For muns with multiple muses, past and present, on any blog.

Rules: Fill out the form according to which muse suits each title best. (The same muse can have multiple titles.) Repost and tag. Feel free to add more!

Little mun note: Y'all ready for a crossover or two lmao. I'm gonna break the rules a little and just pick based on any of my rp blogs

Favorite Muse: Aw I can't pick between my babies...but I guess right now it's Vi lmao

Most Character Development: Hm ummmm I'd say Harley Quinn. Mostly because I partly followed the show's canon where *spoilers (even though the show's been out for a while now)* Harley turns semi good and joins the bat family

Trash Muse: Just like everybody else, I have no idea what this means buttttt I'm gonna pick Jughead Jones because I regret ever playing him lmfao (do not judge me, I played him like right after season 1 of Riverdale before the show turned to shit. And no, I don't watch it anymore)

The Meme-Lord: Peter fucking Parker (I played both Tom's and Andrew's). That kid is meme central, are you kidding?

Most Likely to Start a War: Harley Quinn. She would do it just for the hell of it.

Best Singer: Caitlyn but she doesn't know it. She used to belt in the shower but now she's got a fear of showers (definitely not because of Jinx lmfao)

Most Attractive Muse: ...this is really hard. As a masc lesbian, it's gonna be a heavy tie between Harley Quinn and Caitlyn

Biggest Heart: Ahhhh this one's pretty hard too. I think because I'm more in touch with Arcane right now, I'd pick Vi over Peter Parker. My version of Vi is very emotion based in terms of her knowing what is morally right but she doesn't exactly do what's right if it means hurting someone she loves

Falls in Love Quickest: I was originally gonna pick Harley for this but I'm gonna choose Caitlyn. If you so as much smile at her and are a girl, she will fall head over heels.

Most Likely to Drop Their Phone in the Toilet: Peter Parker. He's definitely on phone number four now.

Ice Ruler: A ruler is different than a leader but I haven't really played any muses that would rule so to speak so as a leader, I'd say Caitlyn

The Edgelord: Jughead Jones. No explanation needed.

Most Tragic Backstory: Definitely not Caitlyn. Harley's been through hella abuse but (in terms of the show) at least she ends up somewhere good. We all know Peter Parker's life story but I think Vi takes the cake on this one

Best Case of Puberty: Hmmm I was going to pick Peter but he doesn't really change through his teens years as Spider-Man. Vi changes much more drastically so Vi

Most Awkward: Caitlyn one hundred percent. As of right now in Arcane and in terms of my version, she is very awkward and I love her for it.

Busy Bee: Caitlyn again. Poor thing's rising up as sheriff to a shriveling country while also trying to unite Piltover and Zaun, as well as deal with her girlfriend's pyscho sister

Most Clueless: Vi? She's very street smart but she's not as smart as others because she never had any schooling

Most Likely to Forget Their Wallet at Home: Peter Parker. Then he ends up leaving his sandwich on the store counter to swing back home, web up his wallet and swing back to the store to pay for his food

Best Dressed: I'm picking this based on whose style I like the most so Peter Parker. Both in terms of Andrew's skater boy-esque version and the typical nerd-like sweaters of all other versions.

Biggest Flirt: Haha Harley Quinn. She does it on the daily as well as at the most inappropriate times

Most Dramatic: Harley again. She will threaten to throw herself off a building because she got a paper cut

Least Likely to Show Up Late: Caitlyn. She's very pointed when it comes to showing up on time.

One with Weirdest Habit: Harley Quinn. I can't quite pick what the habit would be but for sure it's her

Most Likely to Be Caught at the Gym: Vi. Gotta punch those demons away somewhere, right?

Tagged by : @independentzaun

Tagging: Ahhhh uhh you reading this

"varchie didn't get anything for 10 episodes and suddenly Archie needs to make a choice??" Oh how the world keeps spinning

WHAT DO YOU MEAAAAN NONNIE?

do you mean, perhaps, that from episode 5.08 to episode 5.19 b*rchie didn't get a single crumb and they swerved directions out of now-[gunshot]

no, because let's talk about it.

they pretended not to see the (confirmed btw) shift in the writing of s5 because it went in their favor. in that episode that they love to misinterpret, archie promised betty to be her friend and after that he wasn't there for her at all, didn't help her with polly, or with whatever she was going through, they simply didn't write them in, didn't give them a single longing look (that stupid 515 one can't count when he was bored out of his mind drinking coffee lol), or an acknowledgement, or anything. and still they ended the season together, right after veronica dumped him for reasons still very unclear (a choice, she said in s6, that she never presented him with in s5 but we move).

but then now in s7, they say varchie didn't get anything, but we can break it down:

7.01 - he was hit by a thunderbolt when he saw her. actual canon lines. he never felt like he'd met the right girl until he met her. even though he's known a certain someone his entire life.

7.02 - is completely infatuated with veronica, but goes to betty for advice. actually, you won't see me saying anything bad about this episode. it was good for both ships and highlighted their strengths and flaws. but! you can't deny that archie was falling for veronica, and got very hurt when apparently she didn't feel the same and wanted to play games. his first poem ever is for her. and it's a poem about how he dreams of her.

7.03 - after the whole dance fiasco, he does say veronica is too much for him and that they don't match, but he still is making eyes and very eager to kiss her in the same episode.

7.04 - he's told to look at betty. it's not something he does himself. it's not spontaneous. he goes to betty for advice, doesn't listen to her, and it's only when cheryl points it out that maybe the girl for him is next door. he writes her a poem too and never gives it to her, it is forgotten in the land of forgotten things. we learn that he dreams of living in california.

7.05 - fiction, but jughead writes about archie being torn between both girls and they end up teaming up to kill him. content is the same for both pairings.

7.06 - veronica is absolutely still into him even though he's now into betty. as usual, she lets them be and doesn't say anything. he's hell bent on seeing betty naked instead of, I don't know, giving her his poem! that he intended to do just the other day, archie invites betty to a peep show date. but okay, teens with hormones. there are varchie crumbs for veronica's side.

7.07 - betty's life is lowkey ruined by what they did and he doesn't defend her even though he feels bad about it. they do remain friends though because they've never not been friends. there is a little varchie crumb in the episode too (hey, crumbs are crumbs, remember when ba got zero in s5?)

7.08 - both betty and veronica watch archie be a loser. both betty and veronica (and archie) are into reggie. they give beggie more scenes than ba then.

7.09 - he's definitely eyeing veronica in the locker room. doesn't want to help her until reggie says he will, and sure some have interpreted it as "archie hates her", but i could say he was a bit bothered by reggie being so willing to help her.

7.10 - oh, not the double date episode. but let's talk about varchie. archie, still seemingly annoyed that reggie would want to date veronica, still seemingly annoyed that she keeps playing after what happened to him. doesn't pay attention to a single word betty says on their first date.

7.11 - their fanfic episode! childhood memories! porch scene! kiss! still, at the beginning of the episode we've got a couple of very pointed archie looks towards veronica. crumbs, right?

7.12 - after they kissed, archie was so worried with himself and reggie that he didn't go looking for betty, didn't pursue anything else with her, actually wrote about feeling like a ghost, and well, betty definitely was also not so thrilled about that kiss. and she was about to kiss veronica.

7.13 - archie watches veronica leave with the fbi. is it shocking, at the point, that he's always looking at her? anyway, his poem brings her to make a decision about her father and just the minimal display of "real" veronica and not the one that plays games, has archie twirling his feet. he doesn't think about betty in that moment. tunnel vision for each other, is the words the director used. when he realizes they did kiss, he's left all confused.

7.14 - archie seems to be torn between the girls again although that's not the main dilemma in his life, and he chooses himself instead of them, who choose each other over him (friends and a little more?).

so, maybe they didn't pay attention, but varchie did get crumbs. almost continuously throughout the season.

for people who claim ba had amazing buildup in S5B, S7 is almost a full meal for va compared to that?

mind you, all this happened while archie had (perhaps? do we believe it?) the emotional memory of being engaged to betty. and he still wanted veronica as well! lol

and just because it's 3am and I need to go to bed, let's just talk about the arguments

"he cheated on veronica and wrote betty a song, she rejected him!" and after realizing what he had done archie felt flaky, unsteady, unsure, and still chose to tell veronica that he loved her as he left town. seven years later, he was still holding on to their interrupted relationship.

"he wanted to have sex with betty since high school", yeah but then when they did it he wanted to keep it on the low and was happy being just her fuck buddy.

"betty didn't want more with him" he also didn't want more with betty and he felt like he should tell about his feelings for v before things got more confusing between them.

"he was unhappy with veronica" when? because he slept in the fire department once when he was a firefighter? lol veronica was unhappy with him not wanting to move on from riverdale. she walked out on him. he was drinking in a bar sad and alone after being dumped when he thought about betty again.

"he asked betty to marry him / betty was in his heaven", yes, he loves betty, and im not afraid to admit it. what i also know is that he never learned about veronica's lingering feelings for him. had he known, could it be different? we don't know. tabitha said she could grab her romantic future with him if she wanted. she didn't do anything. so who's to say they wouldn't end that in another BAV open thing? or change their minds again?

ANYWAY, this triangle hasn't been resolved in anywhere but vale. and vale was written in a loop by power source writer jughead. not much room for choice either.

//

tl;dr: they can say they swerved the direction of the season all they want but varchie was not NEARLY as forgotten as ba was in 5B, so nothing about this is surprising or crazy. archie loves both girls, always has, always will, and we will decide who he loves more. not him.

Dove Reads Big Ethel Energy - Episode 56

I am reserving judgement until the next update, but I’m just so confounded and kinda irritated (nothing new with me when it comes to this webcomic).  So here are some thoughts and maybe a bit of venting.

1. I’m confused especially by Ethel’s response. Like clearly she should have some idea instead of that clueless seeming response. I don’t know if she’s playing it cool or what at the time, but the response is odd to me. Also what do Archie and Betty know??? Like I feel like they had a hand in something in high school. Maybe they tried to get them together? Maybe that’s why they seem uncomfortable/it seems like they know something. Like what do you two know? Spill it.

2. [Referencing the first image above] This panel just rubs me the wrong way, but it’s also probably something that will be addressed later on in the webcomic. If Jughead is asexual or aromantic then it makes sense it would be explained later on in the comic, it doesn’t have to be revealed now if that is the case, but how the comic is possibly going about it rubs me the wrong way. Especially with how it makes the connection that Jughead’s behavior can be confused with leading someone on.

This is what Surbhi says he says in #49:

Wanting to hang out and spend time with someone is not leading them on!

I’m just very frustrated with how the comic is portraying what appears to be a valid response?

I hate that I can’t say more on this because I don’t know where it is going. It’s unclear if Jughead is being portrayed as asexual and/or aromantic. If him just wanting platonic relationships is being invalidated? If he does experience romantic attraction (I am taking Trula’s flashback with a grain of salt. She may or may not be an unreliable narrator) and is just not interested in pursuing romantic relationships or something? I can’t get a handle on how to read Jughead and getting all sorts of conflicting information surround him is frustrating. It’s also just frustrating that at the basis, he doesn’t have to be confirmed as ace or aro for this, his desire for platonic relationships isn’t validated. I don’t expect Archie and his character to bring up this kind of sentiment, but the fact no one has yet when understanding has been extended toward other topics and areas (like the realization that not all women are romantic rivals, women don’t have to take their husbands last names, plus sized positivity, etc.) it frustrates me personally.

3. I’m not enjoying their characterization of Jughead overall. Like he’s callous and mean. Though we haven’t seen enough of his character or his own reasoning why he dislikes Ethel and if they do make him ace or aromantic or both it feels like they’re going to blame his behavior on being ace or aromantic or because of it. Like hopefully there’s a reason to his behavior that goes beyond him not experiencing romantic attraction if that is the case.

Also something I’ve noticed in general is that the male characters even when they have good points (Seth and Jughead in this instance) are still, well, vilified.

Dove Reads Big Ethel Energy - Episode 55

Also just talking about that let me just shift to the previous episode because I AM PISSED ABOUT DILTON DOILEY BEING TURNED INTO WHAT APPEARS TO BE A ONE OFF VILLAIN OF NO CONSEQUENCE in a handful of panels.

Dilton Doiley a smart interesting sweet character who is a part of the main friend group within the Archie series! Not a villain!!! Also him just being paid as the reason??? Dilton Doiley is so smart he could get multiple research grants. Him being reduced to an internet stalker for money is insulting.

Also Reggie Mantle my beloved jerk, I genuinely do love Reggie Mantle and how he normally a jerk/half decent person at times, but him turning into the world’s best PI in a handful of panels for the sake of plot? I do not like. Like he has been a sleuth in other comics and I do love that, but at least develop it a bit. Go through the process if you want to set up and solve a mystery. It makes everything before just bland with this ending. Like big whoop it was the terrible boyfriend we only knew for two-three comics tops. There’s no impact. It’s shallow. Also this plot point was just done and over just like that. No consequences whatsoever. It also seemingly raps up Veronica’s cheating with no consequence whatsoever.

