it’s there and it’s gorgeous and I’m going to fully flesh it out soon. Once again this is obviously an Alice song, except instead of well-meaning Jewish mom it’s overbearing evil (albeit MILFy) WASP. She’s fretting over Betty because Betty’s fretting about college or Jughead or something who cares. I just need Mädchen to do this.

Change, from A New Brain: This would happen about three quarters of the way through the episode. In classic Riverdale fashion they’d get a little insensitive with it and this would be a Ronnie La Bonne Nuit performance. Change the government kill the mayor! Say that! Even if the mayor is your parent! Especially if the mayor is your parent!

Brain Dead, from A New Brain: This is my favorite part of my A New Brain musical episode. It’s once again a Bughead repression duet. Just imagine the lavender marriage dream sequence anger tango they would do. I also think Cole Sprouse wouldn’t sound too horrible on this song. High praise. No lyric changes Jughead is saying “as the MD lifts me in his cruisy chiseled arms”. I’m getting angry about the fact that I will never get to see this on my screen I’m going to do some breathing exercises to calm down.

Take Me or Leave Me, from RENT: We’re gonna split this up among couples in classic Riverdale fashion. Timeskip, our Maureens are Kevin and Veronica, and our Joannes are Fangs and Archie. The Joannes don’t really work so maybe we’ll pull another classic Riverdale and cut their verses. Unfortunately the best line of the song (“Women, what is it about them? Can’t live with them or without them!”) has to be cut. I wish Choni could also sing this but alas it can’t work in this. Mostly this is an excuse to give Casey Cott more stuff to sing and I think it would be hilarious if he sung this.

Tango: Maureen, from RENT: Honestly, Riverdale both could and would do a really messy RENT episode. I should ruminate further on that. Anyway. I don’t actually know where or how this could work but I want it to be a weirdly sexually charged Vughead duet. But that makes Betty or Archie Maureen, and they are not Maureen… I don’t know. This one’s just in here because I like imagining Cole Sprouse dancing, and because I think Jughead is Jewish and it would be really funny to hear him say “Riverdale Jewish Community Center”. Let’s go with timeskip. She cheated! She cheated! Betty cheated! Fucking cheated! Oh, shit, could this be a Jarchie song in timeskip when Betty and Archie are hooking up? I think it could! Wow. Good work gang.

Razzle Dazzle, from Chicago: I’m also creating a beautiful Chicago musical episode that I don’t have time to detail right now but trust me it’s awesome. It’s in season four, Hermosa is relevant to it. Anyway this is another Kevin-centric group number where everyone is lying to different people about different things. Crucially, Cole Sprouse says the line “they’ll never know you’re just a bagel”.

I Can’t Do It Alone, from Chicago: Veronica’s asking someone to help her scheme!

Mister Cellophane, from Chicago: GAY KEVIN. NEED I SAY MORE.

My Own Best Friend, from Chicago: Beronica duet. Lives would be changed. They’re sort of fighting at this point in the episode so there would be an underlying current of potential hatefucking. But that’s sort of always the case with this song tbh. Also this isn’t on this playlist but imagine Reggie singing "Roxie". So bad. So good.

American Idiot, by Green Day/from American Idiot: Songs from jukebox musicals count too, right? Archie-led group number obviously. Let’s go with season six, but it could be season one or five, too. Maybe he is the faggot America. Jughead says the line “now everybody do the propaganda”. There’s a coordinated dance thing a la "Random Number Generation".

A Cockeyed Optimist, from South Pacific: Archie, duh. Season one, six, or seven. Probably sung directly to a Lodge.

Watch What Happens, from Newsies: Betty, season four. She's doing a piece on the community center that Archie and Mad Dog co-run. I think Lili would slay this honestly. I debated adding the reprise largely so that I could have Cole sing the snake line and to have an iconic "the poor guy's head is spinning" thing side note how can I make Davey and Jack about Jughead and Archie someone needs to shoot me. Anyway we'd cut the stuff about Katherine being into Jack in this song obviously because Betty is unhappily hetero with Jughead. Hashtag women in journalism.

Matchmaker, from Fiddler on the Roof: 50sdale girls. Really strong fun gay visuals exist in my brain for this one.

Anything You Can Do, from Annie Get Your Gun: Vughead. Neither can I!

Let Me Entertain You, from Gypsy: Ronnie duh. Season three-ish La Bonne Nuit Era. Or Polly Amorous.

