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fatecantstopme · 1 year

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Remember Me (FP Jones x OC)

Chapter Summary: Direct continuation of Part one. Will Isabelle become a Serpent? What does the future look like for our favorite characters?

Summary: It’s been 4 years since Isabelle left Riverdale and it’s finally time to return…but what will she find? Are the people she loves the same people she used to know?

Characters: FP Jones, Fred Andrews, Tom Keller, Isabelle Keller (OC). For reference, FP/Fred/Tom are 23 in this and Isabelle is 21.

Warnings: cursing, family drama

Part 2 of 3

A/N: Read the series in order or it doesn’t make sense.

(Part 1)

I woke up the next morning to the smell of something burning. I was momentarily concerned until I heard FP swearing and the clatter of what sounded like a pan being thrown into the sink.

I yawned and stretched, before slowly venturing out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. FP was standing in front of the sink scrapping something off a pan and cursing quietly under his breath.

“Good morning,” I said with a smirk.

He turned to face me, his cheeks bright red. “I burnt breakfast,” he mumbled.

I laughed and walked over to look in the sink. “Oh...damn, FP. Did that used to be an omelet?”

He groaned. “I think so.”

“I think we’ll add ‘cooking’ to the list of things you need to work on,” I said lightly. I nudged him with my hip and opened the fridge. It was almost empty. I looked up at him with a chuckle. “How does Pop’s sound?”

He smiled. “It sounds amazing.” He leaned in to kiss me.

“Shower first,” I mumbled against his lips.

“Take one with me. It’ll conserve water.”

I laughed and let him lead me into the bathroom.

30 minutes later, we were dressed and ready to go.

I climbed into the seat of his pickup truck and smiled.

He climbed in and gave me a funny look. “What’s the smile about?”

“You don’t remember?”

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked confused.

My smiled widened. “You took me to the drive-in to see some action movie, except the only action I recall was us.”

He grinned as he remembered the night we’d made love for the first time. He turned to look at the bed of his truck and then back at me. “When you first left Riverdale, you were everywhere. I couldn’t go anywhere without seeing a memory of us. It was so painful. Eventually, I got to the point where I actively tried to forget about any memory I had of you. It made life more bearable, but it also made it empty.”

“I’m sorry, FP. I can’t imagine what it was like for you still being in this town.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t tell you that to upset you. I just want you to know that’s why I won’t recall things as quickly as you do. I spent the last 4 years suppressing my memories of you.”

I nodded. “Don’t worry. I’ll remind you.”

He smiled and started the engine. When we arrived at Pop’s, I noticed a familiar truck parked out front.

“FP, that’s Fred’s truck.”

FP parked the vehicle and nodded. “I know.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“It’s been about a year.”

I looked at him in surprise. He and Fred used to be just as close as Fred and I were. Hell, Fred’s the only reason FP and I even met in the first place. After all, I’m two years younger than them. But Freddy wanted a female singer to join the band back in high school and I auditioned. He loved my voice, so I joined the Fred Heads for practice the next day. Over the next few years, Fred and I became best friends and FP and I fell in love.

“Well come on, you might as well face the music,” I said gently as I jumped down from the truck.

FP quietly followed me inside.

When the little bell rang as we entered, Pop Tate looked up and did a double-take. “Is that Isabelle Keller I see coming into my Chocklit Shop?”

I grinned ear to ear. “Hi, Pop. It’s been a while.”

He came around the counter and gave me a hug. “Four years, Isabelle. Four long years.” He looked up at FP and raised his eyebrows. “It’s been about a year since I’ve seen you either, FP.”

“I’ve been real busy, Pop.”

The old man nodded. “Mhm, I’m sure.” He squeezed my shoulders and said, “I’ll get to making your favorite breakfast. You just have a seat and I’ll get it to you in a jiffy.”

I grinned and thanked him.

“Izzy!”

I turned to see Fred waving at us from a booth across the room. I waved back and started to walk towards him. I noticed FP hadn’t moved, so I turned to grab his hand. “Come on,” I said gently.

“What if he’s mad at me?”

“It’s Fred. He’ll get over it.” FP still didn’t move. “What is it?” I asked softly.

“He’s with Mary.”

“So?”

“So she doesn’t like me.”

I sighed. “Babe, we’re going to at least say hi. Freddy wouldn’t have called my name if he wanted to be left alone.”

FP nodded and finally began following me to the booth where Fred and Mary sat.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the great Isabelle Keller,” Mary said.

FP tensed up beside me, but I grinned ear to ear. A moment later, so did Mary. She jumped out of her seat and wrapped me in a hug.

“It’s good to see you, Mary.”

“You too, Isabelle.” She turned to FP. “Hey, FP. It’s been a while.”

“Hey Mary,” he responded, his tone cautious.

Fred and I hugged and then he turned to FP. He pulled him into a hearty man hug and said, “It’s good to see you, man.”

FP’s face lit up in surprise. “It’s good to see you too, Fred. I’m sorry I’ve been distant.”

“It’s all good, man. You’ve been going through some stuff.” He gestured to the booth. “Sit down you two. Have breakfast with us!”

I smiled and gently touched FP’s arm. He simply nodded and sat beside me in the booth.

“So what have you been up to? Any juicy details from the big city?” Mary asked.

“Oh nothing too special. Just the usual big city bullshit. I actually missed the quiet of Riverdale.”

Mary scoffed. “Girl, you’re crazy. I’d love to live in a major city. Ohh, the shopping must be amazing!”

I laughed. “I’m not much of a shopper and even I thought it was incredible. And horrifyingly expensive.”

“Oh I can imagine!”

FP and Fred exchanged a glance that clearly said ‘kill me now’.

I nudged FP. “Are we boring you?” I teased.

“Pfft. Never. You know I love fashion.”

I laughed. “If by love you mean you wear a variation of the same outfit every day, then yes. You’re clearly fashion’s number one fan!”

Everyone laughed.

Fred was about to say something when Pop Tate came over to the table with our food. A waitress came up behind him to deliver Fred and Mary’s food. We each thanked them and Pop smiled and shot me a wink before rushing back to the counter as another customer entered.

We all dug in to our meals, silence enveloping the table.

“I forgot how delicious this was,” I said after a while.

“Food not as good in New York?” Fred teased.

“Nothing is as good as Pop’s. Especially when it’s shared with people you love.”

“You’re such a sap,” Fred said with a laugh.

“And yet, you love me,” I teased back.

“That I do, Miss Keller. That I do.” Fred choked on his food and said quickly, “Izzy, your mo--”

“Isabelle Marian Keller!”

I winced as Fred was interrupted by none other than my mother screaming my name across the diner.

“--ther’s here,” Fred finished quietly.

My mother stomped up to the table with my dad and Tom following behind her. “You didn’t come home last night,” she said sternly.

“First off, hi mom, nice to see you. Second, I texted Tom to tell him I was staying at Fred’s.”