Like guys I am pulling out my hair here. Just ugh. (I had to pull out my Reggie icons for this part because they just work perfectly.)

Once again read Jughead (2015) comics for my favorite characterization of all the Archie characters, but also I highly suggest Reggie and Me #1. It focuses on Reggie and his dog Vader and it shows him as both as a jerk, but also with a heart. He can be both. He has facets! He has the range! He also has moments in Archie (2015) though his plots aren’t great and one of them was straight up abandoned in the beginning (#WhatdidReggiedo anyone else remember that? It haunts me).

So in short about BEE: I’m frustrated, confused about the decisions being made, still find the comic very mouthpiece-y, and definitely still skeptical toward the decisions being made.

holy FUCK you guys i found my diary from the summer before high school into freshman year and these are some of the best quotes

“I’m a vegetarian, biromantic grey ace, lmao i actually thought i was on the ace spectrum what the fuck my favorite color is neon pink, my favorite food is nachos, I’m kind of emo, I have a boyfriend, I’m a feminist, I love makeup, I love Harry Potter, and my parents are getting divorced.”

“It’s probably midnight already but I don’t care (what you think as long as it’s about me.)”

“One time [my mom] caught me reading smutty Ahkmenrah fanfiction. Cringe.”

(in reference to my elementary/middle school ex best friend) “Do not trust that fucking bitch.”

“I’m gonna be a brave Gryffindor. I’m turning my light on.”

“And she still doesn’t even realize that we’re no longer friends. What a dipshit.”

(in reference to my Dan and Phil obsession) “My grandma thinks Phil is going to kill me though.”

“I thought my computer had a virus because it wouldn’t turn on but it was just dead.”

“I had a dream last night that some sketchy dude gave me a gondola sandwich and then Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance started playing and I cried, making my gondola soggy.”

“The bag smelled like someone shat on a strawberry. So did she. She had lipstick on her temple. God I hate her.”

(quoting said ex best friend) “‘I’m nothing with you!’ No shit.”

“I’m gonna start a Burn Book. Sigh.”

“If he grabs my ass then sugar he’s going down (swinging). And if the guidance counselor asks what I was wearing I’ll slap a bitch.”

“Tomorrow’s the last day of summer. Holy shit.”

“I didn’t realize that I couldn’t just wait 10 years and suddenly be married to a guy who I just learned the name of a week ago.”

(first day of high school, only thing i wrote) “Today’s the day. I’ll be back.”

(one month later) “So I didn’t come back.”

“Her little brother’s a fucking FULL COURSE MEAL.”

(after taking a personality test) “Okay that was insightful. Wait no it just said I have no friends.”

(about the worst man i have ever met) “He has such a great soul.”

“I’m getting old.”

“WHAT IS MY PROBLEM?”

“I have no soul.”

(about my beta fish that i named after Riverdale characters) “I still think Jughead migh die though.” he did “I think he MIGHT have a parasite (ew). Poor baby. 😔”

“I want him to mark me as his. Yum.” you are 14 calm the FUCK down

“I can’t wait til March when he’s 16 and can get a job at Starplex like his dad so he can be my sugar daddy and give my aquatic pets a life of luxury.”

“My life lately has been anxiety attacks interrupted by nachos, vines, and makeout sessions.” still a mood

“He broke up with me. I’m miserable.”

“I have made the decision to reinvent myself.”

“Everyday I’ll ask the people at my tables in every class how their day is going and compliment them occasionally until everyone worth liking likes me too and I’m so popular that everyone’s minds explode. I’ll be like a nice version of Regina George.”

“I’m at the point of giving up.”

“I want him to hurt.”

“I started believing in God again.”

finally after like 5 straight pages of trauma dumping there’s a really fucked up (cuz i can’t draw for shit) drawing of Rizzo from Grease and that’s where it ends LMFAO 😭

My review of Afterlife With Archie no longer appears on the Comic Hunter blog so am posting it here:

While drafting this blogpost I wondered if others had this love/hate relationship with Archie Comics so I polled a number of people via Facebook to get their thoughts. Here’s a sample:

I read them as a kid, and I'm embarrassed about that now. (Sexist, demeaning, traditional gender roles, lack of diversity all the way around.) I guess it was mostly because they were readily available that I read them. And maybe it's crap like that, and growing up in the Catholic Church, that helped me to become/realize I was a feminist, which I am grateful for. Better to be awake than in the dark.

I read them and liked them but I always thought they promoted 'the American dream', white Pickett fence type of thing... Also had horrible values for women... Archie would getting loving from the hot evil woman and when she didn't want him he ran back to the girl next door who was waiting for him always... They always made fun of the dumb, ugly and out of town people... Riverdale was a place you had to earn your stripes greaser style and be home in time for supper... Fun to read though haha

I loved Betty & Veronica storylines best, like all the girls. I was reading them probably between the ages of 8-12?? I think they informed my understanding of male vs female roles....hmmmm, that explains a lot!

I never understood a freaking bloody moment of that crap and HATED it....still do. I also hate anyone who read it. Hate.

Loved Archie comics as a kid, and have bought the odd digest as an adult for mindless reading on long flights. I identified with Betty and thought of my older sister as Veronica. I was mostly interested in all of the female characters (B & V, Josie + Pussycats, Sabrina, etc)- their hairstyles, fashion choices, taste in boys, etc. For some even stranger reason, I loved the beach comics the best in a kind of a 'Beach Blanket Bingo' way.

The outright sexist content is too much. recent readings of current issues prove they reinforce negative gender stereotypes, female competition, bad self image values lower class putdowns, and many more negative aspects. The sunny, vintage illustrations hide a truth based out of bad values & sexual manipulation. We have put a stop on them in our house.

I read them and remember thinking at one point how odd it was that I continued to do so despite never really laughing.

Ok so Archie Comics. My best friend … used to read them. She and her sister had dozens and they would be scattered everywhere; piles of them under the bed and being a voracious little reader, of course I checked them out. Yes, I was a kid who would go over to play at someone's house and start reading their books. Ok so I HATED those comics. And I was shocked. How could I hate something my best friend liked? I hated everything about the comics : the story line, the graphics, and the characters. I had a sense that I was supposed to relate to either Betty or Veronica and I had a sense it was supposed to be the dark haired one that I would relate to, but I still hated her. I felt like the stories were about a world that didn't fit with mine at all, and I could sense what the comic wanted me to think and feel but that it Just Wasn't Right. And on some level, it frightened me that there was this Thing in my world that was clearly cool with lots of others, that I wished didn't exist. At that age I was still frightened by being 'a little different' but the evidence was mounting. Thank you for this little morning homework assignment. I still hate Archie.

I never ever touched it, I recall picking one up when I was a kid and thinking how out dated it seemed. Looking back now, the themes are relevant, but it obviously screams of an era.

My friends’ responses encouraged me that I wasn’t being unduly critical of Archie Comics. To me, the most annoying thing about Archie comics is that nothing bad ever happens. Archie’s car might get a flat tire. Jughead’s belly aches from eating 100 hamburgers. Reggie takes a beating. No big whoop. It rung false when I was a little kid and it sure as hell rung false when I actually entered adolescence and learned what kind of horrible bastards fill this mortal void.

Riverdale is a weird version of the suburban white bread American Dream. While we saw the dark side of this in movies like Blue Velvet and Pleasantville, bad things don’t happen in Archie Comics.

Bad things do happen In Afterlife with Archie #1. The worst things you can imagine. Awful horrible stuff, drawn grotesquely, gruesomely, and gloriously. Archie’s still a player, but he’s dropped the bow-tie and the sweater. Reggie’s still a weasel, but, for the first time, has remorse for his craven actions. The story pivots on Jughead, his friendship with Archie, and mainly his relationship to his faithful mutt, Hot Dog. I’m not going further discuss the plot except to say that Sabrina the Teenage Witch features prominently and her aunts Hilda and Zelda are finally portrayed as proper witches and not just a couple of odd ladies in funny hats. Afterlife with Archie #1 is hands down the best Archie comic I’ve ever read. It’s hands down the best comic I’ve read all year. If you haven’t read it, read it. And place your order for #2. These suckers are selling out fast.

Strangerdale: Eddie vs Jughead

(I’ve been thinking for quite a while about how to do this because I straight up do not have the time to type up a wiki page worth of info but also I want it all in one place so I’m going to just bullet point it all. As always when it comes to Strangerdale, a massive shout out to @grandmastattoo because they’re half the creative force behind the madness.)

I think the best description of their dynamic comes from the very first thread: “eddie would totally look at him and think he's some useless poser twink and meanwhile jughead's going around slicing tattoos off people.”

- Their rivalry is entirely one-sided. Eddie spends seventy-five percent of his life complaining about Jughead. Meanwhile, Jughead hasn’t thought about Eddie since meeting him.

- He starts ranting to Steve like “what does he have that I don’t? Is it the hat? I can wear a stupid hat…”

- (And maybe he succumbs to the pressure/curiosity and buys a stupid hat. But you can’t prove it because he wears it exactly once and then buries it at the back of his wardrobe.)

- One day, Jughead offhandedly defends Eddie from one of Jason’s snide remarks and Steve doesn’t hear the end of it for literal days.

- Because Jughead can’t defend anyone normally. It’s another version of the “it’s called necrophilia, Reggie, can you spell it?” and even though he’s on Eddie’s side, it still makes him burst a blood vessel. (“He’s just so fucking lame Steve!” “I know he is.” “I just don’t get why people think he’s so cool!” “Only Archie and Mike think he’s cool.” “Yeah, but, why?!”)

- Steve secretly thinks that Jughead is alright but he’s trying to be supportive. (He’s already been roasted once by his bestie, Cheryl, for saying Jughead seems like a decent guy. He doesn’t want to go through that again.)

- It also doesn’t help that Archie keeps trying to get Jughead and Eddie to be friends. He keeps trying to tell Eddie that the two have so much in common . To which Eddie always responds 'I have nothing in common with that freak!' before realising what he's saying and promptly dying inside.

- (Dustin once says that he thinks jughead is kind of pretentious and Eddie nearly throws a parade.)

- Someone tells Eddie that brooding is kind of Jughead’s thing and he goes on to have a massive crisis about that. (He’s very defensive about being compared to Jughead. Cheryl once calls Eddie a less entertaining Jughead and he stops talking to Steve in retaliation.)

- (At some point, probably when the plot starts heating up a bit, Steve has enough of hearing Eddie whine about Jughead and puts them both in the get along shirt. It does not work.)

- Mike would 100% like Jughead. He thinks his sardonic humour and edgy quotes are the coolest things in the world (Which enrages Eddie to no end because the kid was literally just emulating him and now this? Are kids really this fickle?!?)

- Eddie finds out that Steve has “agreed” to play Griffins and Gargoyles (what he actually said was that it sounded kind of cool and, sure, maybe he’d play it one day) and it’s takes a fully choreographed boombox session for Eddie to even consider forgiving him.

- The best part of there being any sort of musical/play in Strangerdale is that Eddie has to take part in the performance because if he doesn’t, he’s aligning his values with Jughead and his dignity won’t allow that to happen. (It legit becomes a cheatcode to get Eddie to do anything. All you have to say is “that’s fine, I guess you can just hang out with Jughead. He’s not doing it either” and he will flip so quickly (so far it’s how they got him to do a vixens routine, briefly join the football team, and do the sexy carwash at Pops.)

- Eddie only clocks this when Wayne starts using it to get him to do his chores (“It’s fine, Eddie, don’t do the dishes. I heard your friend Jughead doesn’t do the dishes either…”) and, even then, Eddie has to fight the urge to do whatever it is even though he knows that he’s being played because he hates Jughead that much.

- Jughead says that Glee is mid and it is truly the straw that breaks the camel’s back. (Eddie then has to explain, not only to the principal but also the Wayne, why he started a fight in the middle of the cafeteria (and then he has to explain to both of them what mid means because neither of them have a clue what he’s talking about…))

- Archie sits Jughead down and asks him, bro to bro, if he can try to be nice to Eddie because it’s really ruining the vibe (he does have to remind Jughead who Eddie is but it’s all good because he agrees to give it a shot) and thus begins Eddie’s nightmare era where Jughead is trying with all his might to be his friend.

- Jughead tries to join Hellfire and Eddie has to be reminded of his golden rule (“everyone is welcome”) because he tries to flat out ban him on the spot. (Mostly because he’s still terrified that Jughead is planning retribution for the Glee fight he doesn't want to be anywhere with him after dark. This isn’t helped by the fact that Jughead keeps bringing up Glee as an attempt to bond but he only knows one character, Sue Sylvester, which makes it all the more ominous.)

- Jughead tells Eddie that he thinks Mr. Shue is a decent guy (he has seen maybe one of episode of glee back when it was airing) & its enough to do irreparable damage to any progress Jughead has made in being Eddie’s friend.

- Cue Wayne having to sit Eddie down, yet again, & ask him if he has anything to do with the (semi-successful) gofundme started to have Jughead put down.

