#tbk book 5

[calugaritsa]

artists rendition of the entirety of Pro and Contra (ft. Alyoshas cherry preserve)

[cebomar09-blog]

TBK - Round 2

I just finished The Brothers Karamazov for the second time. The first reading was roughly 5 years ago, and it touched me differently this time. The first reading was more of an emotional ride. My intuition was jarred. This time, the intellectual and philosophical questions it posed were terrifyingly clear. I have learned so much in the time between the two readings that the book came alive even more. I could see where Nietzsche and Freud w​ould have grappled with Dostoevsky’s words. I imagined Nietzsche reading Ivan's nightmare, the meetings between Ivan and Smerdyakov, and every instance in which the implications of God's death arose. I could see clearly this time how each character played a part in Fyodor Pavlovich's death and Dmitri's sentencing. I can see how we are all guilty of each other’s sins. I can see why we need God, however you may refer to it. I can see why each of our decisions is so important and that if we accept grace, it will work through us, so that we need not be anxious about decisions, big or small. In other words, if we become possessed by a benevolent spirit, we can Trust.

This will be a separate post, but to mention it briefly...We are all guilty of each other’s sins. Not only is this a helpful mindset, but it may also be true. What would happen if everyone adhered to such an idea? Each character had done or said something that, in turn, affected the outcome of what happened next, which influenced the next event, which ultimately led to Dmitri being where he was on the night of the murder. Everyone's actions and ideas, too, led Smerdyakov to the murder, whether it was through commission or omission, as in Ivan’s leaving town being permission for the murder, whether he knew it at the time or not. He knew it later. 

Do ideas have spirits? Can spirits manifest as ideas? Carl Jung said, “People don’t have ideas; ideas have people.”

I need not write here about another theme in the book, which is the question, “If there is no God, is everything permitted?” I have written about and will continue to ponder this question, for I see it as a keystone to the maintenance of our civilization. If I thought there was no God, no higher or transcendent order, that everything was relative and subjective, and, therefore, that nothing meant anything in the end, why would I not murder anyone who so much as looks at me wrongly? In the end, truly, what is stopping me? It is because I know that this reality is ordered and is not random and arbitrary. I know it in my mind and in my bones, and I think so do you. In the final analysis, we must be bound by the transcendent. We must accept the restriction and death(s) that come from bowing to this higher order that we may ultimately be free in the world and liberated from the invisible chains that bind us. Accepting a grand narrative is a profoundly vulnerable act. Once you accept it, other narratives are left out. This is the nature of Truth. But the outright and total rejection of the existence of objective truth is self-worship, which ultimately leads in one direction.

At the very end, I was struck by Alyosha telling the boys to remember the death of this innocent Illyusheckha, that they may be stopped in their tracks years or decades down the road if they were to make a bad decision, or even if they were doing just fine. What does it mean to remember the suffering and death of the most innocent? What power does such a memory hold in us throughout life and its many, many moments? Koyla, the precocious one, asked Alyosha if what they say in religion was true. Namely, whether we will rise from the dead and be reunited at some point in the future, his answer was a confident “yes”. Is it so that they would meet again in the future because of the death of this innocent one? In what ways does this mirror Jesus’ sacrifice? This, I wonder. 

There are more questions this reading brought up for me, but this is the final boss: What about the suffering of children, really? What are we to do with this? The atheist's strongest argument against God, not God's existence but God's goodness, is the suffering of the innocent. Ivan granted that God might exist, but if God is the one who allows such things to happen, he would opt to return his ticket. I do not blame him. This is obviously a matter of theology, and I will not delve into that here, but I surely will later. My one question is this: What if God is not the one who caused the suffering we encounter but is the one who suffers with us?

Thank you, Dostoevsky, for another beautiful, mind-wrenching, heart-softening ride. I am humbled by your work. It leaves me in awe and never ceases to bend my brain and heart to the point where it nearly breaks. But I've found that much like a tree that has swayed and survived harsh winds, I grow a little bit stronger with each challenge.

[mordredpendragon]

For the arthuriana ask game: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🫅🏻😏💛💚

thank you so much <3

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Pick A Pelli Spawn (Percival, Aglovale, Tor, Lamorak, Aylane, Dindrane, Donar, ect)

PERCIVALSWEEP

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Okay Now You Can Talk About Orkneys

i need a retelling focused around them that's got the same energy as dostoevsky's the brothers karamazov. apart from henry newbolt's mordred, a tragedy, i haven't found something that really scratches the orkney brothers itch in the same way TBK does for complicated brother dynamics in general. there's a lot of potential here

anyway, i have a lot of thoughts on them as you can imagine. to me, the orkneys are like if cain and abel was split into 5 equally unhinged brothers. mordred is a unique case though.

🫅🏻 - already answered in my previous ask :p

😏 - gawain

if i said what i wanted to say tumblr would get my blog flagged. anyways.... i need him. there's a lot of really good gawains, i think people should get into perlesvaus though. yes the MC is percival but gawain is another POV there and he's so well fleshed out it's amazing. i love his friendship with percival

also i think everyone should read @queer-ragnelle's book when it comes out because her gawain is also a favorite of mine spot on 10/10 welcome back vulgate anonymous monk

💛A Sibling Group/Dynamic That IS NOT The Orkneys

there's a lot i could mention, but DEFINITELY lancelot and bors though. that's such an upcoming favorite for me they're soooo so good in vulgate death of arthur + BBC TLOKA. i think their dynamic is underutilized.

morgause and morgan as well. i love to see anything that expounds on arthurian women, but especially those two.

and this is kind of an oddball but mordred and sagramore? considering that sagramore was mordred's foster brother when mordred was brought up by the fisher family before being brough to court. i don't remember them having much interactions (feel free to correct me if i'm wrong) and that he ends up killing him during the battle at camlann.