I Cain't Say No, from Oklahoma!: 50sdale Betty sexual awakening era. I can SEE a beautiful beautiful dream sequence vision where she dances around flirting with Archie and Jughead and Reggie and Veronica can't you.

Tribulation, from Schmigadoon!: Yes this is a TV show not a staged live musical who cares. I don't like Music Man I'm not putting "Ya Got Trouble" on here. Alice gets a patter I don't think Mädchen would be particularly good at it but it would be extremely fun. Season seven most likely, but let's be real it could come at any point in the show.

Naughty Baby, from Crazy for You: You think I'm about to say Veronica or perhaps Cheryl don't you. WRONG Dark Betty. Oh it would be so cringe so painful so bad so terrible. It must happen. I don't know when in the show it happens it could literally be any time in s1-6.

With One Look, from Sunset Boulevard: Ronnie... I'm thinking s5 Riverbucks era.

that's all i have for now but there's more to come :]

hi my love!!!! 💞💕💗 so I'm rewatching riverdale and wanted to ask you something if you don't mind?? you know I ship bhva and barchie but I just wanted to hear why you love bughead over barchie? I've heard you talk about it before and sorry if you're tired of answering this question lol also is there anything that would've made you ship barchie, like if they write them differently or anything?? ily 😘😘

Hi! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ No, it's okay. To be honest, so much of the reason why I prefer Bughead is that I'm more inclined to prefer that type of couple. Riverdale barely allowed Betty and Jughead to have a friendship pre-Bughead, but something I liked is that they weren't necessarily spending time together and bonding with the idea of falling in love. There was no expectation that it was going to turn into the super serious relationship it was. But, Betty and Jughead bonded over investigating and seeing each other through family problems and came to realize that they were much more similar and compatible than they'd thought. They had this effortless ease and were very passionate about each other. Neither had to change or downplay part of who they were just to feel loved by the other. Betty and Jughead loved all of each other, including each other's flaws. They found a very sweet home and stability within each other. And on top of that, they seemed to have a lot of passion and excitement within the relationship. Rather than adhering to the idea of what couples are supposed to do, they had their own stuff. They discussed investigations in bed and considered searching for clues in the woods a date night. Bughead's relationship was just.. so distinctly them. They shared every aspect of their lives with each other and FELT like best friends in love. It felt like endgame, honestly. Riverdale's writing was always questionable, but in this case their romantic relationship was very well defined. They'd created a couple so ridiculously compatible that only poorly executed plot devices and attempts to bring back years old baggage successfully tore them apart "for good". But even during the time jump years, the handful of times Betty and Jughead were allowed to talk or exist in the same story line and have real conversations, that connection always shone through. It was difficult (at least for me) to see how they couldn't be together when the characters almost demanded they be paired up.

When it comes to Betty's relationship with Archie, it started off as a so-so thing with the potential to turn into something really sweet. At least in season 1. Betty became a much stronger, happier, more confident version of herself once she got over Archie and found love with someone who actually understood her. Once Riverdale finally got around to exploring a romance between Betty and Archie, it came across to me that Betty was a shell of her former self, almost acting out of self hatred, and felt so down on herself that she kept forcing herself to become the ideal partner for Archie while he was allowed to get everything he ever wanted without any attempts to be a better or particularly decent partner to Betty. There's a version of Riverdale where Betty and Archie ending up together could have been a satisfying, full circle ending. The problem is, the concept was abandoned so early on that the most memorable, strongest part of the series seemed dedicated to setting up something much different. Betty no longer felt like the woman who was supposed to end up with Archie. I never bought that Betty felt nearly as loved and as seen as she did with Jughead. On Archie's end, it never felt as though he was particularly passionate about Betty either and just kind of settling for whoever might give him a family.

For me to ship this couple, Archie would have had to be a different type of character. I found myself disliking adult Archie more often than not and felt as though a sexist narrative surrounded the entire BA relationship. Not to mention the way the season 4 cheating played out and Betty and Archie's involvement post-high school. Other shows weren't afraid to explore love triangles between best friends being fucking damaging. On shows like Dawson's Creek and One Tree Hill, it took years for those wounds to heal. Even after they did, the trust issues remained and it took actual effort for things to be even remotely "fine" afterwards. On Riverdale, Jughead and Veronica were hurt by Betty and Archie but weren't allowed to voice their pain TO BETTY AND ARCHIE. So it's like this wasted potential not only for drama, but for the catharsis factor of Veronica and Jughead being allowed to speak their piece. Betty seemed to carry guilt over what happened and struggled for years with self worth as a result. Archie? He just kind of got the red carpet rolled out for him when he returned from the army and never had to deal with any sort of backlash or anything that would complicate things for his life. And that's the kind of character I could never ship with Betty. Bad writing aside, Archie is the kind of person who could be living with and planning a future with Veronica in one episode and in bed with Betty, her best friend and the person he cheated with in high school, in the very next episode.