“And you couldn’t have included me in that message?”

“Well, it was late. I figured Tom would be able to let you know where I was if you started to worry.”

“Hmmpf,” she grumbled before suddenly zeroing in on FP as if she’d just noticed he was there. “And what are you doing here?”

FP looked up at her slowly. “I’m eating breakfast with my friends, Mrs. Keller.”

“You forfeited the right to call my daughter ‘friend’ when you joined that gang,” she practically spit the last word.

I jumped in before FP could respond. “I choose who my friends are, mom. Not you. You’re making a scene and people are starting to stare. Why don’t you go have a nice breakfast with dad and Tom and we’ll talk about this at home.” My voice had a tone of finality to it that my mother didn’t like, but she also didn’t want to be the star of the town’s gossip mill.

“Fine. We will be discussing this at home.” With that, she stormed off to a booth at the other end of the diner, my dad trailing after her as always. Tom mouthed ‘sorry’ to me before heading after them.

“Well that was embarrassing,” I mumbled.

“Sorry, Iz. I tried to warn you,” Fred said.

“It’s all good. I appreciate the attempt.” I turned to look at FP. “Are you okay?”

“Not really,” he mumbled.

I touched his arm gently. “Ignore her, FP. She doesn't dictate my life and she doesn’t have the right to judge yours.”

To my surprise, Mary jumped in supportively. “Isabelle’s right. No one gets to judge your choices. And certainly no one gets to make our choices for us.”

FP looked up at her in surprise. “Thanks, Mary.”

She nodded sternly and looked at Fred expectantly.

“What? He knows I think that was a load of horseshit. Besides, Mrs. Keller always hated FP. Now she feels like she’s found a valid excuse. Like I said, horseshit.”

I chuckled softly and FP smiled. “You’ve always had a way with words, Fred,” he said.

“I know. I’m eloquent as hell.”

We all laughed and I leaned into FP. He smiled and put his arm around my shoulders. A part of me hoped my mom was watching. I knew this would really ruffle her feathers.

We continued to chit chat for a while before we decided to head out. Fred wanted to get some work done and Mary had homework to do for her summer class.

We said our goodbyes and headed out. I noticed that my family was still eating, so I figured we had some time to kill before I needed to deal with that.

“FP? Wanna go for a walk?”

He smiled. “I’d love to.”

He took my hand and we headed toward the park. It was a beautiful day and the feeling of the sun hitting my face was wonderful.

“Can I ask you something?”

I smiled up at him. “Of course.”

“What is this? I mean, what do you want this to be?”

I stopped and looked at him. “I don’t want to lose you again. So for me? This is it. This is forever. I love you, FP. I always will.”

He smiled at me. “Forever,” he said softly. “I like the sound of that.”

I smiled and slipped my hand back into his and we resumed our walk.

“Your mom is gonna flip out.”

“Yeah, but it really doesn’t matter. I’m more than old enough to make my own choices.”

“I don’t wanna come between you, though.”

“If me being with you upsets her that much then the only person coming between us is her.”

He nodded. “Maybe she’ll understand.”

I chuckled mirthlessly. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up, babe. You know how she can be.”

When I say my mother hates FP, I really mean it. She always thought he was beneath me. It never made sense. FP always treated me well, respected me, and was incredibly loyal. All admirable traits. In her mind, he was Southside trash and nothing would ever change that.

When FP and I broke up, my mom practically threw a party. Honestly, that hurt just as much as FP’s goodbye.

“So the future...” FP started, bringing me out of my thoughts.

“Yes?”

“What do you want?”

I thought about it for a moment. “Well, I’d like to get a job at Southside High, settle back in to town, get married, and I’d like to have a family.”

FP froze. “Did you say Southside High?”

“Yes I did.”

“Why the hell would you wanna work there?”

“Those are the kids that actually need my help. I can improve their education and hopefully their lives. Southside kids don’t get the same opportunities as Northsiders. I’m hoping I can change that. At least for some of them.”

He pulled me in close and kissed the top of my head. “They would be lucky to have you, Izzy. You’ve always made me want to be a better man. I have no doubt you can inspire kids to do the same.”

“Thanks, FP. Your support means so much to me. You’re actually the only one I’ve told.”

“Really? I’m flattered.”

I laughed. “Well you’re the least judgmental person I know. Plus, you’re a Southsider yourself, so if anyone gets it, it’s gonna be you.”

“You’re gonna be an amazing teacher, Isabelle. And an even more amazing mother.”

I froze. “So you heard that part.”

He laughed. “Yes, I did. Don’t worry. I want a family too. As long as it’s with you.”

I smiled at the sweetness of his words. I absolutely adored this man. Arguably more than I should, but that’s simply how it’s always been. And I knew he felt the same way.

“We should probably head back so I can get you home before your mom puts a bounty on my head.”

I sighed. “Dear God, don’t say that around her. We don’t need her getting any ideas.”

We headed back to Pop’s and I noticed the family car was gone. FP and I climbed into his truck and he drove me home. When we pulled into the drive, I sat in silence for a few moments.

“You okay, Iz?”

“Yeah. Just collecting my thoughts before I go in there.”

“I’d come with you if I didn’t think I’d make it worse.”

I smiled at him. “Don’t worry about me. I do appreciate the support though.” I opened the truck door and climbed out. “I’ll call you when I’m done.”

He nodded, worry lining his handsome face. “I love you,” I said softly.

He gave me a small smile. “I love you too, Isabelle. Good luck.”

And with that, I closed the door and he pulled away. I walked to my front door and took a deep breath before walking inside. It was a good thing I did because I was sorely unprepared for what awaited me inside.

My entrance to the house did not go unnoticed. My mother was practically waiting by the door for my arrival.

“I expected you to be home before us,” she said, annoyance obvious in her tone.

“I went for a walk with FP,” I responded.

Her eyes widened. “Alone? He’s a gang-banger, Isabelle! You don’t know what he’s capable of!”

I desperately tried to suppress my anger. “He’s the same man I’ve always know, mom. The only difference is now he’s a Serpent.”

Her face flushed with anger. “How could you be so ignorant, Isabelle?” She turned to my father. “Help me out here, Harold.”

“Your mother is right, Isabelle. Serpents are dangerous. Never turn your back on a snake...that’s how you get bitten.”

I glared at both of my parents. “No offense, but neither of you have any idea what you’re talking about. You’ve never left Riverdale. You’ve never seen real danger. I have. In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve lived in New York City for the past four years. I’ve seen what gangs are capable of--the drugs, murder, violence--all of it. So I can say with absolute certainty that the Serpents are not that kind of gang.”

My mother rolled her eyes. “Just because you’ve lived in a big city doesn’t mean you know better than us. We’re older and wiser. We know what’s best for you.”

I stared at her in shock. “Being older doesn’t make you wiser.”