💚 Favorite Quest/Story Arc

percival grail quest next question

jk. literally anything to do with percival and mordred is my favorite but those are such obvious answers lol. if i had to get specific, i'm especially fond of that time mordred and lancelot went to go questing in vulgate. probably think of it everyday and it's another underrated dynamic i really adore, i could honestly do a dissection of it if i wanted to bc there's a lot of details about it that i like.

my hc is that lancelot looks after mordred the same way he looks after gareth. kinda cute kinda fucked up! adds to the tragedy <3

[gegengestalt]

Katerina Ivanovna Verkhotseva! (For the ask game thingy)

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

(You don’t have to answer all of these if you don’t want to, however I love your takes on her and am dying to hear you talk about her more.)

Oooh, finally! Someone sends me something related to the ask game! And about one of my favourite girls, too!

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

If I had to choose just one, it would be how explosive she can be. I love it so much when things don't go her way and she goes from being so doting to resorting to insults and almost throwing hands. This is not simply the rage of a young woman who shows her true colours when she doesn't have what she wants, she really, really seems to be convinced that things are going her way... And then reality hits her.

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Oh, Katya Ivanovna, you would have loved Me and My Husband by Mitski. Somehow I imagine the lyrics being about her and Mitya at first, but as the song goes on she's actually talking about Ivan.

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

I don't feel like Katya is talked about much in general, and I can say so confidently after navigating as much TBK related content on the internet as I could. So I don't really know what to say. When she gets attention, I specially love it when her God/saviour/martyr complex is adressed and appreciated. She is a little weird.

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Tough question, since there is a lot I dislike about how female characters are treated by readers in general (as well as narratives). I'm going to try to be original and say something I haven't said before. I don't really like it when the girls are pitted against each other, like you have to choose one of them or think one is better than the other. I think a lot of the animosity between her and Grusha come from struggles with themselves and their fears and insecurities, and I feel sympathetic towards both of them, both young women who want to feel some control over their lives. So it breaks my heart a little when other people who prefer Grusha put down Katya and viceversa.

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

This is half headcanon half character reading, but knowing that she lost her mother at a young age and that there is a theme of absent mothers throughout the book, I like to think that the loss of her mother impacted how she turned out and why she seems to take on some motherlike, overbearing tendencies herself.

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Hmmm, I don't know how I'm supposed to answer to this, but I associate her with elegant, long clothing in green, blue and white, sometimes with gold accessories. Combined with the light brown hair of my design, it gives her a springlike kind of look.

In The Sims, I gave her a preppy, simple look with light colours. Here she is, I don't know why she's loooking at squids on her phone.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

Katya was a character who had to grow on me. On my first read, I didn't like her much, but I didn't dislike her either. She was, in fact, one of the harder characters to visualize. I had to make several sketches of her designs because all I could think of was "tall slender girl with dark eyes and a lot of hair". Only after processing what I had read for a longer time I started to pick apart everything she said and started to appreciate her more (and started to appreciate her relationship to Ivan as well). In retrospective, the buildup to her introduction was great. It's not as good as Nastasya's, but it's the work of a good writer. I love Katya, saviour complex and all.

[toyota-eddie-supriyadi]

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[officek-paper]

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[thxnews]

BRI's Green Bonds: Fuelling Indonesia's Sustainability

  A Green Step Forward

PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) Persero Tbk. (IDX: BBRI) has taken a significant stride toward a greener future with the issuance of IDR 6 trillion Green Bonds for 2023. This substantial move aligns with BRI's commitment to advancing sustainability and renewable energy projects in Indonesia.   Three Series of Green Bonds BRI's Green Bonds for 2023 come in three series, each tailored to different investment horizons: a 1-year series with a 6.10% coupon rate, a 2-year series with a 6.35% coupon rate, and a 3-year series with a 6.30% coupon rate. The issuance adheres to the fund usage framework established by the Financial Services Authority Regulation No. 60/POJK.04/2017.  

Oversubscribed Success

During the book-building period, the 2023 Green Bonds Phase II attracted immense interest, with oversubscriptions reaching 2.66 times the initial offering. This resounding success reaffirms BRI's position as Indonesia's leading domestic green bonds issuer, building on its earlier achievement of issuing IDR 5 trillion in green bonds in 2022.  

Funding a Sustainable Future

The proceeds from the Green Bonds issuance will primarily bolster initiatives in renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution control, eco-friendly transportation, and sustainable land use projects. This underscores BRI's unwavering commitment to fostering a Green Economy and Sustainable Principles. In addition to Green Bonds, BRI has previously issued Sustainable Bonds, Sustainable-Linked Loans, Medium-Term Notes, and Subordinated Debt.   An Environmental Focus At least 70% of the raised funds will be directed towards environmentally responsible business activities, with the remaining portion channeled into Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) financing. Moreover, the funds designated for environmentally responsible activities will also facilitate the refinancing of expiring green bonds in 2023.  

A Vision of Sustainability

Agus Noorsanto, Director of Wholesale and Institutional Business of BRI, emphasized the bank's commitment to generating value while concurrently enhancing societal well-being. This commitment aligns with BRI's vision to be recognized as The Most Valuable Banking Group in Southeast Asia and The Champion of Financial Inclusion. BRI remains steadfast in supporting government initiatives related to Environmental Management and Climate Change Control.   Retail Investor Participation Achmad Royadi, SEVP Treasury and Global Services at BRI highlighted that the Green Bonds issuance garnered interest from retail investors. This not only underscores BRI's dedication to the government's financial inclusion strategy but also demonstrates the relatively low risk associated with the bonds. Pefindo has accorded them an idAAA (Triple-A) rating, affirming BRI's capability to meet its long-term financial obligations.  