every mystery in connecticut

by stonerbughead

a potentially ongoing series of vignettes about Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper’s journey as an undergrad couple at Yale University operating a mystery-solving business on the side

a down at the drive-in coda for Bughead Appreciation Week 2024, Day 1, Tropes - Investigative Duo

Words: 1841, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 2 of down at the drive-in

Fandoms: Riverdale (TV 2017)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Betty Cooper, Jughead Jones, Nancy Woods, Chuck Clayton

Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones

Additional Tags: Investigative Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Investigative Duo, Established Relationship, Canon adjacent setting, Alternate Universe - College/University, tags to be potentially added as we go!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53796445

Writer’s Month Prompts (written for @writersmonth )

Day 23 - Lodge (Bughead)

(Note: This story is a (surprise) follow up to Day 19′s story - Bubbles and Single Parent(s). Enjoy.)

“Here you are, Juggie.” Betty joined Jughead on the balcony porch. He appeared deep in thought as he gazed out into the tamed wilderness behind the lodge. She couldn’t help but wonder if the notebook abandoned on the chair had anything to do with his contemplative expression.

Despite the crisp autumnal chill, he looked cozy with a plaid blanket wrapped around his shoulders and a mug of steaming coffee cupped in his hands. Back home, as the weather had cooled, he’d taken to wearing a knitted crown beanie. Apparently, he used to wear the hat all the time before they had met. She found the addition charming.

“Good morning.” Jughead kissed her lightly on lips before turning his attention back to the view. Through a gap in the towering pines, they spied a glimpse of the lake. The sun glinted like diamonds off the gently lapping waves. “How’d you sleep?”

“Gloriously.” Betty carefully balanced her coffee mug along the railing, then reached up, stretching long and lean. The stretch raised the hem of the oversized sweatshirt she’d stolen from Jughead ages ago, revealing a strip of bare skin. His mug-warmed fingers traced chastely along her lower back. Still, she squirmed as the light touch tickled.

“Don’t stop,” she pleaded as his touch drifted away and the sweatshirt once again covered her skin.

A smirk tugged at his lips as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Later, when the kids aren’t twenty feet away in the living room.”

“Tease.” She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. Unfortunately, he was right. Jellybean was partaking in her tradition of Saturday morning cartoons. The twins were excited to join in this treat. Betty generally tried to limit the about of screen time the twins had access to, but she couldn’t deny it was nice being able to have a proper lie in while Jellybean and the twins amused themselves for a bit.

Jughead hummed a noncommittal response. “I still can’t believe Veronica just let us borrow this place for the week. It’s like a mansion plopped in the middle of the backwoods. Still feels like it must be a dream or something.”

“As I said last night, welcome to Lodge Lodge. Veronica is generous with her friends. She's offered to let me come up here before, but I've never taken her up on it before now.” Betty sipped her coffee, trying to remember the last time she was here. It definitely wasn't this peaceful. “V used to bring the whole gang up here all the time during high school. We’d have these unsupervised parties and do a bunch of stupid stuff. Nothing too dangerous, I suppose, but you wouldn’t believe the number of headaches and fights which followed us back home after a weekend away.”

Shaking her head, Betty struggled to push aside the melancholy she associated with growing up too fast, which surfaced anytime she reflected too long on her carefree past. “This is the first time I’ve been back here since I got custody of the twins. Suddenly getting drunk and fighting about who stole whose boyfriend felt lest important, you know…”

“Betts, stop.” He press a kiss to the crown of her head. “It’s okay to mourn what you loss. It’s also okay to want things for yourself.”

“I know, I know.” She really did, but sometimes it felt selfish. Selfish to still want that life when she wouldn’t trade being ‘mom’ to the twins for the world. “Do you ever miss what your life could have been?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean I’ve been doing this since I was sixteen, so I didn’t exactly have a normal high school experience. Even if I wasn’t taking care of Jelly, I wasn’t exactly Mr. Popular. No one was going to invite me to the high school dance or weekend parties in the woods.”