“How dare you speak to me like that!” Just then, my brother appeared. “Tom, tell your sister she shouldn’t hang out with that Serpent boy!”

Tom looked at me, his face pale. I silently begged him to take my side. He turned his attention back to our mother. “I’m sorry, mom, but I can’t do that.”

My mother looked shocked. “Excuse me?”

“I can’t tell Isabelle not to see FP.”

“Why the hell not? You’re a Sheriff’s Deputy! You know better than most what those hoodlums are like.”

Tom nodded. “You’re right, I do know better than most. Which is why I can say with absolute certainty that FP poses no danger to Isabelle. All he’s ever done is love her. The last four years haven’t changed that.”

Now it was my turn to be shocked. My brother’s words warmed my heart and I smiled at him. He shot a small smile my way before our mother flipped out.

“I can’t believe you condone this!”

“Mom, come on. Isabelle is more than capable of making her own decisions.”

“No, she’s clearly not! Certainly not while she’s living under my roof. I’m her mother and I know what’s best for her.”

Tom started to defend me, but I cut him off. “You may be my mother, but you clearly don’t know what’s best for me. I’ve loved FP for the better part of six years. I’ve never met anyone who even comes close to comparing to him. He is what’s best for me, Serpent or not.” I turned and walked towards the stairs.

“Where are you going, young lady? We’re not finished yet.”

I stopped and looked at my mother. “Yes, mom, we are. I’m going to gather my things and then I’ll be out of your hair.” I ran up the stairs, ignoring the shouts of my name from below.

Once in my room, I quickly started packing up my things. I was almost finished when someone knocked on my door.

“Hey, Iz. It’s me.”

I opened the door and Tom came in. He didn’t say a word, just wrapped me in a hug. I leaned into him and hugged him back. “I’m sorry, Izzy,” he said softly.

I pulled away and looked up at him. “Don’t be, Tommy. I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will, but still. It wasn’t right for mom to act like that.”

I shrugged. “It’s mom. I’ve come to expect it. But thanks for sticking up for me.”

He smiled. “I meant what I said. FP is a good man. As much as I don’t want my baby sister to get involved with the Serpents, I can’t deny that he makes you happy. And you deserve that.”

I returned his smile. “Thanks, Tommy. No one could ask for a better brother.”

“Give it some time. I’m sure I’ll do something to piss you off.”

We both laughed. He watched me throw the last couple items into my bag and zip it shut.

“Where will you go?”

“FP lives alone now, so I guess I’ll go there.”

Tom nodded and pulled me into another hug. “Don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t,” I promised him.

We separated and he grabbed my bag before heading down the stairs. I followed after him and prayed my parents wouldn’t see me leave. My prayers were answered and I made it to my car without any altercations. My brother put my bag in the trunk and gave me one last hug.

“Call me if you need anything,” he said. “I’ll try and work on mom too.”

“Good luck with that one,” I said sarcastically. “I’ll see you later, Tommy.”

I hopped in the car and pulled away, returning my brother’s wave. I headed towards Sunnyside Trailer Park and sighed loudly. My heart felt heavy and light all at the same time. Being rejected like that by my own mother hurt like hell. There was no denying it. I’d also hoped FP and I would move in together under better circumstances.

I was a little worried he wouldn’t want to, but I pushed the thought out of my mind. We’d just talked this morning about how this was forever...so I had to hope he would be okay with this.

I pulled into Sunnyside and parked beside FP’s trailer. I left my bag in the trunk and went to the front door. FP opened it almost instantly. “I thought you were gonna call,” he said. “What happened?”

I told him about my conversation with my mother and his frown deepened the more I talked. “So I gathered my things and left,” I concluded.

He wrapped his arms around me. “I’m so sorry, Izzy.”

“I’m okay with it, honestly,” I lied.

He knew me well enough to know that wasn’t true, but he let it go. “So...” he began. “Does that mean you’re moving in here?”

I bit my lip. “Only if you’re okay with it.”

He grinned ear to ear. “Of course I’m okay with it, babe.”

I relaxed and grinned back at him. “I was hoping you would say that.”

He went out to my car and grabbed my bag. We spent the afternoon rearranging and cleaning the trailer so it suited both of us.

**********

A few hours later, the two of us collapsed on the couch.

“For such a small place, it really takes a long time to clean,” I grumbled.

FP laughed. “That may be because it’s never been cleaned by Isabelle Keller before.”

I laughed with him. “I am a little bit of an over-zealous cleaner.”

“A little?” he teased.

I smacked his arm. “Shut up.”

He grinned and I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, you know...we should probably go grocery shopping. I think you only have beer, cheese, and a jar of pickles left in the fridge.”

He grimmaced. “Sorry, I’m not used to having company.”

“Well as far as I know, you’re a human too, which means you’ve gotta eat. So let’s go, handsome. Time to get shopping.”

He groaned. “Do we have to? You know I hate grocery shopping.”

I glared at him and put my hands on my hips.

“Got it. Not optional,” he said quickly as he got to his feet.

I let a small smile light up my face. I watched him start to put on his jacket, but then he hesitated.

“What’s wrong, FP?”

“I probably shouldn’t wear this. Especially when I’m with you. I don’t want anyone to be rude.”

I shook my head. “That jacket is part of your identity. You’re allowed to wear it anywhere you want. And I’m happy to be seen with you. Don’t let other people determine who you are.”

He stared at me quietly for a moment. “You’ve got a gift, Isabelle Keller. You have this way of making people feel good about themselves without even trying.” He shrugged his jacket on the rest of the way and stood tall.

“Maybe it’s just because I care.” I smiled. “Now come on. Those groceries aren’t gonna buy themselves.”

**********

The next few weeks passed by without any further issues. I put in an application at Southside High and was asked to come in for an interview. It seemed to be just a formality as they were in pretty dire need of teachers and I actually wanted to work there. The principal hired me on the spot and I would teach my first class that coming fall.

FP spent a lot of his time during the day at the Wyrm, I assumed doing whatever Serpent business he actually did.

I’d been thinking a lot lately about joining them. I felt like I was missing out on a huge part of FP’s life. I decided that I at least wanted to know more...learn what they were about.

So when FP came home that evening, I sprung it on him. “I wanna go to a Serpent meeting.”

His eyes widened. “Why would you wanna do that?”

“It’s pretty simple, FP. I wanna know more. I wanna know what this is all about.”

FP thought about it for a moment. “Alright. We have a meeting tomorrow night. Lemme just ask Tall Boy if he thinks it would be appropriate.”

I nodded. “That’s fair.”

Tall Boy wasn’t much older than FP, but he’d been a serpent pretty much his whole life. He’d know if the King would allow an outsider to be there.

Lucky for me, Tall Boy thought it would be fine for FP to bring me along to the meeting. I was beyond nervous as I climbed on the back of FP’s bike the following night.

“Babe, you okay?”