A Forward Timeline

The issuance of BRI's Green Bonds Phase II in 2023 will follow a set timeline: - Estimated Public Offering Period: October 6 – 9, 2023 - Estimated Allotment Date: October 10, 2023 - Estimated Electronic Bonds Distribution Date: October 12, 2023 - Estimated Securities Listing Date on the Indonesia Stock Exchange: October 13, 2023   Sources: THX News & PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk (BRI) Read the full article

[nietzschey]

so I’m half way done with my compilation book of kafka, on chapter one of a clockwork orange, segment one of the brothers karamazov, and on chapter 5 of the grapes of wrath. it’s guna take a long time to chip away at TBK but I’m planning to finish my kafka compilation book within a week and get more into either the grapes of wrath or a clockwork orange (perhaps even both) but I don’t want to start new books until I’ve finish off those ones

[crazymisscarly]

Evidence of Bughead Endgame: Season 5

- This post is purely intended to show canonical evidence of adult Betty and Jughead still caring about each other, and dare I say wanting each other back, from Season 5 and Season 5 only. Because at the end of the day, what happens on social media, and whatever happens between actors in their personal relationships, has absolutely nothing to do with what happens between two fictional characters.

So, let’s start at the beginning. 

5x4 (because lets be real, that’s the actual start of Season 5)

- Jughead still writes his stories on the typewriter Betty gave him (idk maybe that means it’s sentimental to him or something, I wonder if that’ll come up in Season 6)

- After Jess leaves him, he has a drunken one-night-stand with Cora (who is a decent Betty lookalike):

- Jughead is visibly shaken by Cora walking out in his S shirt, an obvious illusion to the way Betty wore this shirt after sex several times, and also after knitting him a new beanie.

- It seems like Jughead is an alcoholic, and his life is crumbling before his eyes.

- Meanwhile, Betty is very, very clearly closed off from her emotions. She has some kind of relationship (or casual fling) with definitely-not-a-serial-killer Glen Scot, and apparently has no friends. She is seemingly single-focused on working through the TBK case, and has PTSD because of her experiences with him. Refuses to open up to her therapist, and doesn’t want to get too deep with Glen.

- We see how tense Betty and Jughead are in each other’s presence. Likely, this is because Betty assumes Jughead hates her (see - voicemail), and Jughead assumes Betty doesn’t want anything to do with him (she hasn’t contacted him in years and didn’t go to his book launch).

5x5

- Jughead walks Betty home.

- This is the first mention of the voicemail. Jughead apparently doesn’t remember it, and Betty says that due to this voicemail, she assumed he didn’t want to hear from her. He’s sorry he gave her that impression.

- He says it’s nice to see her, she agrees even though it’s a little weird.

- Jughead’s preoccupation for the next few eps will be his need to write something new and publishable, as well as getting out of debt.

- Kevin asks Betty about the Bughead reunion, and she admits it went as well as could be expected. Notes that not everyone had luck with their high school sweetheart. Interesting point there Betty, I bet no one in the fandom will obsess over it.

- Betty hooks up with Archie for the first time. Makes it clear to him that they’re just adults having fun; important, because this shows she isn’t willing to have a deeper relationship with him. This is the second time in two episodes that it’s been implied she’s using sex as a coping mechanism. She also doesn’t want Jughead to know about it, but thinks it should be fine because they broke up 7 years ago.

- Betty has an argument with Polly and feels guilty about it. Queue Betty’s next season-long mystery. 

5x6

- Betty reveals her students are scared of her because she’s the Black Hood’s daughter. Archie says: “oof, that sucks”. Luckily, Archie knows sex will distract her. I wonder if Archie will get distracted by Veronica’s husband this episode...

- Jughead has a new niche obsession - the Mothman. He also thinks he has an encounter with Aliens. Betty’s new distraction technique is banging Archie when she doesn’t want to deal with her worry for missing!Polly.

- Nothing really in the realm of Bughead this ep but their focus for the rest of the season is important.

5x7 (the episode where Betty and Jughead still caring for each other really shines through)

- Betty and Jughead say “hey” to each other. Jughead seems pretty interested in Betty. She smiles at him. 

- When Jughead is drunk at Cheryl’s party, Betty looks at him with concern. She also moves to catch him when he stumbles (maybe she cares about his welfare?).

5x9 (Jughead definitely still cares about Betty. Betty opens up to him)

- Jughead low key flirts with Betty: “You’re having a party? And you didn’t invite me?” Insert cheeky smirk. Betty smiles/looks amused. 

- Betty opens up about how she’s worried about Polly being missing and that she’d probably been held hostage somewhere. Jughead tells her he’s sorry. Looks genuinely worried. This man, who is in mountains of debt, offers to leave work to help her look for clues - Betty accepts his help (she, who just found out her sister is dead, is later understandably frustrated when Dreyfus starts raving about the Mothman, and Jughead seems to feel guilty for wasting her time. If only they’d known...)

- Betty is losing it, has kidnapped a man, and is about to shoot him to get justice. But then Jughead calls her. Jughead, who she DOESN’T send to voicemail, manages to interrupt her at the right time and unknowingly stops her from going past the point of no return and actually killing someone.

- Betty immediately pauses her attempt to deliver her own version of justice to help Jughead look for his missing student. Betty then accompanies Jughead to the school to discuss the situation with Weatherbee and Lerman’s parents.

- Betty and Jughead go to Pop’s to talk about the disappearances. 

5x10 (indications from Jughead that he still wants Betty)

- Betty wants to keep Jughead involved in the case, but is thwarted by Glen.

- Jughead needs to write a book and the whole mess with Tabitha, Jess and the Maple Mushrooms happens.

- During his Mushroom trip, Jughead makes the comment about Betty ruining things just as they are getting fun. Interesting. He then hallucinates Betty letting him out of his handcuffs and begging for forgiveness, which he immediately gives to hallucination!Betty. This shows that despite the pain he felt in the past, he very much WANTS to move past it with her. The fact that he reaches for her and kisses her shows that he also wants to rekindle their relationship, but it seems he needs to work through what happened between them first (fair).