Despite herself, Betty laughed. “Not to be all gender norms and stuff, but I think guys are still more likely to ask the girls to the dance.”

“Betts,” he voice dropped to that deep rumble that made her shiver. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush against his body. She could feel the thrum of his heartbeat. “You’re the first girl I ever wanted to invite to a dance and I didn’t meet you until recently. So, no, even if I had the opportunity, I wouldn’t have invited another girl to the dance.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you had….” Betty never knew how to respond when he said things like that. He made her feel special, and cherished, and loved by him, but it was also so far from her experiences.

Jughead rested his cheek on top of her head. “I know. Don’t worry about it. I don’t regret any of my decisions. I wouldn’t exchange taking care of Jelly for the world of normal opportunities. Besides, it led me to you. I can’t think of anything better.”

She melted into his embrace. They’d been dating for six months—almost as long as they’d known each other and their lives had almost seamlessly melded together. Suddenly, there was another person in their lives they could depend on. Betty lost track of the times he volunteered to watch the twins while she went to a doctor’s appointment or stayed late for a study session. Likewise, she returned the favor, letting Jellybean stay with her when Jug picked up an extra shift or visited his dad in prison. While they scheduled semi-regular date nights, more often than not, their mutual free evenings were spent together at his or her apartment with all the kids and doing normal family things. Making supper, doing homework, watching moves—that sort of thing.

The twins had quickly taken to Jughead. Following Betty’s example, they called him Juggie. When he was there at bedtime, they begged him to be part of their bedtime routine—reading stories and tucking them in—and were disappointed when he wasn’t there in the morning. Last spring, not long after they started dating, Juni’s pre-school class was having a ‘Daddy-Daughter’ event. Jug hadn’t even blinked when Juni had asked him to come.

On the other hand, Betty wasn’t certain what Jellybean thought of her. While she got along great with the twins—patiently playing with them, reading to them, teaching them new things— Jelly was wary around Betty. Jug’s sister was unfailingly polite and whenever Betty babysat her, the girl seemed to enjoy herself. But, when Jug was around, Jellybean would never talk directly to Betty. She’d always ask Jug first if she wanted something from Betty. He refused to play go-between so Jelly would need to decide between not getting what she wanted or talking to Betty.

“Whatchya thinking about?” Jug broke into her silent reverie.

“Us. Our families. Jelly.” She threaded her fingers between his.

Jughead tensed. She could feel the tension travel through his jaw and down into his arms. “I’m sorry about how she acts. I don’t know what’s gotten into her…”

“It’s fine. I mean, it’s not fine-fine. But, it’s normal. I’m the new woman in your life. She’s protective of her big brother who’s always so protective of her.” Betty worried at her lower lip for a moment as she decided whether or not to broach the subject. “Juggie, I think she might be worried that if we…well, you know, move forward with our relationship. Get more serious…”

“Betts, I am absolutely serious about you.”

“And I’m serious about you too…” She swatted at his arm. “Now, stop distracting me.”

“Yes ma’am.” He wrapped her arms around her waist and picked her up. She squealed, but didn’t fight as he carried her over to one of the deck chairs and settled her on his lap. “Go on.”

She cuddled up against him and teased at the bit of hair which snuck out from under his beanie. “I was saying, I think Jelly might be afraid that if you get serious about me, you’ll leave her too. Like your mom and dad. So, she’s making certain you know she needs you.”

Jug swore under his breath. “I thought… I was trying…I wanted her to never feel that way. I was hoping she knew that no matter what happens in our lives, I’ll always be there for her.”

“Shh, it’ll be okay Juggie.” Betty pressed her forehead against his. “Deep down she knows. She’s been your world for so long now that she’s needing to learn how to share you. Remember, while you’ve always been there for her, when big life things happen, your parents weren’t. As much as that hurts you, it also hurt her. She needs time to get used to me and to see that things won’t change between you and her.”

“I’ve got a smart girlfriend.” Jug lifted his face and nibbled at her jawline.

Betty laughed as she stretched her neck to give him better access. “Why thank you. And, just so you know, I have an absolutely amazing and caring boyfriend.”

“Do you now?” he mumbled around the kisses he lavished down her neck. Tugging lightly at the neckline of the sweatshirt, he revealed the edge of her collarbone. He pressed a kissed to the spot, sucking slightly in order to leave his mark on her skin.

Everything came to a sudden and hasty stop as the balcony door opened.

“Jug?” Jellybean called.