Ok but imagine the boys being so free with touching each other that Alex doesn't even realize what effect he has on Willie when he plays with Willie's hair or brushes their pinkies together or hooks their ankles together under the table or drapes his arm around Willie's shoulder or or or

i’ve been crying over this ask ever since you sent it to me so have this. touch-starved willie but not the i can’t stop asking verse. just something very adjacent. whatever. no one told monet not to paint more water lillies.

--

Look, maybe Alex used to overthink touching the boys, when he was younger, when he was still trying to figure out what him being gay meant for that friendship - but Luke didn’t let those nerves last long, cuddled Alex every single damn day after he came out, like he was proving a point, stubborn and bull-headed as ever, until Reggie and Bobby followed his lead.

And when Alex’s anxiety skyrockets, his first red flag is that his skin feels wrong because he doesn’t want his boys to touch him.

But usually, when things are good, it’s so natural, for Alex, maybe the only thing he doesn’t overthink. To touch the boys, to have them touch him, is easy as breathing, flows like water.

So he doesn’t think, usually. He just reaches out, and they meet him in the middle - an arm around a waist, a hand against a shoulder, fingers running through each other’s hair or linking together or brushing a cheek. Reggie always flushes a little pinker, Luke grins a little wider, Bobby used to duck his head and grumble but push back against Alex, betraying himself.

Willie’s not that different. Like, obviously, he’s different, Alex feels little sparks along his arms every time he touches Willie, and a warmth that settles in his non-existent ghost-sensation bones that’s all totally different. It’s just that when Willie’s around more, after Caleb’s gone, Alex can’t help treating him like he treats the other people he lo--cares about. It’s almost absent-minded, almost muscle memory, the way he reaches out to push Willie’s hair out of his face, or link their pinkies when they’re walking, or to generally want Willie closer to him when they all crash Julie and Flynn’s after-school diner date (much to Julie’s irritation and Flynn’s amusement).

He feels like an idiot, when he links his ankle with Willie’s, and Willie’s eyes widen, he tenses, where he’s sitting pressed into the corner of the booth, Flynn on his other side. Alex feels his stomach drop. Quickly pulls his foot back.

Willie’s expression goes through a range of things, and he looks away, chews his lip. Alex has seen that expression before. Embarrassment. No - shame.

Luke is trying to bite through a chip. He can pick it up, but every time he tries to split it in half with his teeth, he just phases through. Flynn is muffling her laughter into her hand, Reggie’s laughing outright, and Julie’s trying to half-shield Luke with her body so passers-by don’t see a floating chip. And Willie won’t look at Alex.

It’s cool, Alex tells himself. He gets it. It was too much in front of their friends, or too much in general, he’s been totally desensitised by the boys (especially Luke, man, this is all Luke’s fault), and he somehow hadn’t noticed Willie reacting, and maybe Willie hates being touched but had done it because Alex obviously, blatantly needed it, or because -

Willie kicks him, very gently, with the toe of his shoe. When Alex looks up, Willie shoots him a grin, somewhere between rueful and affectionate and amused. Stop thinking so hard, he mouths.

Alex takes a breath. Willie doesn’t look mad. Or like he thinks Alex is desperate and pathetic, or whatever other mean words his anxiety had conjured out of the ether in the five seconds he left it unsupervised. Willie mimics the breath, and then takes a deeper one, and Alex follows along. Tries to put it out of his head for the rest of their time in the diner, tries to focus on the boys being idiots and Julie and Flynn chatting about kids from school. Willie pitches in terrible advice, seems for all intents and purposes to be his usual self, so Alex focuses on his breathing until the cold dread is sorta gone from his stomach again.

--

“What was that about earlier?” he asks Willie, finally, later that night when he can catch him alone. They’re outside the studio - the others have already filed inside, and Alex can’t tell if Julie hurried the others to give them some space, but he has his suspicions. “If something I’m doing has been bothering you, why wouldn’t you tell me?”

Willie’s face screws up, like he really doesn’t want to have this conversation, but Alex knows how that’s played out for them in the past. “It’s not that I don’t like it,” he says, and adds defensively, “really!” when Alex raises an eyebrow at him. Willie’s arms cross over his torso and he takes a step back from Alex, which hurts Alex way, way worse than Alex would like it to. “I just... I’m not used to it, okay? It’s not bad, it’s just so new for me.”

Well. Now Alex feels like an enormous idiot. “Oh. Yeah. Okay.” Swallows, tries to think. “I can back off?” he adds, in a much higher-pitched voice than he meant to.

“No, no,” Willie says, and moves forward again. Alex almost reaches for his arm, and then stops himself. Then does it anwyay, because Willie just told him not to back off. Willie shudders a little when Alex runs a hand up his arm. “See? It just makes me act weird, and I thought the others might see-”

“They wouldn’t care,” Alex promises, and he doesn’t have to overthink that, either. “I know they wouldn’t. Especially not Luke and Reg. They’re like me.”

Not Luke, who is ready to bolt the moment someone’s mad at him and needs to be touched every five minutes or he starts to panic that no one loves him, or Reggie, who cowers at any loud noise and needs to be touched to even feel like he exists. Not Julie, even, who had barely been able to take her hands off them for a moment when they finally became tangible, like she was scared the second she let go they would disappear.

Least of all Alex, who hid things until he was choking on them. Can’t hide how much he loves touch, when he’s feeling safe and calm.

“It just feels like so much,” Willie manages. “It’s not bad. It’s just so much. Maybe I just need more exposure.”

Alex looks at him for a long moment, takes in the uncertainty plain on his face, the way he’s still got his arms crossed tight, his thumb digging into his inner elbow, the way he had flinched at the restaurant. Tries to remember how it felt to hold himself away from the boys for the few months before he came out. How it felt when Luke was all over him, right after, the jittery oversensitivity coupled with waterfalls of relief. How it only got better with time, and touch, and love, and the boys’ patience.

He can give those things to Willie, he thinks.

“Can I hug you?” he asks, and his voice has a raw edge. Willie nods, lips pressed tight together like he’s scared of what will come out if he opens them. So Alex gives him the tightest hug he can muster. Willie shudders, a full-body release, and then holds him back.

For a moment they just stand like that, warm in each other’s arms. Alex rests his chin on the top of Willie’s head and runs one hand down his back, and up again.

“Exposure?” he checks, after who knows how long. “Is it working?”

“I don’t know,” Willie answers. He sounds a little better. “Think I’ll need a little longer to be sure. Maybe the next 48 business hours.” Yeah, much better.

“That can be arranged,” Alex agrees, even though it absolutely can’t, and is rewarded by Willie’s giggle, still a little wet, but so much more like himself. “Let’s at least arrange it on the couch, okay?”

Willie glances inside the studio, and Alex feels him hesitate. “They don’t care,” he promises Willie again. “They get it.”

This time Willie nods. Alex takes his hand, and they go inside together.

jatp taglist (lmk if you wanna be added/removed!): @queenmolina @nickalicious @bi-reginald @malecacidd @jughead-is-canonically-aroace @joyandthephantoms @cinnamonstickrayofsunlight @chickwiththepurpleguitar @burntchromas

--

see more prompt fills here

Cheryl//maple syrup

Request: Can you do the secret and sins when Veronica comments on the Cheryl’s twincest and the reader defends Cheryl even though the reader kinda diss likes Cheryl.

hey! how is everyone? i hope you’re all well and good! i may have slightly cheated a bit and copy and pasted a previously written out bit from another request where they’re playing secrets and sins. but that’s only because i didn’t see the point in writing the same dialogue again. anywayyyy enjoy! 

It seems that whenever Cheryl Blossom arrives at a party, the party atmosphere disappears. Maybe it’s her grating personality or overbearing need to be liked, whatever it is, within ten minutes of her and Chuck gate crashing Jughead’s unwanted birthday party, there’s already tension. 

Which is not made any better by the suggestion of secrets & sins. Your friends are gathered in a circle in the living room, while you sit off to the side. You want to eavesdrop, but you don’t want to reveal your deepest, darkest secrets, not to your best friends and definitely not to Cheryl. 

It’s clear everyone that’s been roped into this stupid game doesn’t want to be there. Betty shifts in her seat uncomfortably and stares at you with pleading eyes. You shoot her an unsure smile back before taking a sip of your drink and she drops your gaze, glancing at Archie before staring down at the floor. 

Cheryl is the only one that looks like she’s enjoying herself, but you’re not surprised. Chaos and the chance to get dirt on everyone so she can control them even more than she already does is what Cheryl lives for.

You glare at the red-head, who’s smiling brightly as she looks around at her victims and when her eyes land on you, her eyes narrow and the smile is replaced by a smirk. 

“What’s wrong Y/n? Did nobody pick you to be on their team?” She asks, her bright red lips forming a perfect pout and you can’t help but stare at them for a few seconds longer than you should. You feel your face heat up and look away, blaming the alcohol for the affects you’re feeling and refusing to believe that you’ve just thought of Cheryl Blossom as attractive. 

A shiver runs up your spine at the thought and you lips pull into a pout as you stare down at the now empty cup in your hands. You scratch at the plastic and listen to the mumbles and whispers of the teenagers stood and sat around you. 

Whoever isn’t partaking in Secrets and Sins, have gathered around to watch and judge, and you can’t help but lean in a little closer, they may be some of your closest friends, but you can’t help wanting to know what they’ve been hiding from one another...you’re only human and at least you’re not as bad as Cheryl. 

Cheryl lives of rumours. Like Gretchen Wieners with smaller and redder hair. 

“What the hell is Secrets and Sins?” Jughead asks, all eyes on Cheryl as she moves around in a circle, eyeing everyone suspiciously as she starts to explain the rules. 

“Its a variation on Truth or Dare…in which we own our truths by telling it like it is. I’ll start the game with…Veronica Lodge.” She smirks and you roll your eyes at her. 

“Naturally.” Veronica sighs and you pat her shoulder. 

“Let’s begin with the day you and your mob wife of a mother came to town for a so-called fresh start.” She says, her eyes filled with accusations and anger before she’s even gotten to her question. 

You really don’t know why so many people like her, well you do, it’s because she’s rich and she bullies people into being her friend because she’s unable to make them any other way. 

She’s snobby, spoilt and just plain mean, but that doesn’t stop you from sometimes staring at her for longer than you want to and definitely should. 

“Tell us Veronica, what’s so fresh about defiling Archie Andrews in a closet?”

“That was your doing.” She replies confused, her arms crossed defensively against her chest.

“Moving on to dear Daddy Lodge…” She interrupts, getting more and more angry by the second. “Isn’t it true that your father, from prison, illegally purchased the drive-in land? Which makes me wonder, what else is he doing behind bars?” She continues and you glance to your side at Joaquin, who shares a very suspicious look with FP

“Well, I can’t speak for my father…but I can think of someone with a very dirty secret. Specifically, Cheryl killing her very own brother.” The tension in the room shifts and your eyes widen. 

As much as you dislike Cheryl, you know how close her and Jason were and you knew how much it hurt and how she’s still hurting now because of his death. You’ve seen her crying underneath the bleachers after school, you see how her eyes are a little more dull than they used to be. They don’t sparkle as much when she talks and when she’s not spreading hate, she’s just not saying anything at all. 

She smiles less when with her friends, and sometimes you think the only reason she’s horrible to people is so she can feel something. But that doesn’t excuse it and so you shake your head and earn a few confused looks as you try to stop yourself from defending Cheryl Majorie Blossom. 

“Everyone knows how much I loved my brother.” Cheryl defends herself.

“Exactly.” Veronica replies. “But did you love him, maybe in ways that a sister shouldn’t love a brother?” She continues and you watch as Cheryl becomes more and more upset. “And as you got older, Jason started to think it was strange, unnatural. So he chose Polly over you. So you shot him between the eyes with one of your father’s many hunting rifles.”

Her shoulders slump a little and her bottom lip quivers as she looks around the room helplessly. The confident look she usually has, has slipped off like a mask, revealing a very sad girl underneath and suddenly you find yourself standing up. 

“That’s enough Veronica.” You say, surprising everyone, including Cheryl. “Just leave her alone, it’s not worth it.” You add quietly and slowly sit back down again. 

Veronica hold her hands up in defence and you force a smile before going back to picking at the plastic of your cup. 

“I don’t need you to defend me.” Cheryl seethes, her eyes full of hatred as she looks at you, and for some reason it stings. You’re used to her not liking you, but her hating you, hurts you for some unknown reason and you have to take a few deep breaths in order to stop the ache in your chest. 

“This game is sick.” Dilton adds and Cheryl uses the distraction to wipe away the tears on her cheek. “I wanna go next.” He adds making everyone look at him.

“Thats the spirit, Doiley. What secrets do you have to reveal to us?” Chuck grins. 

“I saw Ms. Grundy’s car by Sweetwater River the day Jason went missing.” He says and everyone gasps. People mumble and whisper around you and Cheryl stares straight at Dilton, her eyes narrow. “I told Betty and Jughead, and then Ms. Grundy quit her job and left Riverdale, like, two days later. And let’s not forget that Archie was also at Sweetwater River that morning.”