“Mhmm,” I hummed, voice a little higher pitched than normal.

FP chuckled. “Sweetheart, your hands are shaking.”

I sighed. “I’m just a little nervous,” I admitted.

“Don’t worry. They’ll love you.”

I nodded and laid my head against his back as he started the bike. He sped off a few seconds later, taking the fastest route to the Wyrm.

He helped me off the bike and led me to the front door. When we walked in, FP received several ‘hellos’, but everyone’s eyes landed on me. It was clear they were wondering what the hell I was doing there.

“People are staring,” I whispered.

“It’s because you’re so beautiful,” he whispered back.

I laughed. “I don’t think that’s it.”

Tall Boy waved at the two of us from across the room and my body relaxed a little. At least I knew one other person.

I went over to the bar and leaned against it, FP right behind me. “Hey Tall Boy. It’s good to see you.”

“You too, Isabelle. FP.”

“Hey, man.” They clapped hands before FP spoke again. “Did I tell you Izzy was a bartender?”

Tall Boy looked surprised. “No shit, really?”

I nodded. “It’s true.”

“Hmm,” he hummed appreciatively. “I think you’ll fit in just fine here.”

Suddenly, the room fell silent as a large, imposing man entered. I made the assumption that he was important and that was confirmed when FP leaned over to whisper, “That’s the King.”

I watched him with interest as he moved throughout the bar, greeting every person he passed by name. He was clearly charismatic and I was very intrigued by him.

The King made his way towards the three of us and he smiled in my direction, despite not knowing me. When he reached us, he reached out a hand to me. “You must be Isabelle.”

I was surprised he knew who I was and that was clearly evidenced by the look on my face. He picked up on my expression and smiled. “FP speaks very highly of you.”

I looked over at him and he smiled encouragingly. “He’s very sweet. Thank you for allowing me to be here.”

He smiled. “I hear you’re going to be teaching at Southside High in August.”

I nodded. “I’m excited to get started.”

He nodded appreciatively. “I think the kids will be lucky to have you, Miss Keller, as are we.” He kissed my hand before making his way to the front of the room, taking everyone’s attention with him.

“He’s quite lovely,” I whispered to FP.

FP smiled. “Yeah, he’s a good man.”

I listened to the King as he spoke to the room. He was very inspiring, even to an outsider like me, so I could imagine just how much his words meant to the people in this room.

By the time the meeting was over, I was really interested in joining the Serpents officially. When I said as much to FP, he took me upstairs to the King’s office, where we discussed my decision further.

Two hours later, I was a full-fledged member of the Southside Serpents, with all that came along with that.

**********

A few days later, I was sporting my very own Southside Serpents jacket. I knew there were going to be a lot of people in my life with a lot of questions and opinions, but if I was truly honest with myself, I really only cared about the opinions of three people. One of them was FP, so I knew I was safe there; the other two were Fred and Tom...Fred would get over it, but Tom? I couldn’t be sure.

He was the law and his little sister had just joined a gang...it couldn’t be a good for him. I knew he wanted to be Sheriff some day and I hoped this wouldn’t have a negative impact on his future career.

My parents, especially my mother, were like to hate me, perhaps never even speak to me again. While it hurt like hell to think about, I knew that I had made the right decision for me and my future.

I finally felt like I was fully a part of FP’s life--like I understood him completely. It was obvious to me that the King respected and liked FP very much and I got the feeling that he felt the same about me, which I was grateful for.

“So when you gonna tell your family?” FP asked me softly at dinner one night.

I looked up at him, discomfort evident on my face. “Soon, baby. It’s just hard.”

He nodded. “Are you gonna tell them about us?”

“They already know about us, FP. At least Tom does, and his is the only opinion that matters.”

“I mean, he saw us together--but does he know?”

I raised my eyebrows. “Why are you being coy?”

He groaned. “Does he know that we’re in this for the long-haul? Like marriage and kids and all that?”

I laughed lightly. “’Marriage and kids and all that?’ He will soon enough, I can guarantee that much.”

FP nodded and went back to eating his dinner, seemingly content with my response.

Two days later, we were standing outside my parents’ house.

“Are you sure you want me to be here?” FP asked quietly.

“I can’t do this without you,” I whispered, slipping my hand into his.

“Okay, then.” He knocked on the door and gave my hand a tight squeeze, making sure I knew he was there.

Tom answered the door and I silently thanked God it was him. “Hey Izzy, FP. What’s going on?”

“Are mom and dad here?”

He nodded, looking wary.

“Can we come in?” I prompted.

“Sure. You gonna tell me what’s going on?” He turned to let us enter and I heard his soft gasp as he got a look at our backs--and the Southside Serpents emblem emblazoned on both of our jackets.

My parents were in the living room and they looked up when we entered. “What are you two doing here?” my mother asked coldly.

“We were hoping to talk to you,” I answered softly, my voice more timid than I’d like it to be.

“We? So it’s ‘we’ now?”

I nodded. “We.”

Before my mother could say another word, Tom cleared his throat. “I’d like to say something before you continue.”

All eyes turned to him.

“Isabelle, no matter what you say or do, I’m always going to love you. You’re my sister and nothing will ever change that,” he paused. “That being said, it’s going to take me some time to be okay with this.”

I knew without having to ask for clarification what the ‘this’ was. My mother, however, was confused.

“I’m certainly not okay with this,” she hissed. “My daughter dating a Southside gangster? Absolutely not.”

“That’s not what I was referring to, mother,” Tom said sternly. “FP and I have had our differences, but no one could ever love Isabelle like he does.”

Unshed tears burned in my eyes as my gaze met my brother’s. He looked sad, but I knew he loved me no matter what. I took a tentative step forward and he wrapped me in a tight hug. “I don’t like it--but I’ll find a way to get over it,” he whispered to me.

“Thank you,” I whispered back before we separated.

My mother looked at the three of us in confusion and annoyance.

I took a deep breath as I prepared to tell her the truth. I found my throat was too dry to speak and I’d simply lost the ability to form coherent sentences. Instead, I simply turned around, my back now facing my parents.

I heard the sharp gasp, followed by an angry shout. I winced slightly and FP stepped forward protectively.

“You joined them?” my mother shrieked. “You’re one of them?”

I turned back around to face her. “Yes.”

“Why?” she screamed.

“Because I love him,” I answered simply.

That was clearly the absolute worst response I could've had, as evidenced by my mother’s screaming rant. A rant I couldn’t even understand because it so high-pitched and convoluted.

After a couple minutes of this, FP stepped forward and said loudly, “Stop!”

My mother fell silent, if only out of shock.

“Thank you,” he said much more softly. “I know you don’t understand what’s happening and you don’t want your daughter to be a part of my world, but she made the choice herself. I would never force her to do something she didn’t want to do. As much as she loves me, I love her. I have every intention of spending the rest of my life with her.”