Betty was thankful that her back was to the door. Between that and her hair, the kids wouldn’t have been able to see what the adults were getting up to. Suddenly, Betty felt a bit like a teenager again, getting caught in a compromising position. She adjusted the neckline of the sweatshirt so everything was covered.

“Breathe,” Jug whispered as he brushed her hair behind her ear. His lingering caress was light and intimate.

Glancing around his girlfriend, Jug waved his sister over. “All done with your cartons?”

“Yeah.” She stayed beside the door, swinging it back and forth. “Um, I’m hungry.”

“Okay, I’ll get you some cereal.” Jughead started to scoot to the edge of the chair. Betty slipped off his lap and started to gather their abandoned coffee mugs.

“Actually, I was wondering,”—Jellybean studied her fingers and picked at a hangnail—“Betty, will you make pancakes?”

“Of course,” Betty couldn’t stop the thousand watt smile breaking out across her face. “I’d love to. Would you like to help?”

Jelly nodded.

“All right, why don’t you head in and wash your hands. I’ll join you in the kitchen in a moment.”

Jughead squeezed her hand, silently sharing the joy of the moment.

“Okay.” Jellybean dashed inside to follow Betty’s instructions.

Following Jelly inside, Jughead and Betty paused in the living room to check on the twins. Though no one was paying attention to the television, the cartoon continued to play. DJ colored while Juni built with Duplos.

“Go on.” Jug turned off the tv. “I’ll keep an eye on the twins.”

“Can you read us a story?” Juni asked. She looked up at him with large hopeful eyes.

“Of course.” Jug settled on the couch and the twins were soon cuddled against his sides, each with a stack of books.

I love you, Betty mouthed silently as Jug settled in the center of the couch. The twins cuddled up at his sides, each with a stack of books.

Jug winked, and returned the sentiments in an equally silent, I love you.

Knowing her kids were in good hands, Betty proceeded to the kitchen on the ground floor. Jellybean had already started to lay out mixing bowls, measuring cups, and a pancake flipper.

“Thanks, that’s very helpful.” Betty set the coffee mugs in the sink as she washed her hands.

Jelly's cheeks colored at the praise. She hesitated a moment before asking shyly, “Can we have blueberry pancakes?”

Neither the twins nor Jughead were fond of blueberry pancakes, so Betty didn’t make them often.

“Certainly. And, I’ll let you in on a secret,” Betty whispered conspiratorially, “they’re my favorite too,”

In Jellybean’s answering grin, Betty saw a trace of Jughead’s mischievous glint. She also noted the acknowledgment in Jelly’s eyes that the girl recognized Betty as ally and an adult she could trust.

Betty’s heart soared. She couldn’t help but think that they were one step closer to becoming a family for keeps.

Okay, I can't write fanfiction. And I don't even have a hundredth of the fantasy that our talented writers in the fandom bestow upon us. But I have an idea. Speculation. Fantasy. It could actually be a very nice meaningful and nostalgic twist in the plot that would also be a reference to Bughead's first kiss.

In the first season, Betty was looking for Polly. And when she and Jughead kissed, she suddenly remembered about the car that Jason had hidden in the woods. The car that was the key to finding Polly.

Betty finds Polly in the car at the end of s5. And if we are correct in our assumptions about returning to 517, then Betty has a chance to save Polly. We know that the actress returned to filming in 621 and episode 620 is called Back to Rivervale. 620 can pretty much be directly related to 605. Which means we might as well get our Bughead-kiss-and-save-the-universe.

Betty and Jughead can kiss without remembering the past without being in a romantic relationship. They may even already be in the past events of episode 517. But this kiss could be the one that awakens their memories, opens the door to a point of return, when they have a chance to fix the universes. And so, Bughead kisses and then suddenly Betty deviates and says "The car!" Jughead doesn't understand what's going on, and Betty explains to him that Polly is in the car at junkyard and they might still be able to save her.

I don't know if this can be called theory or speculation. But it could be very beautiful and certainly too cool for these writers. But maybe someone wants to make a fanfic out of this?

Bughead + 7, 8, 17?

7. Who wraps the presents?

Betty wraps the presents. With the perfect amount of tape to wrapping paper ratio. Jug then takes the decorative box and puts the most ostentatious bow possible on the top that nearly overwhelms the gift box itself. Betty sighs but after all these years, she wouldn't want it any other way.

8. Who hits up Black Friday sales?

Jug talks about how the whole concept is just a disguise, how there really are no deals and Betty shouldn't fall for this corporate fabrication.