“Oh, my God.” Cheryl whips her head round to look at Archie. “Colour me shocked. Archie Andrews, is that why you became a mediocre musician overnight? Because you and Ms. Four-Eyes were pulling a Mary Kay Letourneau?”

“Don’t say anything. Don’t get in the gutter with them.” Veronica mutters while glaring at Cheryl. 

“Wait, what? Andrews was banging a teacher?” Chuck asks, his tone a mix of surprise and impressed and you roll your eyes at him. “I wish I would’ve known. I would have added you and Ms. Grundy to the book of conquests.”

“Classy, Chuck, as always.”

“Wait a second.” Cheryl interrupts. “That also explains why Archie can’t seem to keep a girlfriend to save his life. He’s got serious mommy issues. Anything to say for yourself Arch? Were you a victim or a perpetrator?”

“Dilton Doiley plays with guns.” Betty tries to change the subject but she’s immediately shut down.

“Big whoop, Betty. So Doiley’s a psychopath. Everyone knows that.”  

“Well, I guess it’s my turn now. Boy, do I have a twisted secret to reveal, starring Betty Cooper.”

“Leave her the hell alone, Chuck.” Archie threatens.

“Shut up, Andrews.” He replies. “Look, you may get a free peep show every night, but you do not know her. Hell, Betty doesn’t even know herself. Everybody knows why I got suspended, but what you don’t know...she dressed up like a hooker, in a God-awful black wig, drugged me, handcuffed me in the Jacuzzi, and well, I almost drowned until she got me to say what she wanted to hear. And then she really lost it. She actually thought she was Polly. But, hey, you knew all about this right, Jughead?” He asks. For a second, the question hangs in the air, everyone trying to figure out what to say next and how to process what they’ve just been told. 

But then Jughead leaps forward at punches Chuck in face causing all hell to break loose. Everyone stands and FP shoves races forward to grab Chuck and throw him outside. 

While everyone else follows them outside, eagerly awaiting a fight, you stay back and watch as Cheryl disappears upstairs, quietly sniffling as she goes. You look at the front door and then at the stairs and sigh, knowing that this is not gonna end well. She’s gonna insult you and tell you to leave her alone, but at least you can say you tried to help and then you won’t feel bad. 

So you glance at the door one more time and pray that at least one person is filming whatever is happening out there, before wandering up the stairs in search for Cheryl. 

The slight scent of maple syrup and the sound of faint cries coming from the bathroom lets you know where she’s hiding and you quietly creep along the slightly creaky floorboards, trying to remember which ones to avoid after years of practice when sneaking into Archie’s room in order to break him out. 

You stop outside of the bathroom, light coming out of the cracks of the door and your hand hovers over the handle. 

“Whoever is out there, go away.” She sniffles and you roll your eyes. 

Turning on your heel, you start to walk away, but then you hear her sob and it makes you freeze. 

You let out a quiet groan and curse the side of you that can’t leave people that are crying alone, before making your way back to the bathroom and slowly opening the door. 

The first thing you see as you duck your hear around the door is Cheryl sat on the side of the bath. Her hands gripping the edges so hard that her knuckles have turned white. He hair has fallen in front of her face and you watch as she her shoulder shake and tears drip onto the bath mat. 

“Cheryl?” You whisper and she looks up, her eyes wide as she quickly scrambles to wipe away the tears that have ruined her makeup. “Are you okay?” You ask and walk into the room. You close the door behind you and lean against it and her expression hardens. 

“I’m having the best time.” She deadpans and you resist the urge to roll your eyes. God is she stubborn. 

“Look, I know we’re not exactly best friends. Most of the time, I don’t really like to be around you-” 

“Is this supposed to be making me feel better?” She asks and you shrug. 

“But you know that if you need someone to talk to that won’t judge you or really know anything about you, you can. I’ll just sit and listen and you can cry or rant or I dunno. Just, know you’re not alone. You may not get along with everyone in this town, but we will all be here for you if you need us, all you have to do is ask.” You say honestly but anxiously while playing with your fingers. 

She looks at you surprised, her lips part as if she’s going to say something and you’re sure she’s going to tell you to shut up and leave her alone, but instead she says thank you and you feel yourself relax a little. 

“It’s okay.” You nod. “And for the record, what Veronica said was out of line. Everyone knows how much Jason meant to you and for her to say that is just wrong. We all know you loved your brother...a normal amount.” You add the last bit quietly and she stares at you for a few seconds before a smile twitches at her lips. “Would you like me to leave you alone now?” You ask and she shakes her head. You look around the small bathroom, trying to figure out the best place to sit and she moves along a little so you can sit beside her. “Would you like me to sit with you until you feel better?” You ask and she nods slowly, her lip wobbling again. 

You sit beside her, place a gentle hand over hers and the two of you fall into a slightly awkward but not as bad as you thought it would be, silence. 

After ten minutes, Cheryl stands and makes her way over to the mirror. She swipes her fingers under her eyes to try and get rid of her ruined mascara before messing with her hair to try and get it back to looking like normal. 

“Do I look okay?” She turns to you and stands with her arms by her side. Your breath hitches when you look at her and you wonder how she looks so pretty even in the most unflattering light that is Archie Andrews’ bathroom. 

You stand in front of her and slowly tuck a piece of hair behind her ear and you watch as she takes a shaky breath. 

“Can I?” You ask, your fingers centimetres away from her cheek and she nods slowly, her eyes locked with yours and you feel yourself growing warm from the intensity. “There.” You smile once you’ve wiped a bit of mascara away from her cheek. 

She grabs her bag and pulls her lipstick from it, but when she goes to apply it, her hands shake and you take it from her gently. 

Your lips darts out between your tongue as you concentrate on keeping the lipstick in the lines, and you can feel her warm breath on your cheek. 

“There!” You smile proudly once your finished, but she grabs your arm before you can pull away properly as her lips connect with yours in an almost frantic kiss.

You gasp a little and then relax and kiss back just as frantically, but she pulls away after a few seconds and the two of you stare at each other wide-eyed and breathless. 

“Your lipstick’s ruined.” You whisper and her lips curl into a smile. 

“Worth it.” She replies before pulling you close to her and kissing you again. 

support my writing! if you want! 

Just more thoughts on Riverdale.  The thing is, reading some of the posts and thinking about some of the things that have happened on Riverdale recently, I think it’s pretty likely that Riverdale did change things in light of the 5 part special.  I think the most frustrating thing right now is trying to figure out what rule book are we playing with and how long have we been playing with it.  We’ve always known that the world of magic does probably exist in this universe (so long as Sabrina was set in the same timeline) and that there was a possibility of the Blossoms being witches.  So the idea of witchcraft coming to Riverdale isn’t out of the blue, exactly, but it does mean that some of the rules no longer apply.  For instance, the rule in Riverdale has always been that, no matter how supernatural something may appear to be, it will always have a practical answer in the end.  Obviously, this is a rule that needs to be suspended, but when do we get rid of it?  Is it in 5x19, or do we have to go back further?

For instance, in 5x17, we thought Archie was suffering from PTSD when he saw the soldiers in the cave.  However, if we find out Cheryl’s abilities were already affecting reality, then this scene might have another explanation.  We do see things like ghosts in Sabrina, so it is very possible (if they’re bringing in some of the rules from CAOS or CAOS its self considering Shipka is in Vancouver and the back and forth between her and the crew) that this was an indication that reality was changing.

Another possible example comes from the funeral scene in 5x18. There is a moment where, while the camera has a close up of Betty and Alice, you can see Jughead in the background absolutely with his head turned and focused on the Coopers.  Also, Jughead is the only one who isn’t singing at the funeral.  And, while this could be a decision on the actors part, it does feel like it is deliberate.  Like it’s something we’re supposed to notice.  Well, if they do a storyline where magic is affecting reality, then there’s most likely going to be someone who’s going to notice that something seems wrong.  And a character like Jughead, who has his own way of looking at the world, would make sense.  So if, and this is still a big if, the world is already affected by 5x18, it could be his actions at the funeral were an indication of this.  Like he’s still under the influence of whatever is going on, but in that one moment Jughead felt something about this didn’t feel right.

But, again, that’s the big question.  The things that feel rushed or out of place, are they just because the story suddenly changed or are do these things feel weird because their supposed to feel weird?  For instance, as several people have noted, changing the lyrics in Perfect for You and in Hey #3. Why were they changed?  Was it a last minute decision because they decided to change the plot and this is the best they could come up with.  Or did they deliberately change them in such a way to convey a different message then what the songs normally intended?  I mean, they do seem to be focusing a lot on the changing oneself part quite a bit.  And while changing problematic behaviors in yourself to become a better partner is not a bad thing, changing who you are to become someone that someone else will like is not a good thing.  So, which is it?

And that comes to another point.  It’s interesting to note the dynamics of the new couples.  For instance, when Betty and Archie called it off in 5x8, Betty mentions how they should work as a couple in theory, but they just don’t.  And the interesting thing about this, this really could apply to most (if not all) of these new parings.  I mean, unlike say Jughead/Jessica and Veronica/Chad, there’s nothing really toxic about these couples.  They are all paired with people that they care about, but just because you care about someone doesn’t mean you’d be a good partner.  And let’s say something is causing the pairings, for whatever reason, it actually does make more sense this way.  I mean, pairing a person with someone they hate probably would cause more people to realize something is wrong then doing like this.  But, again, that is assuming that the pairings are happening because of Cheryl’s story.  It could be they are, it could be they’re not, or it could be a mixed bag (some are and some aren’t).

For me, if we find out that some of the things that we feel off are intentional, that might make me change my mind about some of the things that happened in the last episode, because I just need clarification.  I still would have a lot of issues with the episode, but if we were supposed to be fooled and question what was going on, well they were successful in that aspect.

I don’t know.  I mean, I’m curious where this is headed, but I have all sorts of mixed feelings about how we’re getting there.  The thing is, Roberto said that the first five episodes of season 6 were a continuation of where we left off in season 5, that Cheryl was going to have a major change and that it would affect the story, and that the first 5 episodes would have their own arc. And the thing is having the first five episodes steeped in magic or some sort of AU means that, technically, they can make anyone a villain, kill off anyone they want, or have any pairing they want, and still be able to walk it back somehow in the end (because the rules of reality are a lot more loose).  

But I still don’t like that fact that it feels like that made shipping a plot point. Because that ‘s different then say, breaking characters up for the plot.  For example, when Veronica broke up with Archie in season 2.  Clearly, it was done so that Archie and Betty could kiss without it being cheating.  However, they took the time to come up with, what I thought, was a pretty good reason for Veronica to decide to break up with Archie.  In fact, I honestly think it was the most realistic breakup (when it comes to high schoolers) in the series.  With this current storyline, even if it turns out Veronica broke up with Archie because of supernatural reasons, it still feels forced.

there's always money in the banana stand

riverdale promptathon week 3: yellow + business

Even as the sun sets, even as the breeze blows, the hell furnace of July in Riverdale burns on. It’s triply as sweltering inside the tiny booth running three freezers, offloading heat to sustain the frozen merchandise inside. “How can it be so hot in there when we are supposed to be selling frozen bananas?” JB complains, at least twice a week.

She’s twelve. Complaint is her new first language. She complains about being left in Riverdale while Gladys went back to Toledo. She complains about living in a trailer park that usually does not have warm water. She complains about their father being imprisoned for covering up a gruesome murder. But most of all, she complains about working in the banana stand.

Child labor laws aside, Jughead can’t blame her for that one. He hates the damn banana stand, but it’s their best shot.

Gladys’ monthly check covers rent and utilities for the trailer. Everything else is on him, now. The idiot eighteen year old who decided to petition the court to be his sister’s legal guardian. Well, and his idiot mom who signed off on it. So he needs money, and the Jones family has never been particularly flush with cash, just trampled over by FP’s failed “business opportunities.”

Enter: the banana stand.

It’s not the fastest revenue stream, Jughead finds. But it’s got potential.

Initially, Dilton doesn’t let him sell during the Twilight Drive-In’s concession stand hours. Before or after the movie, sure, but no overlap. “I’m not worried about competition, Jones. It’s just too humiliating for me to watch you sweat through that horrible yellow polo you call ‘branding.’”

But when customers asked him more than twice a night when the banana stand would be open, Dilton caved.

It’s not like being open during the screening hours is a whole lot more preferable. He only just transferred from Southside to Riverdale High last spring; now he’s the rising senior who hands out phallic symbols from inside a giant phallic symbol. Not exactly a boon to his popularity.

Still, recently the money is enough to pay the internet bill and keep JB fed for dinner when she can’t go to the summer breakfast and lunch program at the local park district. It’s still not enough for him to eat particularly well, and the smell of hot dogs and slurp of his classmates’ slushies makes the heat feel like a minor inconvenience.

He eyes the tip jar, willing himself to wait on rampaging the concession stand until the beginning of the film roar dies down. It’s a double feature tonight, which means maybe he can score enough cash to cover those damn college application fees his counselor will start hounding him about week one of school.