His words warmed my heart and I looked up at him with a small smile. His gaze flickered over to me and I saw the raw emotion in his eyes. If there had ever been any doubts about how he felt about me, they would have melted away with that single glance.

Both of my parents were completely dumbfounded by his words, neither of them speaking up as FP finished his thought. “I’m not asking you to accept me, but I do hope that you can come to respect your daughter. She loves you both very much and I’m sure you feel the same way.”

I stepped closer to him and grabbed his hand. I could see my mother was gearing up for another verbal assault, so I opted to head it off before she could start. “Goodbye, mom; dad. You know where to find me should you want to talk.”

I gave Tom one last look and he offered me a small smile in return. I faced the front door and FP and I left without looking back.

Fred was so much more laidback about the whole thing than my parents were. I was beyond grateful for his love and his acceptance of me, no matter what. In his words, “what are friends for?”

Life continued on in much the same way for some time. I woke up every day next to the love of my life and fell asleep beside him every night. We laughed together, worked together, and did everything we could to really know one another again.

When we weren’t at home, we were at the Wyrm. FP would handle Serpent business, while I would deal with the kids that I taught at school. It helped them to have a role model both at school and outside of it.

Everything was great. Tom was coming around to the idea of me being a Serpent, Fred came around as often as humanly possible, and FP and I were madly in love and doing very well. None of us had any idea what our future held, nor the darkness that would be a part of it.

**Stay Tuned for Part Three**

#FP Jones x OC #FP Jones fic #Riverdale fic #Remember Me series #original character #Riverdale imagines #FP Jones #Tom Keller #Fred Andrews

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supercap2319 · 4 months

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"What's a nice, pretty boy doing on the south side of Riverdale?" Archie grinned. Imagine his surprise when a guy around his age in expensive looking clothing came towards him.

"I was looking for you." He said.

Brow raised in curiosity, Archie leaned in closer. "And why exactly were you looking for me?"

"Your dad is Fred Andrews, aka FA Andrews, right? King of the Serpents?"

"That's right." Archie nodded, taking a drag from his cigarette. "And you are...?"

"Y/N. Y/N Lodge." He said.

His eyes widened slightly at the mention of the Lodge name. "Well, well, well. Looks like I've got myself a little piece of royalty on my hands here in Riverdale. What do you want with the Serpents, Y/N?"

"My mom... she grew up on the south side of Riverdale. And she apparently dated your dad in high school. I was wondering if I could ask him a few questions?"

He chuckled. "Pops wouldn't mind telling you a few stories about your mom, that's for sure. He talks about her all the time. But first things first... what's your poison? Want a drink?" Archie asked.

"Drink? Sure."

Archie signaled to the bartender to bring two shots. Once they were placed in front of them, he clinked his glass against Y/N's and downed the shot, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. Y/N downed his own and looked at the Prince of the Serpents. "So, tell me more about this mom of yours. Is she as hot as my dad said she was?"

Y/N made a face. "Hey! That's my mom, dude. You don't see me saying how hot your dad looks."

Chuckling, Archie leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Touchy, touchy. Sorry, couldn't resist the teasing." Around them, other Serpents were starting to stare. Talk. Point.

"Should I be worried?"

Archie looks from Y/N to his fellow Serpents and then back at him with a smirk. "Nah. They just think you're the new slut that's going to be blowing everyone in the Whyte Wyrm."

Y/N tugged on his jacket before looking at Archie. "I'm nobody's slut. I didn't come to suck cock. I came for answers. Are you going to tell me or not?"

Archie narrowed his brown eyes for a moment before he chuckled. "You're pure dynamite, aren't you, baby?"

#x male reader #male reader insert #male x male #riverdale #riverdale x reader #kj apa #Kj apa x male reader #South Serpents #Archie's a serpent #archie comics #archie andrews #Archie Andrews x male reader

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writerdreamxs · 1 month

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WELCOME TO MY BLOG ! fearless era.

in which you know a little about me and make requests for short stories to me and I turn your dreams into realities. after all, I am a writer of dreams. 💐

first, introductions: my name is clarice, but you can call me clary.

I'm brazilian, so obviously english is not my first language, so there may be some errors in the imagines.

I love taylor swift (my favorite album is fearless, but I think you get the idea :) and one direction, as well as lana del rey, artic monkeys, among many other artists.

I love romcoms, whether films or books, clichés, sun, spring, roses, dogs and I am a person who really likes to talk.

my mbti is enfp, - at least that's what i think, at the moment! - and I have a sanguine temperament.

and I DON'T write smut.

below I will put a list of the characters and fandoms that I mainly write about, but if you want to request something different, feel free.

masterlist. 🌤️

BRIDGERTON 🐝

colin bridgerton, benedict bridgerton, anthony bridgerton, gregory bridgerton, simon basset.

FORMULA ONE. 🏁

all of the grid, but mainly, lando norris, oscar piastri, george russell and max verstappen.

FOOTBALL PLAYERS ⚽

richarlison, rodrygo goes, jude bellingham, vini jr, pedri, gavi, and all of the real madrid team.

HARRY POTTER (golden era)🪄

harry potter, draco malfoy, blaise zabini, fred and george weasley, ron weasley, oliver wood, charlie weasley.

HARRY POTTER (marauders era) 🕰️

remus lupin, sirius black, james potter, peter pettigrew, regulus black, severus snape.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA 🦁

peter pevensie, edmund pevensie, caspian.

CELEBRITIES 🍾

timothée chalamet, josh hutcherson, louis partridge, andrew garfield, william moseley, tom holland, ben barnes, archie renaux, cameron boyce ✝.

RANDOM 🩷

trodrick heffley, peter parker 1 and 3, matteo balsano, simon alavrez, ramiro ponce, gaston perida, gabo moretti, lorenzo guevara, dede duarte, willy wonka, chad denforth (hsm), will turner (potc) legolas greenleaf (lor), laurie laurence, supa strikas, luke ross (jessie), carmen sandiego characters, zach mitchell (jw), jurassic world: camp cretaceous caracthers, carlos de vil, jay ja'far, harry hook, ray beech, charlie delgado, aurek, jim hawkins, jack frost, ever after high characters, scooby doo characters, hiccup, the greatest showman, dick grayson and wally west (young justice) .