- The wanting look in his eyes says it all.

5x11 (indication from Betty that she still cares for Jughead)

- While Betty is annoyed, she agrees to help Tabitha look for Jughead. This is significant because she doesn’t have to help. She is still searching for her sister... but because she cares about Jughead’s welfare, she takes the time to go out and look for him.

- She still remembers his phone passcode.

- We finally find out why she’s been borderline icy towards Jughead. She is very clearly hurt about the voicemail he left her 2 years ago. Likely because he took jabs at her insecurities (we later find out the context of that voicemail, but that’s another episode). The implication seems to be that Betty also thinks Jughead wrote shitty things about her in The Outcasts. While the audience knows this probably isn’t true, Jess uses that possibility to gain Betty’s sympathy and get the manuscript. As yet, not much is confirmed about the book in regards to Betty other than that ‘it’s a sexy book’. We don’t even know if Betty read it.

5x14 (finally, context)

- Jughead goes to AA (woo!!) which is a big step towards his healing process. 

- It’s revealed that he started drinking in college. But, he also secured a book deal with an agent in New York. 

- Jughead’s first phone call about his new writing adventure is to Betty. And she answers his call. It is revealed that their first conversation is a positive one. She is very happy for him. 

- and then, for what seems like a long time, they stay in contact. They both had other partners, Jughead was living with Jess by now, and Betty was seeing someone; and yet they were secretly, it would seem (since Jughead was hiding his phone from Jess), communicating with each other. 

- Betty tells Jughead she wouldn’t miss his book launch. Therefore, he is understandably upset when she does miss his book launch.

- Because Jughead has started living the party lifestyle, drinking, doing drugs, and all around lets his grief over Betty bailing on him get the best of him - he sends her what he describes as a toxic voicemail (this is what likely led Betty to believe he’d written terrible things about her in his book, since that’s literally what he tells her: that everyone would see what a cold, fake, duplicitous bitch she was). He barely remembers it, but he knows it was bad. The fact that he regrets it shows he didn’t want to cut Betty out of his life, and he was never intending to hurt her.

- This is when the source of his trauma is revealed: while drunk, he falls into a sinkhole and is bitten by rats, thereby contracting rabies and hallucinating the shit out of the Rat King. 

- But even though he was devastated with Betty’s no-show because he cares for (and was, at that time, probably still in love with) her and still wants her in his life, his mind concocts a new hallucination:

- Betty appears to him and saves him from drowning in the underground tunnels. His mind literally came up with a saviour!Betty hallucination that leads him out of the dark and away from death. This implies that he thinks that Betty is his light in the dark - which is significant because of the references in the series that lead to Betty giving herself the ‘darkness’ persona.

- After all that, Jughead believes that nobody really cares about him, which is just devastating to hear.

5x15

- Betty stands up for Jughead to Josie, because she knew the context of Jughead robbing the diner.

(Betty cheering was me during that scene)

5x16

- Jughead’s AA recommended apology tour starts with Betty, but she’s not home, because she is still hunting for information on her sister. But she was the first person he wanted to talk to - again.

- It’s revealed through texts that Betty and Jughead apparently hang out with each other and Archie after work. More importantly, Jughead wants to talk her, and so we get this beautifully directed and scored texting scene. Jughead is about to commit literary fraud, but before he does so, he needs to talk to Betty, and she agrees to meet him in the bunker for privacy.

- Again, Betty is very preoccupied with her search for Polly, but she makes time for Jughead.

- The bunker scene is very telling, so here it is in its entirety:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUMAB9O2vtg

- Jughead tells Betty he is sorry. Explains the circumstances of the voicemail. He admits he’s an alcoholic. He cries.

 - Betty finally acknowledges that she, too, has a problem. We finally get a better look inside of Betty’s head. She is obsessed with hunting serial killers, and she’s more comfortable doing that than living a normal life. This is the first time she has been raw and vulnerable with someone this entire season. ONLY with Jughead does she feel safe enough to admit what is going on in her life. It’s clear that Betty is on the verge of breaking down completely, but she gets a lot off her chest with Jughead - then leaves when he’s distracted, probably because she’s overwhelmed by the admissions.

- Later, Jughead, the King of Stress Eating, is so worried about Betty that he can’t eat. Tabitha the goodest pal encourages him to focus on his recovery (smart).

5x17 (the iconic investigative duo is back and together they will solve the crime in one episode)

- There’s not a crime these two can’t solve, so Tabitha asks them to help find her missing friend. Betty gives Jughead a smile. 

- This episode has plenty of Bughead-team up moments. They investigate together, uncover the mystery together, and figure out who the highway killers are. They still work well together, and can put their heads together to figure out what all the clues mean.

- The key piece of evidence from the episode as to whether or not Betty really cares about Jughead is this: Betty has just been choked by a serial killer, has a flashback to TBK, and then the second she’s freed by Toni, and hears Jughead may be in trouble, she runs to him.

Throughout the season, there was plenty of evidence that Jughead still feels something for Betty, but in 5x17 it becomes clearer that Betty, despite the fact that she’s completely shut off her own feelings, also still feels something for Jughead.

5x18 and 5x19

Now, there are little-to-no Bughead scenes in these episodes. But I don’t think that takes away from everything else present in Season 5. 

Throughout the season, there are also scenes with Jughead and Tabitha that show Tabitha cares for Jughead, and that they are becoming good friends. And there are several moments in the season suggesting they could give dating a shot. Them deciding to date is what they want at the moment, so we will see where that leads.