He's the first one in line at the electronic store to buy the latest game console.

She teases him endlessly for it.

17. Who makes homemade gifts?

They both do. Because as much as Betty's childhood seemed like the ideal version of homemade, it was anything but. And in Jug's life, there's a very short path before what defined his childhood diverges into a very dark wood. They both share in creating their own version of homemade, of stringing together, gluing, and weaving their version of home(made) under the roof they share together. The best homemade gifts though, in the end, are the ones made by their children given to them not even during the holiday season, but all throughout the year.

Send in a Winter OTP Ask

Writing Patterns

I was tagged by @geekymoviemom - thank you!

Rules: list the first line of your last 10 posted fics and see if there’s a pattern.

(1) A Taste of Home Bughead Coffee Shop AU

“Wait, what?” Betty snapped her attention to the conversation happening in front of her. “You’re not going to be here this summer?”

(2) We're Worth It Sherlolly, Canon Divergent, Therapy Fic (Part of a series)

Sherlock watched Molly apprehensively as she got ready for bed. Mary had been on edge during Rosie’s birthday party and Molly hadn’t been much better. He felt like all of them were walking on eggshells, simply waiting for the other shoe to drop. But on what exactly, he couldn’t say.

(3) I can try Everlark, "This would have happened anyway" 2022 Challenge

Katniss sighed as she looked out the window. She closed her eyes and wished to be in the woods or the meadow, reading or working on a new hunting trap. NOT stuck in history class being reminded for the millionth time how fortunate they were to be living in a time after The Hunger Games.

(4) The Camping Set Up, Everlark 4th of July, AU

“I can’t believe you’re ditching me!” Katniss snapped as she slammed the car door shut. “You suck!” she spat through the open window.

(5) Temperamental Sherlollicon 2021 Flash Fic: John and Lestrade, Fairground, ABO, Temperamental Personalities

Lestrade had gotten used to his position in life. He had long come to terms with the fact that he would never make an Omega his. In fact, in his line of work he kind of enjoyed being a beta, especially when calls were made on Alphas and he got to make an arrest…it was the most satisfying thing, slapping the cuffs an angry Alpha.

(6) A Holiday Sherlock and Molly are finally on their honeymoon. Just a fluffy little follow up to Here Be Dragons.

Sherlock rolled over and smiled at his sleeping wife. Wife. I like how that sounds. He ran his hand over her stomach and lifted the sheet so he could press several kisses there.

(7) This is real...? Married Everlark, The sequel to The P.A.N.E.M. Initiative.

Katniss pulled the comforter tighter around herself in a futile attempt to hold on to the last bit of sleep. The sound of the shower running reached her ears and she slid a hand to Peeta’s side of the bed, still warm – he had just gotten up. Rubbing her face, she quickly slipped out of bed and tipped toed to the bathroom.

(8) "I think we understand each other better now." Sherlock is engaged to Molly Hooper and Mycroft is in love with Molly Hooper. Neither wants to talk about it but now they have to work it out.

Sherlock sat with his elbows on the table and hands steepled against his chin, staring at Mycroft. Mycroft stared right back. 

(9) Saving Her Time Mina has a date and is unable to get out of the house before introducing him to her father and uncle.

“Hey Uncle Myke!” Mina smiled as she skipped down the stairs and into the living room. “I didn’t know you were coming over today.”

(10) Isn't this just being a father? Sherlock and Mina spend the afternoon together (set a couple of weeks after Isn't She Beautiful)

“Sherlock?” He could hear the worry in Molly’s voice.

“Mhm?” he hummed from under the bedsheets.

From Archie by Bob Montana, newspaper strip from June 10, 1968.

out of the woods update

I have FINALLY updated my ongoing bughead fanfic, Out of the woods, which is inspired heavily by Bridgerton season 2.  Read the 13th chapter on my AO3 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/39215133

“I’m not totally mad at you. I’m just sad. You’re all locked up in that little world of yours, and when I try knocking on the door, you just sort of look up for a second and go right back inside.”

- Norwegian wood

“Writers in the Woods”

Now live on Ao3

This fic can be read as a standalone one-shot or as part of my Season 5 AU series.

A documentary on the Trash Bag Killer has just been released. Despite Jughead’s best efforts, now that the documentary is live, he can no longer use his online popularity to completely distract the public from his wife’s involvement in TBK’s downfall.