🦋 well, that's it my sweeties and I hope you liked me and send your requests. 💗

WRITERDREAMXS ©, 2024. 📖

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transfemmbeatrice · 2 months

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How Riverdale Taught Me About Fate

i've never been a tremendous fan of fate and destiny as a narrative device. i like oedipus as much as the next guy, but it's a trope that gets deployed fairly often and it just never really worked for me. and then something happened that made me Understand, and that thing was fucking riverdale of all things. not on purpose, of course, completely inadvertently, but it has never left my mind.

i'll try to set the stage as briefly as possible. nothing in this show ever makes sense so just work with me here.

we've moved into a parallel universe, twilight zone version of riverdale where lots of weird shit is happening but most importantly, dead people are coming back to life. jughead eventually figures out that this is a bubble universe leeching energy from the main/real universe and will destroy it given enough time, so he has to destroy THIS universe to stop that from happening. just as he is heroically about to do this, what villain should show up to stop him but gasp archie andrews himself! our golden boy!

why? because dead people are coming back to life, and if they just wait--he doesn't care if it kills another universe, if they just wait, his dad will come back. he wants to see his dad again; he's getting married, i know my dad would never miss my wedding, i know it.

and readers, this broke my heart, because i knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that fred andrews was not going to show up. not because of any narrative foreshadowing, not because i'd been spoiled on the plot, but because frank perry is dead.

frank perry played archie's dad in the show, and died unexpectedly, which is the only reason fred andrews dies in the show. but archie doesn't know that. how could he? that fact was dictated by factors not just beyond his control, but utterly beyond his comprehension.

and that's when it hit me square in the chest: THAT'S what fate is. forces operating on a scale you can't even begin to imagine, and it has nothing to do with anything you've done, but it's going to show up and crush you regardless.

is this what it feels like to be god? to see all the machinations on a grand scale and look at one person saying, maybe my dad will come back, and it's as comical as it is tragic, his complete and utter ignorance of what's really happening. watching, laughing, pitying as someone hopes for the impossible.

fate is some terrible beast you will never be able to see because it exists on planes you can't even imagine. fate is a truth so much bigger than you, than your life, than your world. there was nothing archie could ever have done that would have made a difference. frank perry is still dead. even the people who share a plane of existence with frank perry can't change that. archie has no way of influencing whether his father returns; he has zero agency. he will never understand any this. that's fate.

#it's also cosmic horror #and later i will add my other thoughts about fate in stories that reeeeeally go off the deep end #riverdale #fate #tropes #my content

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z0mbieb0ybyersblog · 7 months

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request rules!

HOW TO REQUEST

— requests can be sent through my inbox! aka the button on my profile that says request

— state the character, romantic or platonic, the format of the request, and what you want with it

— do you have any specifics for the reader? male, female, blonde, poc, etc?

— PLEASE ACTUALLY SPECIFY WHAT YOU WANT WITH YOUR REQUEST!! ITS VERY HARD FOT ME TO WRITE SOMETHING THAT JUST SAYS "___ x reader (blank)" WITH NO FURTHER EXPLANATION! GIVE ME A PLOT IDEA! And if you want include a prompt you want in it!

WHAT I WILL WRITE:

└▸

male, female, and gender neutral reader

or no reader, I do ships too!!

alternative universe: soulmates, coffee shop, roommates, royal, bookstore, fake relationship, coworkers, neighbors, flower shop, library, bodyguard, modern era, band/rockstar, celebrity, mermaid, pirate, teachers (you can also mix them in your request, like asking for bookstore and coffee shop au! if that makes sense)

Headcanons, one-shots, drabble, imagine, etc.

poly relationships, whether it be character x reader x character or character x character x character

angst

fluff

smut

omega verse

WHAT I WONT WRITE:

└▸

illegal ships (incest or underage)

dark or yandere

abuse

abortion

pregnancy

someone having cancer

rape/sexual assault

canonically gay characters with fem identifying readers/characters, same thing with canonically lesbian characters with masc identifying readers/characters (platonically is fine, romantically isnt)

character list

bolded means they’re my favorite characters to write!

DOCTOR WHO

Nine, Ten, Eleventh, Thirteen, Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Jack Harkness, Donna Noble

RED, WHITE, & ROYAL BLUE

Alex Claremont-Diaz, Henry, June Claremont-Diaz, Nora Holleran, Bea

TED LASSO

Ted Lasso, Jamie Tartt, Roy Kent, Keeley Jones, Rebecca Welton

STRANGER THINGS

Nancy Wheeler, Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley, Eddie Munson

THE OUTSIDERS

Ponyboy Curtis, Johnny Cade, Sodapop Curtis, Darry Curtis, Steve Randall, Twobit Matthews, Dallas Winston

MARVEL

Matt Murdock, Peter Parker (Tobey, Andrew, Tom), Bucky Barnes, Clint Barton, Loki, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff

[more to be added]

911 FOX

Evan Buckley, Eddie Diaz, Maddie Buckley, Howie Han

STAR WARS

Luke Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Din Djarin (The Mandalorian)

[more to be added]

HARRY POTTER

— golden trio era

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, Cedric Diggory, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Oliver Wood, Draco Malfoy

— marauders era

Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, James Potter, Lily Evans, Pandora Lovegood, Regulus Black, Dorcas Meadows, Marlene McKinnon, Barty Crouch Jr, Evan Roiser, Alice Fortescue, Mary MacDonald, Narcissa Black

[If you want one of these characters, like Remus for example to be older like during the Harry Potter movies let me know!]

— legacy era

Sebastian Sallow, Amit Thakkar, Poppy Sweeting, Natsai Onai, Garreth Weasley, Ominis Gaunt

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radioactiveparker · 1 year

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Masterlist

Wallpaper Masterlist

Eddie Munson

Headcanons

Eddie Munson - (1) (2) (3)

Eddie Munson X Reader - (1) (2) (3) (Halloween)

Eddie Munson X Reader NSFW - (1)

Imagines

Mistletoe and Wine (smut)

Ride It Hard (smut)

Full Moon High

First Time For Everything (smut)

Happy Birthday, Sweetheart (smut)

Blurbs

Smut - (1) (2) (3) Dad!Eddie - (1)

Series

The Breakfast Club

Steve Harrington

Headcanons

Steve Harrington - (1) (2) (3)

Steve Harrington X Reader - (1) (2)

Steve Harrington X Reader NSFW - Coming soon

Imagines

Back To You

What I Go To School For (smut)

Robin Buckley

Imagines

It's A Date

Who I write for:

Stranger Things

Eddie Munson

Steve Harrington

Billy Hargrove

Robin Buckley

Jonathan Byers

Nancy Wheeler

Marvel Universe

Peter Parker (Tom Holland / Andrew Garfield)

Bucky Barnes

Michelle Jones

Kate Bishop

Yelena Belova

Wanda Maximoff

Scott Lang

Peter Quill

Harry Potter

Draco Malfoy

Mattheo Riddle

Harry Potter

Ron Weasley

Hermione Granger

Pansy Parkinson

Fred Weasley

George Weasley

Hogwarts Legacy

Sebastian Sallow

Ominis Gaunt

Garreth Weasley

Call of Duty

Simon 'Ghost' Riley

Johnny 'Soap' Mactavish

#masterlist #eddie munson #steve harrington #robin buckley #stranger things #joseph quinn #joe keery #maya hawke #steve harrington smut #eddie munson smut #radioactiveparker masterlist