It’s established from episode 4 that when Betty can’t process her emotions, she distracts herself with the company of men. And she just lost her sister. She is devastated. Archie, having just lost Veronica, is in a vulnerable position and wants to move on (plenty of thoughts on the Varchie ship this season, but this post is about Bughead). From what we’ve seen of Betty this season, it makes sense that she’d throw herself into a relationship so she doesn’t need to feel the pain of losing Polly. And yet, Barchie hooking up in the last few scenes of this episode leads on to RiverVale, where Betty helps sacrifice Archie in episode one, so make of that what you will.

Neither Betty nor Jughead had any indication from each other that there could be a realistic or healthy rekindling of their past relationship. They’re also adults and well within their rights to date other people.

But that doesn’t mean their relationship is over forever.

One need only watch the entirety of the rest of Season 5 to see that neither Betty nor Jughead is over the other. Even with them dating other people, Jughead especially is very unlikely to go from openly admitting to Tabitha that he is not over his breakup with Betty... to randomly being over it. There are multiple instances of Betty and Jughead not only still caring for each other, but wanting each other in their lives. Neither Betty or Jughead are particularly healthy at the moment - but the only people who properly understand and accept them, flaws and all... are each other.

Betty and Jughead are Endgame, and thank you for coming to my TEDtalk.

[bettyminicoop]

We're at AU since 504, and I'll prove it to you.

So, Riverdale is a comic.

No not like this.

RIVERDALE is a COMIC.

This is how this article began a day ago, when I tried to develop a theory about season 5 and try to explain the absurdity of everything that we have seen on the show lately. But Riverdale is really a comic, in which anything can happen, including events that take us to an alternate universe.

So, the main secret of the season 5 is not mixing ships, it's not about TBK, not about Moth Men, not about TRAUMA™. The main secret of the season 5 is: "What the hell is going on here?"

Does RAS like predictions? Jughead in 417 literally says, "In what future are we not together?" Thus, launching this universe, in which we find ourselves since 504. And there is an explanation for all this, oddly enough.

Honestly, I think that the absurdity of 518 helped me a lot. I realized that all the ship's nonsense of the season is a red herring. I calmed down, exhaled, moved a little further and looked at the whole picture.

For convenience in the future, I will call the events of the first four seasons as RD01, and season 5 since 504 as RD AU. So, everything that happened in RD01 also happened in RD AU, but in a different way. And something may not have happened at all. This is where all the inconsistencies with the plot of the first four seasons come from.

1. The writers are not lazy, they don't forget what happened 5 episodes ago. RAS simply deceived everyone by taking a very risky step. All of the plots that take place in Season 5 have a backstory that we don't know anything about. Except for certain plots that are taken out of the context of the first four seasons. But the difference is that all these plots that happened in RD01 went completely differently here in RD AU.

2. The episode of Citizen Lodge has the most direct evidence for the existence of RD AU. Because if this episode hadn't happened, it would have been hard to guess RD AU. It would be impossible to connect the dots. Citizen Lodge is the key to unlocking the mystery of Season 5 of Riverdale.

The Midnight Club takes place in 1992, but Citizen Lodge takes place in 1988. Although these are the same characters, in the same age range. But at Citizen Lodge we were shown newborn Veronica, because Hermosa never existed here. In RD01, the Lodges have a family rum business, RD AU Lodges are shoe shiners not originally living in Riverdale. The events of both episodes contradict each other, because they took place in different universes. This is not a fault of the writers, this is a deliberate hint. This whole new RD AU universe exists several years earlier than RD 01.

Small addition. In 516 it is indicated that Hermosa exists in the RD AU. But maybe she is younger than Veronica.

3. The last time a clear timeline is set is 503, when Jughead sits in Pop's a year after graduation. And when he walks out the door, he says that the next time he saw his friends was six years later. But we haven't seen that yet. Because that's where RD01 ends.

When 504 starts, nowhere is it stated how many years have passed. The first timeline is set by Veronica Lodge. "It's 2021". And this is the very first clue that we are in the middle of RD AU.

4. When Season 5 was announced, RAS said it would be a 5 year time jump. But by the start of the season, it turned into 7 years. And there is still no error. In RD01, after Bughead says goodbye on the porch, their next meeting actually happens in seven years. But we haven't seen it yet.

RD AU probably takes place five years after core four graduated from high school. And this is confirmed by Bughead's conversation in the bunker when Betty asks Jughead why he's bringing up a conflict five years ago. Which by the way does not negate the fact that voicemail happened only two years ago. Because it is the aftermath of a terrible five-year conflict that ended Bughead's relationship in RD AU. Do you seriously agree that kissing was a terrible thing to do? Probably something worse happened at RD AU.

5. On the chest of Archie RD AU there is no scar after his meeting with the bear, so this did not happen in this universe. We've been shown Archie's breasts so many times this season but we never really noticed!

6. Tom Keller and Sierra McCoy do not appear to be married in RD AU, although they literally fought the Gargoyle King for their relationship.

7. I believe that the RD AU timeline is shifted 4-5 years back relative to RD01. As confirmed by Bughead's bunker conversation and the events at Citizen Lodge. And this explains why RD AU is now in 2021, and not 2027, as it should be in RD01.

8. I watched season 5 very casually and hardly saw more than 1/3. So I need you to help me collect more evidence for the existence of RD AU. For every plot, event and conversation, you need to apply an AU theory filter. And I can promise you, every piece will find its place in the puzzle.

By the way, differences can be not only in plots and dialogues, but also physical in the appearance of characters and interiors.

I'm sure that Veronica's question to Archie, where he sees himself in five years, was also not accidental. But I no longer have the strength to develop this and build it in the context of RD AU. Especially because I don't know much about their relationship history. I trust you to figure it out.

And I wouldn't be at all surprised if Season 5 of Riverdale is still Jughead's book from RD 01, called Rivervale.

Will we get the RD AU backstory in Season 6? To be honest, I'm not sure if we need it.

Is Polly still alive in RD01?