Then he sees her—Betty Cooper. She’s laughing, watching Archie Andrews try to catch popcorn in his mouth, tossed by his paramour, Veronica Lodge. She pauses to sip from her slushie straw, her lips—which he’s watched argue against homophobic and racist comments in their advanced lit class, or pressed to the cheek of her other best friend, Kevin Keller. Which he’s imagined, doing slightly less savory things, though the mere thought of said imagining has his heart pounding wildly.

(Jughead’s been eating way too many fucking bananas. Someone needs to check his potassium levels.)

His absolutely pathetic gaze, once available three times a day in their shared classes where Jughead has still not managed to exert any confidence whatsoever regarding speech, eye contact, or general acknowledgement of Betty Cooper’s existence other than whatever drooling may or may not be happening, all of which he finds he has no control over… is all interrupted by the absolute polar opposite of Betty Cooper. Hiram Lodge zooms up to the banana stand on his segway, angling to a stop just before taking out the stand’s foundation.

“Still getting a hang of that, Mayor Lodge?”

Hiram grimaces. “Just checking that you’ve renewed your business permit, Jones.”

They do this once a week. It’s still the same permit.

“You know,” Hiram starts as Jughead rustles for the paperwork to make him go the fuck away, “I could find you an arrangement with a better banana supplier. For a discount. If you’re interested.”

Jughead rolls his eyes. “I’m not interested in your GMO, black market bananas, Hiram.”

Hiram gives him a pointed look. Jughead rolls his eyes even harder. “Mayor Lodge.” He proffers the papers, Hiram waves them away. “I’ll take one chocolate peanut butter dip. With peanuts.”

Jughead kisses his teeth. “That will be $3.50.”

Hiram’s whole face goes serpentine. “Not between business partners, Jones. Put it on my tab.”

Jughead grits his teeth, handing the finished banana so aggressively he hopes that the chocolate splatters and stains Hiram’s $500 tie. It is only slightly worth it to watch Hiram struggle with navigating the segway one-handed, frozen banana in the other.

He muffles a chuckle before realizing he’s used the dead end of the chopped peanut topping, and exits the stand to update the order board hanging on the outside. It’s mostly an excuse to feel a ten degree drop in temperature, a sweet relief he might be able to extend by grabbing a hot dog before the intermission rush.

He’s crossing off peanuts from the topping list and spinning around when he hears a shriek and a sudden, cold slosh across his chest. The yellow polo drips with artificial blue slushie, but Jughead swallows his fucking hell when he sees that the shriek, gaping stare of horror, and stumble in question all belong to his very own blonde kryptonite.

“Oh my god. Oh my GOD, jesus, shit, I’m so sorry!”

Jughead is frozen while Betty grabs about half his napkin dispenser and starts pawing at his shirt in a vain attempt to right the giant sticky blue mess all over his chest.

Finally, Jughead swallows the golf ball in his throat and chokes out. “Honestly, it’s fine. That stand is a sauna. I needed that.”

Betty stops, both her blotting and her stream of apologizing (which includes a fair bit of cursing, and he is a little revolted with himself by how much this turns him on).

“It’s going to get very sticky, soon. Maybe I should buy a bottle of cold water?”

Jughead can’t help himself. “Oh, impromptu yellow t-shirt contest?”

Betty grins.

I did that.

“Do you have any employees who could bring you another shirt?”

Jughead shakes his head. “Just my sister. She’s playing video games at home. There’s no earthly way she’ll bring me a spare.”

Betty cocks her head. “I had a feeling you were more than the silent back row kind of guy.”

The fact that Betty Cooper has, at any point, considered what kind of guy he is triggers full-on nervous blathering. “I’m usually very tired at school. I have this little sister—but I’m kind of um, her guardian. So I’m doing this stupid banana stand thing because it’s like one of the three assets to our entire family name I guess? Anyway, it’s hard to engage with Haggly’s basic discussion questions at eight in the morning when you spent the whole night dreaming about wholesale banana margins.”

He’s essentially vomiting words, but Betty is still smiling.

“Anyway, I should crawl back into my fruit-shaped purgatory and let you go back to your friends.”

She’s biting her lip, hedging. “Honestly, they’re probably using the alone time to make out in the car, and I’d rather let them get all their sexual tension out so that I don’t have to feel it radiating off of them for the whole second half of the double feature.”

Jughead laughs and tamps down the impulse to offer her a frozen banana, because he cannot possibly say something like that without making it sound sexual.

“What are frozen banana profit margins like, anyway?” Betty asks, either genuinely interested or legitimately flirting with him. Jughead finds both potentials baffling.

Jughead hesitates, then ducks inside the stand, pulling out his spiral bound notebook. “I’m still kind of figuring it out. All my records are in here.”

Betty sidles up to the stand, taking up the whole window. They’re both leaning over the scribbled line items on college ruled paper; he can smell her shampoo. She takes the notebook, scanning thoroughly.

“Do you have a pencil?”

He hands her one and observes her going to work, writing out some algebraic formula and calculating quickly in her head. There is a calculator within his reach, but he thinks handing it to her might come off as an insult. (Jughead wouldn’t know; he assumes Betty is in an advanced math class. Jughead is not.)

After a few minutes of watching her devoted focus, thinking about her hands touching his pencil, thinking about her hands wrapped around his hand, or his—

“I don’t know how to tell this to you, Jug.”

The shortening of his name stops his heart for a jolt, and his response is embarrassingly delayed. “What is it?”

Betty winces but smiles through it, a combination she’s surely learned to use when delivering bad news. It’s well earned, it really does soften the blow.

“There’s no money in the banana stand. At least, not with these margins.”

Jughead finds himself less than devastated by this news, mostly because it makes a hell of a lot of sense. The messenger doesn’t hurt, either.

“But,” she interrupts. “I don’t know if you’ve nailed down your course load for senior year. But I’m taking AP Econ? This could be, um, a good project. Like, if you want to take the class. Or even if you don’t. Not that you’re like a project or… whatever. I’m just saying we could figure it out. Make lemonade out of… bananas.”

Betty Cooper is extremely cute when she stammers.

Jughead doesn’t know what to do, so he gives her an easy out. “I can’t like, hire you, if that wasn’t obvious by the whole… deficit spending or whatever the whole negative circled number at the bottom of the page really means.”

She flushes. “No, that would be highway robbery. I just thought there might be an… opportunity. For um, us. I mean, for you and I. I mean—” she clears her throat, as if it’s closing up. “An academic opportunity. Or, in your case, professional. Well, a betterment of your livelihood. Okay, um, shit, just… I should go!”

She turns away, her face the deepest scarlet he’s ever seen.

“Betty, wait.”

She pivots back, eyes down at the ground.

“How about I buy you a new slushie and you come back into the booth. Tell me everything I’m doing wrong for the rest of the night.”

Betty looks up, biting the corner of her smile. “Sounds like a deal.”

They shake on it.

"The Deconstruction of Dr. Jack Shephard"

"THE DECONSTRUCTION OF DR. JACK SHEPHARD" I have a confession to make. I must be one of the few fans of the ABC series "LOST" (2004-2010) who did not dislike the series' lead character, Dr. Jack Shephard. Before anyone makes the assumption that he is a favorite character of mine, let me make one thing clear. He is not. But for some strange reason, I never disliked Jack.  I still do not.

Throughout most of the series’ run, many "LOST" fans had consistently ranted against Jack’s faults. Mind you, he was not the only flawed character in the series. In fact, most of the major characters seemed to possess some very serious flaws. Jack Shephard seemed to be one of very few characters that had drawn a considerable amount of ire from the fans. I do not know why he was been specifically targeted by these fans. But I cannot help but wonder if the combination of Jack’s role as the series' lead character and his flawed personality had set fans against him. Now, someone might claim that my last remark sounds ridiculous. As I had earlier pointed out, most of the major characters are also seriously flawed or have committed some serious crimes. Extremely flawed characters like John Locke, Jin Kwon, Michael Dawson, Kate Austen, Miles Strume, Ana-Lucia Cortez, Charlie Pace, Sayid Jarrah, James "Sawyer" Ford, Sun Kwon, Boone Carlyle, Mr. Eko, Juliet Burke and Shannon Rutherford. Hell, the list was practically endless. And yet, the only other character who had received as much criticism or hate as Jack was Ana-Lucia Cortez. Why? Well, I have my theories. Both Jack and Ana-Lucia had assumed leadership among the castaways at one time or the other, due to their personalities, circumstances and professions. Ana-Lucia assumed leadership of the Tail Section passengers that crashed on one side of the island and remained stuck there for forty-eight (48) days. Since Day One of the Oceanic 815 crash, Ana-Lucia had stepped up and utilized her skills as a police officer to save lives and make decisions when no one else would. Jack, a spinal surgeon, did the same with the surviving passengers from the Fuselage Section on the other side of the island. In one early Season One episode, (1.05) "White Rabbit", he seemed willing to back away from the role of leader, until John Locke convinced him to resume it. Jack remained the leader even after Ana-Lucia and the remaining Tail Section passengers joined the Fuselage camp by the end of Season Two’s (2.08) "Collision". And it was not until after his departure from the island in the Season Four finale, (4.13/4.14) "There's No Place Like Home, Part II" with Hugo "Hurley" Reyes, Sun Kwon, Sayid Jurrah, Kate Austen and Aaron Littleton (the Oceanic Six) that he finally relinquished the position. Recalling the above made me realize something. Human beings – for some reason or other – expect leaders to know everything and always do the right thing. Always. And without fail. Humans seemed to have little tolerance toward the imperfections of our leaders. This certainly seemed to be the case for fictional characters who are leaders. And many fans of "LOST" had harbored a deep lack of tolerance toward Jack and Ana-Lucia’s personal failings. In the case of the former L.A.P.D. police officer, many fans had complained of Ana-Lucia's aggressive personality. They also accused her of being a bitch. In other words, being aggressive and hard – traits many have claimed are more suited for a man - is a sure sign that a woman is a bitch. And unlike other female characters on the series, Ana-Lucia lacked the svelte, feminine looks prevalent in productions such as the 2001-2003 "LORD OF THE RINGS" saga. Actually, gender (and racial) politics may have played a role in the fans' opinion of Jack. His main crime seemed to be that he did not fit the image of a heroic leading white male character. Physically, he looked the part. Unfortunately for Jack, he had failed to live up to those looks. He made the wrong choices on several occasions – choices that included his decision to continue Daniel Farraday's plan to set off the nuclear bomb Jughead in the Season Five finale, (5.16/5.17) "The Incident". It is interesting that many fans had dumped most the blame upon Jack’s shoulders regarding that bomb. And he was partially to blame. But those same fans had failed to remember it was Daniel Faraday who had first insisted upon setting off the bomb to reset time back to the day of Flight 815’s crash – September 22, 2004. And they also failed to recall that Dr. Juliet Burke's decision to set off the bomb for her own reasons was the final action that led to her death. Many had accused Jack of failing to be a proper parent figure to his nephew, Aaron Littleton, during his three years off the island. And at the same time, many had praised Kate Austen for pretending to be the boy’s mother. I found this rather perverse and a little disgusting, considering that Kate had set in motion the lie about her being Aaron’s mother. Jack (along with the remaining members of the Oceanic Six) was guilty of supporting Kate’s lie. But instead of criticizing both for lying about Aaron and keeping him from his Australian grandmother Carole Littleton for nearly three years, many fans had criticized Jack for not being an effective father figure to Aaron and praised a kidnapper like Kate for being a good mother. Ah, the ironies of life. Many fans had accused Jack of being emotionally abusive toward Kate. And yes, they would have every reason to criticize his behavior in episodes like (1.11) “All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues”. But Kate’s own behavior in episodes like (1.12) “Whatever the Case May Be”, which featured her constant lies and attempts to manipulate him and others, occasionally triggered his temper. If one character is going to be criticized for the situations I have previously described, the other character involved should be criticized for his or her own questionable behavior. Some of Jack's other mistakes included sanctioning Sayid’s torture of Sawyer, failure to organize a genuine search for the only child passenger from Oceanic 815′s Fuselage Section, the kidnapped Walt Lloyd, instigating that ludicrous search for Walt’s dad Michael Dawson and communicating with Martin Keamy and the other hired mercenaries aboard the S.S. Kahana. Yet, he had received more complaints about his relationship with Kate, along with his tendencies to get emotional and shed tears than for anything else. Once again, many “LOST”  fans managed to prove that we still live in a patriarchal society. It was okay for female characters to shed tears in very emotional moments, but not male characters. Especially if that one male character happened to be the series’ leading character. Jack's penchant for tears was not the only sign of how some fans can be hypocritical. I have written articles criticizing some of the series' other characters. Most of my articles have criticized Kate Austen. I will be honest. I used to dislike Kate very much. However, my dislike of her has finally abated - somewhat. Most of my dislike had stemmed from her past flaky behavior and especially from the fans’ tendency to excuse her mistakes and crimes . . . or pretend that she had never done anything wrong. However, Kate was not the only character given this leeway. James “Sawyer” Ford had murdered three people – one in Australia and two on the island - within a space of two to three months. Yet, many fans had made constant excuses for his actions. I never disliked Sawyer.  But I have complained about his flaws, mistakes and crimes on numerous occasions. When I did, many fans had pretended that he had done anything wrong. And to this day, I still find this frustrating. Sometime back in Season Two or Season Three, actor Matthew Fox and the show’s producers, Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, made it known to the media and viewers that they were doing something different with the Jack Shephard character. They took a superficially heroic type – a brilliant surgeon that assumed leadership of a group of stranded castaways – and deconstructed him. In other words, they slowly but surely exposed his flaws and took the character to what could be viewed as the nadir of his existence. Jack eventually climbed out of that existence by the series’ last season.  But certain fans on  many "LOST" message boards and forums made it clear this was not a path they had wanted Jack to take. Instead, these fans had wanted – or demanded that Jack behave like a conventional hero. During most of Season Six, Jack had managed to avoid indulging in self-destructive behavior. He also refrained from displaying any inclination to pursue a romance with Kate. The worst he had done was engage in a temper tantrum over his discovery that the island’s spiritual "man" Jacob had been observing and possibly interfering in the lives of several castaways. Another personality change I noticed was that he had passively allowed others to take the lead without questioning their decisions. I must be honest. I never liked that particular period in Jack's emotional makeup.  It made him seem like a mindless moron. Did Jack finally become the hero that so many had demanded, when he saved the island in the series finale?  Apparently, those responsible for the Emmy nominations believed he had. Why else did they finally nominate Matthew Fox for a Best Actor in a Drama award, after the series' final season. Mind you, Fox had been giving outstanding performances since the first season. But when Jack finally became a likable and somewhat conventional hero, they deemed Fox worthy of an Emmy nomination. Dear God. Personally, I never did care about Jack Shephard's status as a hero. Nor did I really care for his passive behavior in Season Six. But I did hope that he had  finally discovered some inner peace for himself. And I believe that he did during the series’ final moments.