Betty is closing in on herself as the media forces her to relive her trauma. The nightmares are coming back, she’s jumping when their kids move too quickly, and last week Jughead found her hiding in the bathroom when the neighbours started chainsawing an old oak tree.

Jughead has to do something.

And then Tabitha tells him an old Urban Legend about humanoid moths that prey on the people who go into the forest at night…

And Jughead decides its time to make a documentary of his own.

Join Jughead, Archie, Kevin and friends on their journey to find the Mothman of Riverdale… with a twist.

Hi Ashton! I saw in your tags that Barchie is a notp for you and would love to hear why. I shipped Bughead but gave up in the show before Barchie ever got together :)

Oh god. Where to begin? I acknowledge that based on the pilot and the first couple of episodes of season 1, the idea of Betty and Archie together was fine. It wasn't particularly interesting, but at first they seemed to have a solid friendship that could have realistically developed into more if Archie only reciprocated Betty's feelings. Unfortunately, Riverdale basically handled every fucking aspect of their relationship poorly. For one thing, the friendship between Betty and Archie was rarely ever on display unless they were interacting during group scenes or their possible romance was being teased to create drama for the Bughead and Varchie pairings. So in spite of the fact nothing concrete happened between Betty and Archie until the end of season 4, there was nothing to lean on once the writers finally started to head in the BA direction. While the lack of on screen friendship should be blamed on both, Archie in particular showed little interest in Betty's life.

This relationship destroys Betty. The crux of Betty's feelings for Archie, as inconsistent as they are, is that Betty views Archie as this beacon of light that can never be extinguished due to him being pure of heart or some other thing that I disagree with. She romanticizes the idea of how things were before life got so complicated. In her eyes, these childhood memories that we never saw were untainted and good. As a child, Betty always imagined she'd end up with Archie, marrying him at eighteen years old. Teen Betty held on to this dream for a very long time, but was forced to face the truth that Archie didn't feel the same way. If I'm being generous, I'd say Archie considered Betty as a backup plan, but not much more beyond that. But by the end of season 1, Betty realized she wanted so much more for her life than being a power couple with Archie. Betty found real love with Jughead, someone who saw all of her, embracing both the lightness and darkness. Betty discovered a love for investigating mysteries and going down the rabbit hole in the name of justice. Betty likes making murder boards and searching the woods in the middle of the night. Part of the reason for this is that Betty is inherently attracted to darker aspects of life. Betty struggles a lot to accept these sides of herself as her awful, abusive family tells her over and over that she's the problem and the one bringing misery to everyone's lives as she strives to help and improve things for her family. Based on the way she was written during seasons 1-4 prior to the cheating, it came across like Betty was beginning to accept these sides of herself, proud of the person she was with Jughead by her side.

But the moment things with Jughead seemed as though they were uncertain, as flimsy as the issue was (Jughead not doing his homework), Betty turned to Archie to escape from the reality of life. That basically sums up what Archie is to Betty during the adult years as well. When Betty finally confesses to Jughead what happened with Archie, it breaks them. The communication seems to die then and there with both remaining together passively until Betty leaves for college. We later see that Betty and Jughead reconnected to some degree during their freshmen year of college, talking and texting while in relationships with others, essentially engaging in an emotional affair. The timeline from there is confusing because the show could never decide when exactly Jughead left Betty the voicemail, but it seems clear that Betty's life kind of fell apart after that? She ends up having an affair with a married man (who might have turned out to be a serial killer? Seasons 5-7 are kind of a blur for me) and is eventually held captive by the Trash Bag Killer. From there, we see that Betty has trauma over this. She refuses to deal or properly feel her emotions. Jughead is off limits. They still aren't talking and the divide between them has only grown bigger after the voicemail where Betty was led to believe Jughead hated her and thought she was a terrible person, not realizing he'd spiraled into alcoholism and drug use. Archie could never be alone and teenage Betty wanted to fuck Archie once upon a time, so why not? So they enter a friends with benefits relationship that ends up being much more about the benefits and filling a void than it is being actual friends to one another. Betty doesn't want Archie to be this person for her. He makes her feel good and comforted in the moment, but ultimately she's aware the two of them don't work. Not only that, but Archie verbalizes to his army friend that he does NOT want to be there emotionally for Betty. Much like in season 2 after their kiss, Archie went back to Veronica because that's where his heart led him.