Could Alice's hallucination at 518 be AU on AU? That is, literally being RD01 inside RD AU. Because these scenes were, it seems, the most "normal" in the whole episode. Follow up on this idea. Or we can just wait for season 6 special.

It does not matter at all which ships the RD AU will end with. It does not matter. Because season 5 and season 6 special is not about ships.

Maybe season 6 special is when RD01 and RD AU mix. Well, let's see, it's not long to wait.

Is there a chance RD AU will end on episode 100? Perhaps.

Please give this season and finale a chance. I am currently re-watching individual episodes to find confirmation of my AU theory, and now season 5 makes sense! Check it out for yourself. I'm sure there will be a TBK mystery in the final episode next week that will make my whole AU theory obvious. But I will write about this separately right after this post.

Looking back now, I think the flurry of spoilers ahead of 518 is literally when RAS went crazy. Because we're incredibly dumb and didn't want to see obvious clues in the narrative.

I will never pull this stone out alone. So, my young archaeologists, arm yourself with hammers and brooms, and help me bring this treasure to the surface completely.

I want to say THANK YOU to Bughead fandom. Because you are amazing. Because you are building theories, you are guessing, you are thinking. Because you spin every situation, you question every plot that happened on the show. And I am overwhelmed with complacency, because the uncovering of the main secret of Season 5 came from the Bughead community. After all, who else besides Bughead can uncover Riverdale's secrets?

And thanks to those who first brought up AU in Riverdale. Because only thanks to this theory, I was able to pull the thread and untangle the whole ball.

It's so liberating. It’s like someone has suddenly turned on the lights in the dark room we’ve been in since the beginning of Season 5.

[raymondebidochonlifechoices]

To summarise:

Archie decides to take a break from saving The Town Formerly Known As Riverdale to go save the honour of the American Army. Robin Givens directs this white man’s heroic journey probably as a quid pro quo for being allowed to direct the Pussycats episode.

Stop! In the name of love Jason! Penelope puts a stop to Cheryl and Kevin’s singing, thus immediately and completely redeeming herself from any and all wrongdoing ever. Jason’s ears stop bleeding and so are mine. Unfortunately, she doesn’t push for full monastic silence.

Wonky Timeline Alert #1: Jughead is now 7 days sober. This means that the AA meeting at RHS from 4x14 happened 1 to 6 days ago. Or did it?

Alice once again has only a vague idea about what her children (in this case Betty) are doing. Consistency.

Betty, dressed as Polly, is searching for serial killers down the Lonely Highway. She hasn’t been successful, which comes as no surprise, since -in the words of Tucker the Trucker in 4x14- there have been stories about some crazy rogue FBI agent looking for her sister.

Wonky Spacetime Alert #2: Jughead goes to the Cooper Jones Smith house but Betty can’t come to the door because she’s out, working at the Lonely Highway wearing the same faux leopard coat that we can see hanging behind Alice.

“Let it go! Move on!” says Eric. “Like Hell!” replies Archie, whose whole raison d’être in Riverdale is never letting go.

Principal Weatherbee has finally acknowledged that he will never be able to provide basic education at RHS. He puts the English lit teacher on leave and focuses on football/cheerleading/drama/auto shop courses. Is this a comment on privatized education or a coincidence? Only time will tell.

Wonky Time Alert #3: Jughead has missed weeks(!) of work.

Chadwick sics the SEC to Veronica. If only the She Wolf of Wall Street hadn’t told him her plans over their last skype call ...

We don’t learn about Reggie’s big ideas but we do learn about Reggie’s big dick energy. Nana Rose isn’t the only gal he’s been sweet talking to! He also had a thing with Hermosa.

Kevin, having finally found an audience, conspires with Cheryl to overthrow Penelope’s leadership in her own cult. I didn’t catch the details because I was distracted by Cheryl not wearing any red item of clothing.

Uncle Frank tells Archie that he’s carrying a heavy weight, so now we all get to share the burden of another war flash back … Thanks a lot, uncle Frank.

Hiram -I’m-not-a-16-year-old-nerd- Lodge has hidden his palladium in the little SoDale town model he has in his office. Where he keeps the figurines remains a mystery.

Veronica will sell the palladium in an auction after she smelts it down into something “new and unrecognizable”, i.e. Spanish doubloons. I guess palladium Spanish doubloons are both  new and unrecognizable …

Did someone say “forgery”? Cheryl makes an appearance at La petite bijoutière.

Sober Jughead doesn’t think of checking his computer for a copy of his book: it must be the addiction withdrawal syndrome messing with his cognitive functions. Or aftereffects from the rabies.

He retrieves Cora’s manuscript from his bachelor pad (aka the Bunker). He needs half a bottle of whiskey to go through it.

Kevin had a magician period growing up. This explains so much.

Cheryl performs a series of faux miracles, including turning water into maple syrup and having her hands manifest the stigmata of the holly wounds of Jason. The last one is indeed a miracle, considering Jason was shot in the head.

Wonky Time Alert #4: The Voicemail™ took place half a decade ago. But also 2 years ago?

This also means that TBK has been active for half a decade. Because living through a pandemic is not enough.

Scratch out the auto shop course at RHS: Betty is on the Highway 24/7.

Bughead finally have a talk. They admit they’re both addicts. Not to kinky sex, like they were in high school but to alcohol and serial killers. Adult stories. Yikes.

Jughead doesn’t go through with plagiarism. Hurray! Samm, however, after having waited for either 5 or 2 years for Jughead’s second book, finally drops him as a client.

Veronica successfully (and legally!) beats Chadwick at his own game. This is a new and unexpected storyline for Veronica. I need time to process.

Archie hears from Jughead that you can be put on administrative leave if you don’t show up for work, so he hastens to make the rounds of all the soldiers’ families and go testify in one day.