maybe them meeting their daughters girlfriend, or their sons friends thinking veronicas hot when they go to their house, idk you pick

(I didn't edit this. Sorry for the mistakes)

“Remind me again why we’re doing this?” Archie asks as she follows Veronica around the kitchen he remodeled last summer with his own hands to distract himself from the imminent fact that his baby girl would be going to college and he was fast approaching his midlife crisis. Freddie mocked him and therefore he was punished into painting cabinets under Veronica’s ruthless quality inspection.

Veronica opens one food container her favorite caterer just dropped with some fancy-looking salad, and a smile grows on her face. There are several more filling the kitchen island.

“Because we want to have family time with our children and friends, enjoying homemade food.” She opens the next container with beet hummus, and she quietly adds, “and I don’t cook but we can always pretend.”

Snorting a laugh, Archie wraps his arms around her middle from behind and presses a kiss to her cheek. “You’re the best organizing and bossing people around, the Veronica Lodge brand. Besides, I’ll be manning the grill so we can count that as homemade.”

“You seem to forget I’m an excellent mixologist. One does not own a bar without learning a few tricks.” Veronica turns around in Archie’s arms, her eyebrow kinking up.

Archie leans closer to her, provoking a smile on her beautiful face, “We also swore we wouldn’t tell our kids about your entire business history and I wouldn’t tell a thing about my vigilante days.”

She giggles and makes a shushing gesture by placing a finger over her lips, before she rises on tiptoes to give him a kiss. It’s funny how after decades together, after a long marriage and children, she’s still fond of playing with his ears when she kisses him. Veronica’s nails rake the short hairs of the back of his head – where she claimed to have spotted a few gray hairs just last week.

Kissing his wife is certainly one of his favorite things – and it must be good for his blood pressure because it soothes him and has kept him sane for years. No one could blame him when he hums in delight from deep within his chest but of course they will anyway.

“Ew, Daddy, we have guests,” Audrey quips when she enters the kitchen, hand in hand with a slightly taller girl with red hair who is smiling in amusement.

“Shush, Addie. Just like you, I have the right to kiss my beloved. Even more so after more than thirty years.” Veronica pecks Archie’s lips once more to make her point.

Audrey chuckles and turns to her girlfriend. “So, BB, are your moms as disgusting as these ancient creeps?”

Bella Blossom might be Cheryl’s kid but she was raised by Toni as well, so instead of making a snide remark, her eyes widen and she stares at her girlfriend’s parents not knowing what to say.

“Watch it,” Archie warns with a lopsided grin and winks at the girls. “We’re happy you can join us for lunch today, Bella.” He walks past them, dropping a kiss atop Audrey’s hair, making her giggle.

“Thank you, Mr. Andrews.”

Oh, how he dislikes being Mr. Andrews. Is there anything else that can make him feel older? Only the way his knee hurts when he hits the gym and he doesn’t warm up.

As he makes his way outside to the backyard deck, Archie hears Audrey teasing Veronica about her home-cooked meal. It’s a running joke in the family how each time the kids had a bake sale, Veronica spent more money buying pastries than the school made selling them.

Burgers are almost done when Cheryl and Toni arrive. This time he’s not lucky and gets a few of those Cheryl Blossom’s snarky remarks while Toni makes damage control because Bella seems upset to see her mumsy being insufferable.

“I sometimes wonder what you did in your past life to have this kind of karma,” Jughead comments before taking a sip of his beer. “Lodges, Blossoms…”

“Bears,” Munroe jests but Archie doesn’t pay much attention to his friends when he spots three of Freddie’s friends looking at his wife too intensely for his taste.

It’s a known fact Veronica was deemed the hot mom years ago when Audrey started high school, and even before that when she was teaching and she was the hot teacher. She always tells him he can’t complain because the same thing happened to him – well, tough luck, because he hasn’t noticed other people lusting after him.

He hands the spatula and grill fork to Jughead so he can take care of the barbecue without thinking. Fortunately, Munroe decides to help instead when he sees the panic etched on the writer’s face.

“Hey, guys,” Archie greets the teenage boys huddled in a corner, with a smile that makes his face hurt. He’s never been good at pretending. “Do you want a beer?” An easy test to fail for a group of fifteen-year-olds. And they are boys, so they hesitate before one of them makes the right choice by meekly shaking his head.

With a humorless laugh, Archie smacks the shoulders of two of them, with much more force than needed. “Good choice. But you must be thirsty. Were you thinking about having a drink?” He tries, this time looking at his wife pointedly. But again, these teenage kids won’t take a hint.

Veronica is serving a cocktail and chatting with Cheryl. When she feels his gaze on her, she winks at Archie and makes a simple gesture to beckon him.

Just then Freddie returns to his friends, holding a bowl of sweet potato chips and baba ganoush – because this kid might be a carbon copy of Archie’s dad but he definitely has Veronica’s sense of style and palate.

“Kid, your friends are thirsty,” Archie says without preamble and because this is Veronica Lodge’s son, he knows it will take Freddie less than a second to pick up what he means. One look shot at the bar, the tilt of his head, an arched eyebrow and… “You should be a good host.”

Freddie has a glint of mischief in his eyes. “You’re absolutely right. I’ll get you something, and then I can tell you how in my family as a rite of passage in our family you must fight a bear–”

“Freddie–” Archie’s eyes widen. Veronica hates that story. She absolutely loathes it to the point Jughead enjoyed irking her by giving teddy bears to the children for their first birthdays. “Don’t”

“Why not? I thought you’d like for them to know you fought a bear, were in the army, worked as a firefighter, and in construction so you basically know how to kill them and make them disappear in hundreds of ways and no one would find them.” Then he turns sharply and stares at his friends. “Also, I advise you to stop looking at my mother because let’s face it, you think you’re good-looking but you’re not. She’s smarter than the three of you put together. Richer than everyone else in town. And with beauty only good genes I inherited can give.” He sighs. “So, unless you fought a bear, is there anything that makes you stand out in this place?”

“Dude,” one of Freddie’s friends mutters. It feels like this talk was a bit harsh, but Freddie also hated when Audrey’s friends flirted with Veronica.

“I know! Sad. I go to therapy because living under my parents’ shadow is unbearable,” Freddie replies, which is a lie. This boy is a Lodge in the body of an Andrews – and it’s scary.

When Archie makes his way to Veronica, he immediately wraps an arm around her and pulls her close to bury his nose in her hair.

“What?” she laughs at his childish gesture.

“Our children scare me,” Archie confesses.

“You realized it just now?” Veronica leans against his side, enjoying his hold on her.

“No, but I hate having more proof.”

She chuckles and soon cackles when he tells her what happened.

“Think about this, at least Freddie didn’t lock me in the supplies closet at school like Audrey did when her classmates ogled you on her eighth-grade talent show.”

Hello love! 

And you’re right, the hate has ramped up and anyone who says they love bughead but don’t like Betty doesn’t actually like bughead, let’s start with that. They love Jughead and self-insert as Betty and are upset she, uh, was written badly by mediocre men for a plot device. Trust me, Betty fans have been through this for years. There is nothing that Jughead can do that some people won’t defend. 

(goes for the actor who plays him as well) 

(i’m not shitting on any actor, i’m making a point about sexism and the prevalence of it in media and fandom) 

(also not shitting on self-inserting, i just think people should be honest with themselves about it)

If the shoe had been on the other foot? I think we all know these same people would making posts like, “jughead did nothing wrong, betty should have been supportive of him and he wouldn’t have had to do it 😌” or “are you saying mistakes can’t be forgiven??? wow, what about the stuff betty’s done???” 

(especially when you consider how many betty fans feel like they can’t defend her or be attacked. which, y i k e s when you consider that fandom, in general, is made up of women who would be intimately aware of what it’s like to feel like you can’t speak up for fear of retaliation) 

So, I don’t listen to that noise to be honest because here’s the thing: Betty has been getting shit since the start. I lurked for a long time before I wrote fic, btw, so I’ve seen a lot. 

Let’s walk it out: Betty stands in the way of what? Multiple ships while having the audacity to be a woman. 

She’s the wall, in people’s minds, between b/archie because they decided that Archie is in love with her and always has been and that she keeps choosing Jughead is indicative of...something, I don’t know, I don’t go near their theories tbh. She’s also the problem standing in the way of j/eronica. Jughead, according to the last time I got a troll (which was about mid s3 after they were convinced jug was going to kiss veronica and declare himself in the noir episode—that self own was delightful, thank you past troll for that one), was pining for Veronica and clearly in love with her but damned that Betty Cooper! Making him feel guilty for something? I don’t know, I also stay in my own lane and don’t go near their blogs either because I’m not an asshole who harasses people.

I do know enough to know that it’s never really about the fact that Jughead isn’t in love with Veronica, it’s Betty keeping him from being happy with her audacity to exist. Or it’s Betty keeping Archie from being happy. Or, in the case of j/archie, I think she might just be in the way with that wayward vagina of hers, causing chaos between true love of that crack ship (ship and let ship i say, sail your j/archie ships, y’all). 

She’s also currently in the way for some people with Veronica and Archie (tho i think we can all agree, it’s just going to a be a cringeworthy plot device for when jughead and veronica stroll back into town) 

Betty has the apparent bad taste to do two things: have the love of a male fave and be a main character herself. 

Which, in essence, isn’t about Betty. It’s about the perception of how a female needs to act in the minds of people who were always going to hold her to standards she was never going to be able to meet. Jughead, from the word go, has been a fave. The fave, prob. I’ve seen Betty get hate for throwing him a birthday party, where her biggest crime was trying to do something nice (i’m sorry but misguided mistakes made in good faith aren’t an attack on your fave male, betty haters) and other people turning it into chaos. She’s been called a cheater for kissing Archie while single in s2. 

Funny. I don’t recall anyone saying that after Jughead did the same thing. With a much shorter timespan between break up and kissing, do you? Or Archie, for that matter, with Farm Girl. Huh. I wonder what the difference is? 

(and yes, i’m aware they’ll flip it to she didn’t tell him right away which is still just a plot device. literally, the whole thing existed to make 2x14 happen)

Anyway. 

Years ago, reading s1 fic, I noticed a theme in a good amount of stories. Betty messed up. Constantly. It was almost always her fault and Jughead was magnanimous enough to overlook her multitude of flaws and wasn’t she lucky for it? That changed with s2 and I think a lot of us know why. Even now, when I write fics, if Jughead does something stupid, I can get comments about how Jughead had good intentions and Betty should forgive him. 

I mean, I know she will. I’m writing it, ha. But that’s not the point. The point is that they’re both capable of messing up and forgiving each other. The difference is that only one of them has a large support of unconditional loyalty while the other has loyalty that hinges on a checklist of appropriate behavior. 

Look, I’m not here to tell anyone how to love a character. If people wanna stan, go ahead. I don’t care. I think some self-awareness of bias is always a good thing. I can always tell which character I’m biased towards and I’m okay with it. I own it. I love bughead, I love both characters but if you don’t think that being harassed and targeted and having people I respected in this fandom come out and say some incredibly hurtful things hasn’t affected it, well. Sigh. 