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nickeverdeen · 6 months

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All requests

All requests I have will be written here along with those that I deleted ‘cause I was uncomfortable with them or had no idea how to do them and whenever a new one comes I’ll write it down here so you’d know if I got your request or not and whenever the request will be posted it will be off the list

————————————————————

So shortly colors rules:

Red - deleted

Orange - on hold

Green - accepted and probably done just waiting to be posted

————————————————————

In my drafts:

Fred and George Weasley with a sister!Reader (hcs - requested) [completed - waiting to be posted]

Nimona with a teen!fem!reader who's Ambrosius' younger sister and looks like Gloreth (imagine - requested) [completed - waiting to be posted]

Fourth Wing masterlist (not Iron Flame) (masterlist - not requested) [not completed yet]

From Crayons to Canvases | Doctor Strange x fem!reader (platonic!imagine - requested) [not completed yet]

Midnight Rescue | Biker!Jesse helping drunk reader (imagine - requested) [not completed yet]

Korra x Amon’s gn!child who betrays him for Korra (hcs as it was not specified - requested) [not completed yet]

Ekko falling in love with an introverted foreigner woman who joined the Fireflies (hcs - requested) [not completed yet]

Andrew!Peter Parker x daughter!reader (imagine - requested) [not completed yet]

Tracer cuddles (hcs - not requested) [not completed yet]

Top Gun masterlist (masterlist - not requested) [not completed yet]

Getting claimed by Hephaestus while being Luke’s younger sibling (hcs - not requested) [not completed yet]

Gale NSFW alphabet with gn!reader (alphabet - requested) [not completed yet]

Zuko and Sokka play co-op game with gn!reader (preferances, imagine - requested) [not completed yet]

Sonya x fem!reader dating hcs (hcs - not requested) [not completed yet]

Vi and Viktor dating overprotective athletic fem!reader (preferences - requested) [not completed yet]

Maze Runner characters reacting to you kissing them and running away (preferences - not requested) [not completed yet]

The original 6 MCU characters reacting to you kissing them while being drunk (preferences - not requested) [not completed yet]

The Hunger Games characters reacting to you wearing their hoodie/jacket and being asleep on bed when they come home (preferences - not requested) [not completed yet]

The Old Guard characters reacting to you saying the save word during “it” (preferences - not requested) [not completed yet]

The Percy Jackson (both books and serie) characters catch you reading a fanfiction about them (preferences - not requested) [not completed yet]

All MCU groups and their love language (preferences - not requested) [not completed yet]

Spider-Man Across The Spider Verse characters finding out you have a fever {both romantic and platonic} (preferences - not requested) [not completed yet]

On hold:

TUA/TSA match-up for 🍿 annon (requested - on hold ‘till I’ll open my match-ups again)

Horizon Forbidden West masterlist (not requested - gonna post it when I’ll play the game done)

TUA and Outer Banks both male and female match-up - the person requested Stranger Things too, but I don’t do that (requested - on hold ‘till I’ll open my match-ups again)

Iron Flame masterlist (not requested - gonna post it when I’ll finish the book)

Dune masterlist (not requested - gonna post it when I’ll finish watching it)

Bottoms masterlist (not requested - gonna post it when I’ll finish watching it)

Tomb Raider masterlist (not requested - gonna post it when I’ll play the game done)

Deteled:

Victor Cato x victor reader soulmate au with the red string (imagine - requested)

Amity reacting to her partner being a sweet tooth (hcs - requested); reason = I don’t do The Owl House, sorry

Georgie Cooper x black reader (hcs -requested) = I don’t write for Young Sheldon

Korra eating out older fem!reader (imagine - requested); reason = age gap

#request #headcanons #matchups #imagine #preferences #alphabet

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supercalifragipopculturevomit · 2 months

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Saturday Night Live S49E16: Kristen Wiig

How epic was last weekend's episode of SNL?? Wiig is one of the all-time greats, it shouldn’t be a surprise, but you never really know with this show. Sometimes the host’s humor doesn’t gel well with the cast or translate to the audience. Sometimes the energy is just... off.

Wiig's been beloved as a comedian for a long time, but I gained even more appreciation for her after this episode. The sketches she picked, not only did they play to her strengths but also gave other people the opportunity to shine. And her humor is so fluid: she can do loud, physical comedy as well as subtle, niche comedy. Like the secret ingredient to everything, she elevates any dish.

Let’s start with the cameos because IT WAS STACKED. Any of the guests on any given night would have been enough, but she is getting inducted into the “Five-Timers Club”, so the show pulled out all the stops.

It starts off with Paul Rudd and Matt Damon in the audience; cuts to Jon Hamm, Martin Short, Fred Armisen, and (my beloved) Will Forte off to the side; and — as if that wasn't enough — it ends with Ryan Gosling bequeathing her the coveted jacket. JUST BANANAS. Full monologue HERE.

It was reminiscent of her last episode as a cast member, with legend after legend seeing her off.

NOW, ONTO THE SKETCHES:

JUMANJI – Andrew Dismukes is his own person but there’s something about him that reminds me of Forte. His humor is not as unconventional but he has a similar dedication to absurdity. With sheer commitment, he makes a lot of stuff work that really shouldn’t. So it made sense to me that Forte was invited to this sketch—which I can only assume came from the mind of Dismukes.

No offense to the current SNL batch, I like them a lot, but this episode made it apparent that Wiig, Forte, (and also Armisen) are on another level. Wiig, the reigning queen of the batshit lady, set the tone for this bizarre scenario. She made it work. Forte, the ultimate king of 10 to 1 sketches, added credibility to it. I'm trying to imagine it with Heidi Gardner and Mikey Day as placeholders for Wiig and Forte, respectively, and while I could still see it kind of working, I don't know if it would be as memorable.

PILATES (Pre-Tape) – this could should be an actual movie. Wiig as the creepy, high-energy instructor calling everyone "Mamas" cracked me up. Partly because it reminded me of Kaley Cuoco’s irritation with the pet name, which she recently griped about on the Conan Needs a Friend podcast.

SECRETARIES – this sketch wasn’t made for Jon Hamm but it was also made for Jon Hamm. Trudy made her first appearance when Pete Davidson hosted at the start of the season. Gardener carried that sketch the best she could but now she had two aces up her sleeve: Wiig and Hamm. Wiig, as Tootie, dived into the screwball comedy complete with mid-Atlantic accent; while Hamm only needed to revisit his role as Don Draper. I was near tears seeing them at the brink of breaking near the end. Also made me miss seeing them in Bill Hader’s Vincent Price sketches. It's got a similar vibe.

RETIREMENT PARTY – my favorite sketch of the night. This was the closest an alumnus has ever gotten to recreating the mid to late-aughts vibe of SNL, my favorite era. I've not thought about this sketch much or particularly missed it, but when Wiig came out with her oxygen tank, Armisen in his knee-length trousers, and Forte in his Hamilton wig, I was hit with so much joy and nostalgia. Made me realize how much I, as a viewer, took for granted, spoiled with such a wealth of hilarious recurring sketches.