Archie’s testimony is conveniently not shown, probably to cover up for the fact that he has no tangible evidence. Peak Riverdale writing. The Army Tribunal members, who have never met Archie before, probably could not take more of his monologuing about saving Riverdale, so they convicted general Taylor. I guess he shouldn’t have sent Archie back there.

It turns out that Tabitha might also have an addiction: taking care of seemingly lost causes. She makes Jughead promise he’ll go to his AA meetings and then puts her best bra on to go hitch hiking with Betty at the Lonely Highway.

Alice has been really down during the whole episode. She has probably received her credit card bill. Those cooking lessons Toffee took at L’Ecole Ritz Escoffier in Paris weren’t cheap …

One down. Three more opportunities to get depressed.  

[thetaoofbetty]

I just watched the episode after having this bad feeling about bughead next season because of barchie situation and all, and after I watched the ep i know for sure: TBK will get us back the bughead content we deserve.

Sounds weird but yeah, rather they’ll investigate together/ will try to take him down.

Conclusion: TBK is a bughead shipper 😂

exactly. that's why he called betty and told her not to look for him, he knows she will do the opposite of whatever she's told and he's definitely read jughead's book, he knows how this story is gonna go.

i bet he has an account on okayreads and left a 5 star review.

[zumpietoo]

Just saw a comparison that Betty chose TBK task force (still trying to wrap my head around that given she was a trainee when S5 started, and the VM was simultaneously 2 and 5 years ago) instead of Jug and his book launch but dropped everything when Archie called. One would have taken a few hours out of her day/night the other resulted in her uprooting her whole life to help "save" Riverdale (High) but I'm supposed to think she give a shit about Jug.

Oh yeah, right there there with you!!!

[vera-dauriac]

Tagged by @pretenderoftheeast and @xserpx. Thank you both!

1. Favorite book of all time?

It’s either Emma by Jane Austen or The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoevsky. In some ways, Emma feels like the easier choice—I’ve read it somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 times, and I connect so much to her. (See below) Whereas it’s been at least a decade since I’ve read TBK, but there are scenes and characters so entirely burned into my mind, I don’t need to have read it 10 times to know how deep my love is. Actually, maybe what I’m discovering here is that I need to pop open TBK again sometime soon.

2. Favorite fictional friendship or familial relationship (can be any kind of family dynamic)?

Since I was tagged by two fantasy readers who love Joe Abercrombie as much as I do, I feel like I have to mention my favorite First Law “family” relationship—Shivers and Rikke. But I also need to mention Horatio Hornblower and William Bush, because I love them so much. Bless you, CS Forester.

3. Favorite trope?

Thought about this for a while and nearly said enemies to lovers, but so often that trope comes with a side of mutual pining, and there is just something sublime about watching two idiots run around, being in love with each other, but not knowing it’s reciprocated.

4. A character from a book/series you feel the most like?

Emma Woodhouse. In grad school we joked around that she is the patron saint of slacker academics. Always making lists of books to read, but not reading most of them, and practicing diligently for an hour and a half, before not touching her piano again for weeks. And I just feel her unwillingness to be friends with the person who is so clearly supposed to be her friend, because that other person is so perfect Emma just can’t even with said person. The fact she only finds happiness with an extremely patient man is also something I related to 100%. Oh, and last but not least, I’m not sure I’ve ever related to any line in literature as much as: “to be always doing more than she wished, and less than she ought!”

5. A pet from a book or series you would most like to have?

Neville Longbottom’s toad Trevor. That little dude seems pretty self-sufficient. Seriously, there’s a reason I don’t have a pet. Or children. I’d rather not take care of shit. I kill my plants, too.

6. A place from a book or a series you would like to hang out?

Agriont from Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series, but only as a tourist. Like, it would be a cool vacation spot to go explore and take pictures and visit the gift shop.

7. A series or author you’re willing to give another chance?

Sigh. Probably Stormlight Archive. I usually like Brandon Sanderson, but I find The Way of Kings so. fucking. tedious. I’ve picked it up and put it down 3 times, but folks I trust promise that it all pays off, so I keep thinking I’ll give it another whirl.

8. And the book you have liked the most so far this year?

Manhattan Transfer by John Dos Passos as far as things I’ve read for the first time. I’ve been meaning to read Dos Passos for years, and I’m really glad I finally did. His characters and style take some getting used to, but I eventually just fell into the the story and got swept up in it all.

But I also absolutely adored my reread of the first two Peter McLean War for the Rose Throne books. Book 3, Priest of Gallows, is out Thursday!!!!!!!! Seriously, I love, love, LOVE this series. I 100% recommend it to the Abercrombie peeps. I’ve seen it described as The Godfather/Peaky Blinders with magic, which is accurate. It’s a post-war world with organized crime, scary magic, and deeper political happenings than our sad anti-hero at the center of the series knows. It is very cool, great writing, love the characters. I really wish more folks would hop on this series. I need someone else to flail with about it! And encourage me with the fanfic I want to write, but I’m too nervous to start.

 And there are 8 questions, so I’ll tag 8 folks! @seeker-in-the-shade @lizlensky @smuggsy @widevibratobitch @revedebeatrice @mstanyawinslow @ghost-minuet @shimyereh

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[aion-rsa]

Riverdale Creates Its Own Church Because Why Not?

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This Riverdale review contains spoilers.

Riverdale Season 5 Episode 16

“Being canonized has always been one of my life’s goals.”

And so it came to pass that Cheryl Blossom turned water into maple syrup.

Goddamn Riverdale is glorious trash.

In what is either very subtle marketing for The Eyes of Tammy Faye or just the best direction this show has taken since everyone was hopped up on Jingle Jangle, the Blossom family’s “Church of Jason” antics came into sharp focus this week. Although relegated to a B or C plot, this plotline — which works equally well as a satire on hip religions that popped up out of nowhere (see also: last week’s The Other Two) or as Cheryl’s latest brush with divine darkness.