And this is before we even get into the fact that b/archies are obsessed with forgetting about Veronica’s existence. Which drives me nuts. 

In the end it’s really about one common issue: Betty Cooper dared to be human. And as a woman on top of that, she must be punished for it. 

So, take care of yourself, curate your online experience, make edits (and link me pls!), and remember: the b/archies are most likely big, big mad that they were duped. Again. And that always makes them really loud for awhile. 

Thank you for the kind words and the ask, lovely!💜

I'd debated about whether or not to post this because it's definitely a rant and there is definitely a lot of negativity, but I need to vent after last night's episode (with some leftover issues from earlier this season, too). If Betty is your favorite and you don't like to read anything negative about her, you will not like this post.

1. The way the voicemail has been blown completely out of proportion by the writers, reviewers, and some shippers is ridiculous. We keep hearing about how it was terrible, emotionally abusive, toxic, and something that Jughead definitely needed to apologize for, but nothing he said was actually out of line. There is absolutely nothing in that voicemail that Betty should have been surprised about, let alone treating it like it somehow turns her into the victim in the fall of Bughead.

It's not surprising that Jughead has now apologized twice for the voicemail, even if he doesn't actually remember all of it, because he knows that it hurt Betty. He can also probably guess what he said because he knows what he feels and how it can be exaggerated when he's feeling depressed or under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Generally if you actually admit what you're thinking or feeling when you know it would hurt someone, you feel bad about it. It doesn't matter if it's true or not, or if you're under the influence. A good person apologizes if they know they hurt someone. Jughead is a good person.

Just a note here, I've seen other people saying that Betty's actions while high should be excused just like people have said Jughead's voicemail should be excused because he was under the influence. Being under the influence DOES NOT excuse the voicemail.

The fact that Betty cheated on Jughead, did continue to sneak around with Archie while debating whether or not she wanted to "officially" pursue him, hid the whole affair until Jughead actually caught on and she had to make up a direct lie to his face or confess, never actually explained anything to Jughead (things like she was the one who stopped the affair, she wanted to stay with Jughead, etc.) even after he asked if they could talk about it, stood him up at Pop's a year later, and then stood him up again at the book release party justify Jughead's voicemail. And he has apologized for it twice.

2. That is why it was so intensely frustrating for Betty to just brush off his apology (again) and then turn the conversation to her, but without actually apologizing for anything. When Jughead mentioned not really being able to remember the voicemail, she could have brought up what bothered her in it so (a) he would know and (b) they could actually discuss the issues, which could have led into Betty actually explaining what happened with the cheating, including how the affair ended, and she could have apologized for that. It still wouldn't have been fully satisfying because Betty never apologizes first for her actions, but it would've been better than nothing. She also could have apologized for standing him up, although at least she explained why she didn't make it to the book release party.

3. However, she still didn't admit to or apologize for giving away Jughead's manuscript. The entire reason Jughead relapsed into drinking and almost plagiarized Cora is because Betty gave Jessica his manuscript. No, Betty does not get credit for "saving" Jughead because she was present when he got a phone call from Samm and admitted that he wasn't the author. She's the reason he was in that position in the first place. Yes, she had been drugged. Yes, Tabitha was present and didn't stop her. No, neither of those things excuse it. It also doesn't excuse her from sharing the voicemail with Tabitha and Jessica.

Why not? She and Tabitha were still shown as functional when all of this happened. Jessica admitted that she drugged them to try to get the manuscript. They were both capable of thinking and arguing. Betty chose to give the manuscript to Jessica. It wasn't until afterward that Betty and Tabitha started being really impacted by the drugs. Jughead's manuscript wasn't Betty's (or Tabitha's) to give away and doing so completely screwed Jughead over.

There are some questions here--did he switch over to his typewriter and that's why there was no backup? did he forget to save a copy on his laptop? did his laptop crash or get lost? who knows, but in the story it doesn't matter. There was one copy and Betty gave it away, placing Jughead in the position of losing his agent or plagiarizing another author.

Also, for playing the voicemail, Jessica had just brought the drugged fries to the table. No one is shown as having felt the effects of the drugs until Tabitha made a comment about being warm after the voicemail is over. Betty had been reluctant to help from the beginning, before Tabitha mentioned the "don't be a Betty" line, and made fairly rude comments about Jughead throughout the episode. I don't think she needs to apologize to Jughead for sharing it, but I also thought that playing the victim and having some people blame it on "being high" was ridiculous.

4. You cannot convince me that Betty cares about Jughead in the slightest when he was telling her he was an alcoholic and he's trying to get better and he's clearly drinking alcohol right in front of her and her response is "I'm an addict, too. I'm addicted to serial killers." She's struggling, yes, and it's good that she's opening up, but if she cared about Jughead at all an appropriate response here would be "So, why are you drinking?" or "are you okay?" Show some sort of concern for someone who is relapsing in front of your face. Jughead does it for Betty when he suggests she should take a break, even though he's in a moral quandary caused by Betty, depressed, and drunk.

Also, no, chasing serial killers is not an addiction in the same way as drugs or alcohol and it's insulting to say they're the same. Chasing serial killers could be described as a compulsion for Betty, or a hyperfixation, but it's not the same. It's difficult, but you can choose to not follow a compulsion without experiencing the often severe physical side effects experienced by actual addicts. I'm glad Betty recognized that she has a problem, but no, that is not an addiction.

5. The entire conversation is extremely awkward. It's clear that it isn't what Jughead had in mind, but his life that he had just been starting to get back together fell apart. He sank to new (or at least different) lows. Betty seemed like she wanted to leave as soon as she got there (understandable given how awkward it was, even secondhand) and disappeared once Jughead was distracted by a phone call. It's understandable, but disappointing. The part that was really frustrating, though, was that after talking to Jughead about how unhealthy her serial killer obsession is and how she's worried about her mom, she still goes out. Alice was passed out on the couch, which Betty paused to acknowledge. That should have been a turning point for Betty and it just wasn't. Screw these writers.

6. I loved that Tabitha and Jughead had mutual apologies, discussed their issues, and genuinely seemed to care about each other. I also loved that Jughead still cares and worries about Betty (frustrating as it is when it seems unreciprocated) because it's so true to Jughead's character.

7. It is absolutely fine and understandable if Betty has moved on from Jughead. She seemed to believe that if he found out about the cheating in their senior year, it would be the end of their relationship. She started shutting him out and trying to move on the next day.

However, as a Jughead fan, it's intensely annoying to see him still struggling with the lack of closure and continuing to have feelings for Betty after all of that. I would have preferred to see either both of them move on, then rediscover each other later (or not, depending on where the show is going), or have Betty be the one who still clearly has feelings for Jughead and have her regret blowing up the relationship.

8. Overall, I hate a lot of what the writers have done this season. I don't particularly like any of the backstories for the characters during the time jump, I don't like each character following a separate plot line(s), the lack of interaction between characters, and how disjointed everything feels.

The mothman plot was interesting, but seems destined for a disappointing end. There have been a lot of missed opportunities to bring storylines together (Jughead went missing while Archie was looking for escaped prisoners, he could have found Jughead; Jughead hitchhiked with a random trucker, even without the trucker attacking him he could have seen clues or found Polly; Sweet Pea or Fangs could have seen Betty playing hooker and organized an intervention instead of having the weird cult plot line; I'm sure there's more). Maybe it'll be better with a binge watch, but I'm having trouble maintaining interest in the final three episodes, let alone rewatching this mess of a season.

BONUS: I was relieved that the Bughead talk did not go with my worst case scenario. Based on the possible B/A return, I was a little bit worried that Jughead would apologize for the voicemail and remember what he said, then talk about how he always knew Betty had feelings for Archie. Betty, who said she'd been "wanting this since high school," would then nod along and say she was sorry for hurting him, but acknowledge those feelings. Then Jughead would ask why they never acted on those feelings after the breakup, Betty would talk about the FWB, and Jughead would go full B/A cheerleader and tell her to give it a chance (like the Pacey and Joey chat about Dawson at Mitch's funeral in Dawson's Creek). I was dreading that possibility and I'm so glad the show didn't go there. I'm sorry if I've given anyone nightmares.

5x06 Reaction

JARCHIE!!! I missed their interactions so much... like honestly in S4 they barely spoke.  I’m loving the “roommates” dynamic.  

Ok the kevin/fangs/toni apartment(?) is... amazing!!

I love how they hired actual teenagers (or close to it) to play the high school kids... since all the “teachers” were playing high school students, what, 3 episodes ago?? 

Ok mechanic Betty is SO HOT

DORITOS I AM CRYING AT THIS PRODUCT PLACEMENT

Veronica’s taking over the Blue Velvet!!! Why not reuse that set lmao

Thoughts on this initial barchie interaction: 

I’ve seen all the discourse about it seeming like Archie doesn’t care about Betty’s problems, or not taking them seriously, and people comparing Archie’s “oof - that sucks” to jughead’s “white noise” speech in 1x08 (which I thought was cringy AF and I even liked b*ghead at the time) and here’s what I’ll say: 

His “oof - that sucks” comment as MATCHING Betty’s tone - she says it kind of matter of factly and with a bit of an eyeroll, she does NOT seem very upset about it, and she is a grown ass adult who DOESN’T need Archie’s condolences in that moment - and Archie knows that. 

She then brings up Polly, and Archie ASKS A FOLLOW UP QUESTION: “didn’t your mom say she does this? Takes off for a couple of days” which shows that he is referring to a previous conversation about this - they’ve BEEN talking about it and he DOES care (not to mention they showed that he had texted her about Polly at the end of the last episode)

She says she’s trying not to panic - because she knows this is something Polly does and may not actually be in danger - SO HE OFFERS A DISTRACTION during a time when she is basically asking for one, and then SHE COMES UP WITH THE IDEA OF WHERE TO GO HAVE SEX

Anyway I have argued with enough people on twitter about this lol.. I feel strongly.  Also, this scene was super cute and both Archie and Betty look so good in it.  

I love Tabitha.  Smart, enterprising, witty... I’m all for the Jugitha pairing. (seriously though, is a ship name decided for them? I’ve seen Tabhead and Jabitha as well, lol.  

Uhhhhh ok this car sex scene? It somehow feels even more explicit than the shower scene?? The moaning and breathing?? HOW DARE THESE STONEWALL KIDS INTERRUPT THIS

LMAO NIGHT JOGGING

Is it just me or is Sheriff Keller looking really hot? Silver fox??  

I have to note that Archie’s hair colour looks SO BAD in this whole episode but especially this football scene with the Reggie confrontation.  It’s like, almost burgundy? But somehow bright orange at the same time? I hate it.  

Ok Cole is absolutely nailing this “down on his luck, beaten down” adult Jughead.  His character is funny all the sudden?? I love that he kept the money in the tip jar like OF COURSE

Ok Chad coming into Veronica’s class HE’S THE WORST!!! And then SITTING AT THE BACK I HATE HIM SO MUCH FOR THIS

Alright, now we have another scene that has people talking, which is where Archie meets Chad.  My thoughts: 

Archie clearly sizes up Chad.  I mean, he dated Veronica for 3-ish years (in the show’s timeline) so yeah, it’s normal to meet your ex’s new partner and size them up.  It read more like “he thinks Chads a douche” as opposed to “he’s jealous of Chad because he wants to be with V”.  

They show makes a point of showing Betty’s reaction to them meeting.  THIS SHOT IS NOT RANDOM.  Yes, I’m sure the show will go there, she’ll get jealous of V at some point.  Betty thinking that Archie is jealous of Chad is not the same as Archie actually being jealous of Chad.  

I kind of loved how Chad just jumps in here to join in the karaoke night - he didn’t redeem himself from the previous scene where he SAT IN THE BACK OF HER CLASS WHILE SHE WORKED but I like how they’re not playing him completely evil

Next scene: BETTY AND TONI ARE TALKING!!! I REPEAT!!! BETTY AND TONI ARE TALKING!!! Seriously, it’s so refreshing that they’re actually letting all kinds of new dynamics and character interactions happen this season.  

Also, NEDSLIST!!!! THIS SHOW!!!!

I am living for Cheryl being completely beautiful whilst yelling at construction workers.  

So like... she actually doesn’t have that much money. She couldn’t really afford the donation for the school... I kind of wish that once she says “I can’t afford it” people would like, not keep pushing? I’m looking at you Toni, whom I absolutely adore, I just wish the writers didn’t make it like Cheryl’s being squeezed dry.  I get that it’s needed for plot purposes but I don’t love it.  

Kevin and Betty are friends again!!! Love it!!! 

Karaoke night thoughts: 

At no point is Jughead hanging out or interacting with the rest of the group.  He stays separate from them - with Tabitha, which I appreciate, but I am just noting this because I’m sure it was done purposefully. 

“She probably forgot it’s Gekko now” uhhhh didn’t Toni announce V as “Veronica Gekko” in the last episode?? LOL THE SHADE

I love Veronica’s voice

Ok so Chad actually comes off so great in this scene?? I guess this is part of his manipulation - come off as such a great guy in front of all her friends to get them to like him? 