Betty continues to emotionally spiral and doesn't seem to improve much over the course of the season. Archie doesn't seem to notice or care. Jughead does. Their interaction is limited, but there's a semblance of a rebuilding phase where the two renew their friendship and go back to investigating together. While Betty's feelings for Jughead are kept ambiguous because again, her emotions are being kept close to her chest and there's a lot she isn't saying or dealing with. Jughead, on the other hand, makes it clear multiple times throughout the season that he hasn't moved past his breakup with Betty and had already forgiven Betty by the time he returned to Riverdale even if he wasn't saying it. Then, completely out of nowhere, Jughead is singing about how he's "perfect" for Tabitha, a song that Bughead fans have frequently said fits Bughead far better. Due to Veronica breaking things off with Archie because she wanted to return to New York, something also totally random that never came to pass, a day drinking Archie decided that he wanted to sleep with his old pal Betty again so they basically get back together at the end of season 5 with zero build up. We don't know why Betty defaults back to Archie. Cheryl did some sort of spell that blatantly had an effect on the plot, though that's never addressed. Then, the characters are in Rivervale, and Betty murders Archie twice and shares a big moment with Jughead where they almost fuck to save the world. Back in regular Riverdale once the universes have been separated, Betty and Archie enter an official relationship. Everything is always about Archie. If there's ever any sort of conflict, Betty will be the one to sacrifice and to change her stance to make things easier for Archie. There's at least one scene where Betty is ranting about something bothering her and Archie is just sitting there like it doesn't matter to him. 99% of their conversations revolved around Archie wanting to fuck or save the town and get rid of Percival Pickens for good. Midway through the season, Betty had another crisis about fearing she was evil, but Archie (basically ripping off something Jughead said at the end of season 2; this also happened to be a flashback the audience had just seen during the episode where Betty and Jughead were going over Betty's past memories together, including multiple iconic Bughead moments) reassured Betty she was a good person, citing a childhood memory the audience had never seen to prove his point. And that's another thing! Rather than showing us much of anything between Betty and Archie in the present to convince us they were meant to be together or were compatible in any way, we just hear about random childhood memories. Everything Betty and Archie ever did revolved around looking back fondly on their so-called idyllic childhoods or having sex. Season 6 Betty came across as such a lesser version of herself. She was still herself, but it was as if she was holding back. It's like, maybe Betty doesn't want to get married? Can't have that! Archie has to settle down in Riverdale and recreate his father's life, meaning Betty needs to get over herself and shove her round self into a square peg so that all of Archie's dreams come true. I mean, multiple times during season 6, Archie was treated as akin to the savior of Riverdale while Betty was legitimately referred to as the "harlot of Babylon". Archie was perfect and indestructible while Betty was dark and dirty and needed to be cleansed before she could be accepted into Heaven. Basically, Archie is perfect as is and doesn't need to adjust himself in the slightest to become a better partner for Betty. But, Betty needs to change nearly everything about herself, reverting back to wanting things that only made sense to kid Betty, all to fulfill some old dream about settling down with Archie that the real Betty hadn't wanted in years. Not to mention the fact that as early as season 1, Betty resented being the perfect girl next door. Well, with Archie, that's basically all she was.

Betty and Archie were never going to work together, but the fact that Betty tried so hard to mold herself into some perfect, cookie cutter housewife, maternal figure all so Archie could have the white picket fence and the 2.5 kids makes me FURIOUS. It was incredibly misogynistic, and honestly led to me despising Archie. Betty deserved so much better. As fucked up and as gross as the "horny Betty" writing for the majority of season 7 was, I'm just relieved that Betty once again reiterated that she and Archie wanted different things and definitively didn't end up together.

Bughead in the woods circa S1. Experimenting with some new tools. Trying to see if dip pens (like what you’d use for calligraphy but also Japanese manga and comics line art) can work for dolls. Kinda liking this storybook ish loose painted style.

Coming Soon: Watcher In The Woods - Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

“I think we're about as ready as we're gonna get, Betts. Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked. Betty groaned internally, trying not to show her nerves but knowing it was a futile effort - given how connected he was to her already. 

“I... Honestly? I think I’m just ready for the night to be over... I’m kind of scared...” Betty murmured, chewing her lip nervously. Jughead stepped in front of Betty to halt her, lifting her chin so their eyes would meet.

“Hey, listen to me, Betts. Whatever happens tonight, don’t be afraid. Remember, I’ll be right beside you and I will never let anything happen to you. I promise I won’t let anything hurt you...” 

************************************

New Chapter Coming Tomorrow!