The focal point of this episode was clearly supposed to be Archie getting justice for his fallen comrades, but how can one be expected to pay attention to military intrigue when a line like “for I am Cheryl Blossom, Queen of the Bees” is delivered by Madelaine Petsch without a hint of insincerity? Disjointed as this season is, there’s been a clear effort on the part of the writing to staff to give the show’s secondary characters more to do. (Due to Petsch’s constant scene-stealing it’s easy to forget that she was previously a supporting character before the series’ producers made the wise decision to become an ensemble piece instead of focusing primarily on Archie, Veronica, Betty and Jughead). As a result, Cheryl has shone brighter than ever.

While Penelope clearly sees the Church of Jason as another shady enterprise, for Cheryl it has become a, well, bona fide religious experience. Since breaking up with Toni she has become, in the immortal words of The Lemonheads, “a ship without a rudder.” The Church of Jason gives her a purpose, even if it is only to satisfy her carnivorous desire for validation. Although this has some unexpected side effects, namely that her false divinity unexpectedly gave rise to an actual miracle when she controlled the bees and use them to dispel Penelope from the Church. “Something inside me has shifted,” she tells Kevin afterwards, “something powerful.” More than just quasi-literally becoming a Queen Bee, Cheryl has undergone a true religious awakening and tapped into a power inside of herself. How will this manifest? And what ramifications will it have for her and all of Riverdale itself?

Cheryl has always been more of a persona than a character, reliably outrageous with hints of an inner depth that go undeveloped as the series’ tears through its storytelling. I’d like to think that whatever is happening here is going to correct that wrong and give Cheryl the ability to be fleshed out more. Seeing how self-aware Riverdale has been of late (i.e. Josie’s takedown of the entire gang last week), there is a renewed effort to strengthen sidelined characters. Let’s see how Cheryl benefits from this in the few remaining episodes of the season.

Speaking of sidelined characters, there is none more so than Casey Cott’s Kevin Keller. Five seasons in and Kevin can be boiled down to “loves musicals and cruising for anonymous sex,” which doesn’t exactly befit the character’s GLAAD-award comic book counterpart. The continual lack of depth for Kevin and the show’s reliance on stereotyping him remains an absolute downer. Where are his multitudes? At least by pairing him with Cheryl he isn’t out in Fox Forest all the time. Again though, he remains sidelined without any clear definition. I give the series credit for not following the cliched “Bury Your Gays” trope, but by continually mishandling Keller the argument could be made that his lack of dimensions are a fate worse than death. I’m hoping that the show finally figures out what to do with him, as Cott and Keller — who was Archie’s first openly gay character — deserve much better.

The Church of Jason’s actual goals are unclear, and the miracles on display here were pretty much sacrilegious. Now that something has shifted in Cheryl, expect her to transform the religion into something based on her past trauma (and her mother’s scheming) into something entirely different, and perhaps dark. For now though, I’m willing to go on faith that the Church of Jason, and Riverdale itself, has some entertaining miracles up its gloriously bonkers sleeve.

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Riverdale Rundown

Like last week’s excellent installment, this episode was directed by Robin Givens, who is rapidly becoming one of this series’ best helmers.

I for one would have loved to have seen Cheryl and Kevin’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat medley. Thanks Penelope.

A nice bit of meta humor appeared when Jason was referred to as “a man of few words” as we have yet to see the character utter even a pre-death flashback syllable.

K.J. Apa’s hair seems to be rebelling against the red hair dye more and more each week.

This episode’s main plot was about Archie’s attempts to bring General Taylor to justice, but it is so disconnected from the other storylines that it ultimately results in a major shrug. Even the show seems uninterested in this, with the climatic tribunal — which would have at least provided some A Few Good Men pastiching — happening off screen.

Before it was cancelled, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina‘s next season was supposed to be a massive Riverdale crossover involving witches. One can only wonder if Cheryl’s new abilities are somehow tied into this abandoned event.

We learn that Reggie and Hermosa had “a thing,” and one that Veronica seems both revolted (and perhaps a bit jealous?) of.

Hiram Lodge storing his palladium in model of So-Dale is very on brand.

The book Jughead initially passes off as his own before coming to his senses is “Rules of Distraction,” (an obvious riff on The Rules of Attraction) written by the very Riverdale-named Cora Carter.

Jughead’s agent is named Samm, and this is perhaps not so coincidental. One of the greatest-ever Archie artists was Samm Schwartz, who has best known for his work on the Jughead solo comic. By giving the character fluid movement and hilarious facial expressions, Schwartz’s gag-packed panels remain the most pleasing take on the character in Archie’s 80-year history.

Copter Cab, a rideshare company that takes one-percenters to exclusive events via helicopter is such a douchey idea that I’m generally shocked it doesn’t exist in real life.

Jughead gets one of the best lines of the week when he remarks to Betty that she “solved like eight mysteries in high school and were still valedictorian.”

What with Archie’s crusade for justice, Veronica generally kicking ass in her battle to detach from Chad and regain her She-Wolf of Wall Street Mojo, all the aforementioned magic of Cheryl and Kevin, and Jughead’s attempt to get his life back on track, Betty’s search for the Lonely Highway Trucker didn’t get much screentime until the end of the episode. By pairing with Tabitha Tate on the road, she has a new ally, and I can’t wait to see these two trying to solve crimes together.

Speaking of, the Lonely Highway Killer has to be TBK, right?

It’s interesting that the past two episodes have worked overtime to make Mr. Lodge seem small and foolish. I’m not quite sure where this is leading, but it’s satisfying to see him get some comeuppance at last.

Fake brands this week include the Boysenberry pager and The Wall Beat Journal.

Now that Jughead’s The Lost Weekend-ing seems to be headed towards the backburner, I’m excited for next week’s installment which promises the return of Mothmen. Finally.

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