Jughead’s reaction to the duet is so me every time I’ve watched people do karaoke lmao

During the “or do you need more? Is there something else you’re searching for” they cut to Archie’s and Betty’s reaction.  Archie is not thinking about V in that moment.  

I am not seeing one iota of jealousy from Archie.  He looks genuinely happy for them.  

This Chad and Veronica bed scene makes me uncomfortable.  But I’m glad they’re showing their softer moments! 

The Archie/football recruitment sequence... Chad in the back of Veronica’s classroom again??? HOW IS THIS HAPPENING I HATE THIS!! Also, this is another scene where Chad looks jealous of Archie... not the other way around. 

Britta!!! I love her.  And I feel like the writers inserted her in specifically for Britta Lundin, former Riverdale writer and acclaimed author (read her book Ship It, seriously, it’s so good), and I love that. BUT THE WAY ARCHIE LOOKS AT BETTY IN THIS SCENE IS THAT EVEN LEGAL

We get the first glimpse Toni’s “Operation Bring Cheryl Out Of Hiding” plan here, when Archie asks her for funding for the football team and says its earmarked for something else (hmmmmmmm... this plan has been in the works for a while... and I’m here for it) 

Ok. This scene where Archie goes to ask Cheryl for money is... a mess.  My first reaction is that it was so OOC for Archie to bring up Jason in that way.  Then I got to thinking... Archie probably would want to honour his dad in that way and was genuinely suggesting that as something that might actually be helpful to her, as opposed to purposely trying to manipulate her.  He knows what it’s like to lose a family member, he just didn’t realize that Cheryl doesn’t grieve in the same way. The boy doesn’t have a malicious bone in his body.  Anyway, now he’s been banished from Thornhill! But don’t we see him (and everyone) there in a bts photo from possibly 5x08? Isn’t that at Thornhill? Will this be addressed or will the writers just forget it ever happened?

I love Betty and Kevin investigating together. It’s so refreshing. 

Ok this place Jughead is going to is legit the creepiest shit I’ve ever seen.  I am having trouble making myself care about this “Mothmen” plot??

Betty’s “Straight to the Point” interrogation style is actually effective in this truck stop stakeout scene.  

Alice again with her wine... I wonder if there will actually be an “Alice is an alcoholic” storyline or is the wine just part of her personality now?

Ok like it’s so inappropriate for a teacher to be wearing an HBIC shirt BUT I AM HERE FOR THIS DRAMATIC VIXENS HALLWAY WALK!! And Toni is correct, Cheer is a sport so sit down, Archie.  Notably Toni adds in “not even Cheryl managed to do that” - I’m thinking she new Ms. Bell would be eavesdropping ;)

WHY IS THIS PORTAIT OF JASON WORTH SO MUCH?? 

Is this Minerva character going to be important?? I keep seeing people talking about how she and Cheryl are going to hook up but is that just because she’s a female character who interacts with Cheryl? I’m not seeing it yet but hey, it’s Riverdale.  

JUGHEAD BRINGING UP THE EPIC HIGHS AND LOWS OF HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL I SCREAMED

Seriously though, since we know Jughead wasn’t there when Archie said that, there’s two options: Either Archie told him he said it, or (my preferable theory) Archie used to just SAY THAT REGULARLY and has said it in front of Jug lmao.

Chad again seems legit supportive when she tells him about her jewelry store plan?? THEY’RE SO UP AND DOWN!!! 

Ok, so Betty is an FBI agent (trainee, whatever) and she JUST NOW THOUGHT OF TRACING POLLY’S CELL PHONE

This scene... when Veronica finds out Chad has been talking to Hiram behind her back... this is where she decides she’s done with Chad. 

Another scene with Archie - I am still getting zero vibes that he’s into Veronica? And zero vibes that Veronica’s into Archie? It makes complete sense that Veronica would want to help the bulldogs.  Chad is a total dick here and is definitely threatened by Archie... again, not the other way around.  Side note: Chad, if threatened by Archie, is a TOTAL IDIOT for suggesting Archie renovates the Pembrooke - like, he’s going to be working? All the time? Where Veronica is staying? And probably taking his shirt off because he’s sweaty from all the working?? WHYYYYY WOULD CHAD ENCOURAGE THIS

This little flirty scene between Jughead and Tabitha (and it’s the first that I would say has any flirty undertones whatsoever) is pretty cute.  

THIS BARCHIE PORCH SCENE I HAVE THOUGHTS

The fact that people are suggesting Betty showed up there because she wanted to talk to Jughead is SENDINNNNGGGGGG

Let’s be clear, she only asked about Jughead so she could make sure he wasn’t home so that she could bone Archie. There is no other interpretation for this. 

THIS IS THE BEST BARCHIE KISS TO DATE

They are playing the song from the porch scene in the pilot... DON’T TELL ME BARCHIE IS MEANINGLESS WHEN THEY ARE USING THIS SONG

I think the fact that this is the first time they had sex and we didn’t see it is meaningful - they are showing that the relationship is deepening and they are more than “just sex”

As Betty leaves, Archie looks like he wants to reach out for her and then stops himself - he is definitely falling hard and he’s afraid Betty isn’t feeling the same way

Ok, Cheryl is straight up wearing lingerie in Toni’s office!!! And the red lipstick is back - notably, throughout the entire show, she has worn the red lipstick as a kind of shield - she never has it for her “vulnerable” scenes.  Seems like that is still happening. AND this is where we see Boss Toni’s plan come into fruition - she started up the vixens and MADE SURE CHERYL FOUND OUT ABOUT IT because she knew that was the one thing that would make Cheryl come out of her Thornhill hiding spot.  Well played, Toni.  

Archie and Veronica announcing the bulldog funding... again, I’m not seeing ANY “romantic/attraction” vibes here? He does react when she says her last name is Lodge again but like, anyone would? 

MS. BELL YOU GOSSIP I’M OK WITH YOU REPORTING TO CHERYL BUT I DRAW THE LINE AT HIRAM

Is Reggie... filing his nails? Lmao

I really hope Polly isn’t dead?? Like I very much want a Polly redemption story!! 

Sooooo I guess Archie and Jughead are both going to die in this fire? Lol... well... they’re main characters so I’m sure they’re good.  

I’m doooone for this week! So far really enjoying the timejump? Obviously because of barchie but also, everyone is just - better. 

Well this turned out to be a novel.  If you made it this far, thanks for reading :) 

Okay, so I need to just.. get some things off of my chest here. Because at some point soon I’m probably going to stop coming to the tag because I need to vent but I also don’t want to keep wallowing. It’ll make it harder to move on when I keep reminding myself of it and getting angry and sad about it.

First I’ll say that I am 100% convinced that they’re done with romantic barchie. I become more convinced each day. And I know some people are hanging on, which is fine.. you do you. But I also hope you see it soon, because I don’t want them to use you. I don’t think it’s fair, and we barchies have been through so much.

What convinces me that they’re done? First.. this was the perfect opportunity to go for it. If they didn’t explore it now, when the road was clear, then they’re not going to. Next..they made some callbacks to the first season, and they were in vrchies favour. The callback to the s1 party? Ended the same way. Archie going after Veronica. You would reverse it if you wanted barchie. And they even used the “if you love me” pilot song back in 5x06, which showcased Archie looking off - because he was feeling things for Veronica, as it turned out. So no, the answer to the question if he loves her is no. (now, I call bullshit and retcon, but this is the canon they’re going with now) Then you have Archie not showing indecision or being caught between the two and not showing feelings for Betty. I hate it, but didn’t. He said he was perfectly fine with booty calls, but I guess when it started mixing with Betty being upset after a nightmare, it started to feel wrong when his feelings for V were growing and he didn’t want to lead Betty on. Archie didn’t look happy when Jackson said he was juggling two girls.

Then you have Archie’s wildly different reactions to Veronica picking his key, and Betty getting his key. Like, honestly.. even if they wanted to go in a direction of him having to deal with lingering feelings for Veronica and then feelings for Betty getting deeper.. we would have seen him having feelings for Betty. Like now. And that’s not how it played. He just showed zero feelings. Which is a retcon from practically the whole series, but this is their new take. To erase barchie from the equation and guarantee the fans of those other ships their endgames.

Then you have “the break up scene”. Following on from the retcon, I’m just so frustrated with this because of the lack of effort. They didn’t explore barchie and let them really navigate their feelings and figure if they worked or not. They just had them had meaningless sex (apparently, at least on Archie’s end) and throw some reason out there why they ~don’t work~. That was full fanservice and closing the door by declaring that they.. don’t work. Even though it was full TELL and not SHOW. I still don’t even understand?

Take it back to Betty’s conversation with Kevin - where she was so happy and didn’t want it to end, btw. Like lets lay it out:

 “I don’t want to get too deep with him.”

“Why?!”

“He’s this lit window in the darkness. And I don’t ever want that light to go out.”

Okay.. so my take away from that is that she would like it to be more, but it’s a fear of losing him if things don’t work out and she’ll lose the light that he brings. Fair enough, I kind of get it.

But then when it’s a conversation with Archie, she just say’s they’re completely different people in their cores. ?? Being different people is not a reason to not be together if you get on. If you’ve been best friends your whole lives. If you have amazing sexual chemistry. And then with him being her light - damn, utilise that. Does it really make a difference if he’s helping her as a friend or romantic partner? Will that make a difference in not dragging him down if he’s there for her anyway through what she’s going through? It just doesn’t make any sense to me. And it’s not like Archie doesn’t have his own issues and trauma. But it’s again all in favour of the antis/other shippers who just want to know that BA are over and insist from their biased perspectives that they can’t ever work. The writers are full on catering to that, and I can’t for the life of me understand that obsession when you’re running the show to it’s end with those kinds of decisions. I just feel like they went.. right, we need to find an excuse why they wont work, and insert some word vomit and use the words “we should work because (cliche) but we’re different.” and think that just.. explains it all, even though it’s all tell and no show.

Anyway, I think that covered the biggest red flags I saw for the end of the ship. So now let me start on the thing that pisses me off even more even more than them fucking ruining my ship to serve the antis everything they want.

The engagement of the writers on social media leading up to this. You want to tell a story and do whatever you want? Fine. But I cannot grasp what kind of people take a ship that it’s fans have been waiting for.. for four years while they dropped hints and had them kiss and teased them.. and hypes them up and makes them promises of a romance coming up.. and then fucks them over in about 3 episodes by ending the ship for good. And rushing back to the other ship.

Who does that? How do they think it’s okay to fuck with people like that? And then they victimize themselves because people are calling them out. (note: not condoning any death threats or extreme things)

And it’s not even shippers that have a right to be angry, just as a side note. A fresh start and new things were promised. And they’re right back to the stale things? Make it make sense. You can’t.

You know, not that long ago I was still laughing at myself for loving a ship on Riverdale. Like no offense, but past the first few episodes I thought this show was a joke, and became more so. But I loved barchie. They were this little thing that made so much sense and seemed to have a set up for a beautiful story in the end. So I got invested in that. Jokes on me?

And I will never understand how they think it’s the best story to keep the same two couples together for the duration of the show with little to nothing else. They couldn’t keep them apart for 5 episodes through cheating and a time jump? It is SO insane and odd? It is so boring and complete fan service and actually ruins the show and makes it a joke?

And I’m happy that Betty and Jughead were “allowed” to have sexual relationships outside of each other, but at least 3/4 of these characters never got to experience another loving relationship outside of their high school loves..? (and I’m only excluding Veronica because I think at some point she loved Chad at the start..?) Now, I’m not dissing all high school relationships that go to marriage. But to just pair up two couples neatly with these core 4.. and have them break up for 7 years and still not give them these experiences and relationships is stupid and really fucking sad. You can love more than one person in your life, and it doesn’t discount anything.

And if they wanted them brought back together eventually, they could have actually had a much better build up back to it? Yet they’re just incapable of taking any time and wont keep them apart for more than a handful of episodes? I’ve never encountered a show like this, and that is not a good thing. At all.

And the fanbases they’re catering for are so entitled. And I guess that goes hand in hand with the constant fanservice, but it’s just such a toxic thing. I don’t think any fanbase are innocent angels, but as someone who has dealt with their shit and entitlement from season 1.. it’s just unbelievable and funny any time that they try to say that we.. I don’t know, deserved this? What does that mean your toxic fanbase deserves?

But let me clear about something: I’d never want your content and ships. More screentime, maybe. But even then the screentime and focus on two ships took over and at least the barchie fandom never wanted that with our ship. We were happy to share screentime with other characters. And if my ship had one cheating on the other with someone the other character had always worried about.. and they never apologised for the cheating? I think I’d be done. As it is there’s a lot of barchies that don’t excuse or forgive things that went down and unsure if they could forgive it and like the ship again.

And hey, I will take Archie being Betty’s light and never wanting to lose that vs I don’t know.. sharing darkness with someone else?

And barchie’s chemistry was unmatched. (and drew people back in that they will now lose.)

Anyway.. I think I’ve covered at least most of what I wanted to. Didn’t mean to get so anti-other ships at the end, but I’m just venting on everything.