Jason Sudeikis was often the perfect straight man for these sketches, but Day did a good job reacting to all the unhinged guests. I also wonder if he had a hand in writing it as Wiig’s lines sounded like something his character Supercentenarian Mort Fellner would say.

WEEKEND UPDATE – once again, Marcello Hernandez ruled behind the desk, this time as the 4.8 Magnitude Earthquake that recently (very gently) shook New York. He was later joined by Keenan Thompson as the Solar Eclipse. Not the biggest fan of Thompson but I do enjoy his dynamic with Hernandez. Wiig, on the other hand, reprised her favorite character, movie critic Aunt Linda. Her film reviews are always a riot but she had me cackling the moment she referred to Colin as Seth.

GO-KARTS – solid sketch that got me so invested and left me with many questions: What’s the bad thing? Why would it get Daddy drinking again? But mostly, who’s Sheila? Chloe Troast’s reveal off to the side was a nice touch. And the nickname, Big C, had me hollering.

LA MAISON DU BANG! – this was the sort of sketch Wiig used to do a lot with Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler back in the day and while I enjoyed seeing how much fun they were having, it was never something I got overly excited about. But seeing a version of it reborn was a delight. Molly Kearney leaping into frame with a saxophone was a welcome surprise. Reminiscent of Sudeikis’ tracksuit-wearing dancer in What Up With That?.

The musical guest, Raye, also killed it. She's like Amy Winehouse reincarnate. She sang barefoot at one point and I loved that tiny detail.

Links to her incredible performances HERE and HERE.

Fantastic show, all around. Best of the season, so far.

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etherealacoustic · 2 years

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Lifeless Eyes pt. 2

Pairing - Wolfstar x daughter!OC, Fred Weasley x OC!

Summary - Nova Lupin-Black comes home for the Easter holidays and her parents are in for a shock.

Warnings - crying, breakdown, mental exhaustion.

There's going to be another part of this, it'll be out soon as well!

Link for pt. 1 here

Link for pt.3 here

Remus Lupin tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the Hogwarts Express to arrive. He had been standing there along with Molly and Arthur, excited to see his daughter after months.

A smile grew on his face as he heard the familiar sound and the train finally stopped and hoards of students scurried out immediately.

His eyes wandered around swiftly as he searched for someone with sandy-brown curls similar to his own, and two tall red-heads who accompanied his daughter.

The smile faded slightly at not seeing Nova even after more than half of the students were already out. She was always the one to exit the train faster.

"There they are!" Molly said with a broad grin and he turned to see Fred and George walking toward them.

Remus looked around excitedly after spotting the twins, knowing she would be somewhere near the two.

But he couldn't see her anywhere even with his great eyesight. He frowned and looked quizzically at Fred, motioning with his hand on the whereabouts of Nova but the boy just shot him a sad look and pointed towards the train.

His frown deepened at the vague and strange reply but it was quickly replaced with a bright grin at seeing a familiar figure finally walk out.

She had the hood of her black hoodie on and when she pulled it down, Remus' heart sank and he felt it being shattered into pieces.

He couldn't believe she was his daughter. His Nova. It can't be.

His smile fell as quickly as it had come and in its place was a shocked, agonizing expression.

The first thing he noticed was her face, it had lost all of its colour and was sickly pale compared to her healthy tanned one from before.

Her grey eyes, instead of having the mischievous glint like her Da were now cold and sunken. Terrible circles underlined them, suggesting a lack of proper sleep and rest.

Remus' heart was breaking more and more as he started picking up every change that had taken place.

Her shoulders were hunched over a little, as though burdened by the weight of the entire world. He immediately thought it to be due to studies and something else he couldn't quite understand yet.

The only thing similar was the all-black clothes she wore, but even they seemed so sullen and down.

His lips were pressed together as he saw Harry walking next to her, the boy being in a bad state too. He watched Nova lifting her head to scan the crowd in search of him, but he couldn't even raise his hand to indicate his position.

He was too shocked at seeing the figure of those two.

Looking up, she finally spotted him and they made eye contact. He felt his heart lighten at seeing a smile spread across her weary face.

He let out an involuntary smile too as she ran towards him as fast as she could while keeping a hold on her luggage as well.

"Pa," she grinned once she was near enough and his lips stretched wide. Him not failing to notice the slight lifeless tone in her voice.

Nova wasted no time in jumping on him, making him stagger a little as he laughed. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, as though afraid that he'll disappear and she would have to go back again. Her face was pressed into his shoulder, taking in every bit of comfort provided by his form and breathing in relief at the familiar solace.

The soft material of his fuzzy sweater brushed against her cheek and she abruptly felt her throat tighten. She swallowed to get rid of the burning sensation that was getting more intense with every passing second.

"It's okay," Remus whispered as he rubbed her back. "It's alright".

Despite not knowing the reason for her shaken-up state, he somehow managed to calm her down. He told her it was okay and she believed him just like that.

"I missed you so much!" She exclaimed in a much more lively voice.

"I missed you too," he said and took the trolley from her hand before the two joined the Weasleys.

"She's looking better already," Fred muttered to his brother who nodded brightly. "Ready to go home, love?" He asked her.

A grin was seen on Nova's face, it wasn't matching her usual one, but it was at least some start. "Definitely".

So everyone took hold of each other and together, they all disapparated to appear on the doorstep of Grimmauld Place.

"Yeah just push me around like a bloody toy why don't you?" Ron scowled at George who was purposefully hitting his little brother.

"Shush it, Ronniekins," Ginny smirked, pointing at Molly who made a silencing motion with her fingers.

The door opened and in stepped everyone, their banter dying out as the air was drowned in silence.

"Where's Da?" Nova asked her father as she searched around the hallway and in the rooms hurriedly.

Remus chuckled softly at her eagerness, "He's in the kitchen. Hopefully, the room will be as it previously was and not broken or burned down".

"Wonderful faith you have in your husband don't you, Remus Lupin?" Sirius Black's voice called out and there he was, leaning against the doorway with his classic smirk.

"Da," Nova sighed at seeing him and rushed over towards him.

Remus' smile fell as he watched Sirius' eyes scan their daughter. He saw the shocked and troubled look in Sirius' eyes as he took in her disturbed and frazzled image.

Sirius was so lost in his thoughts, aghast about the apparent change in his daughter that he didn't even notice her hugging him. He quickly wrapped his arms around her after registering her doing the same and held her right, while also sharing a worried look with Remus over her head.

"Missed you, Dad," Nova whispered and did not attempt to pull away. While Remus gave her a sense of comfort and serenity, being in her Da's arms made her feel secure and guarded by everything.

"Ditto, darling," Sirius found the words and responded, gently squeezing her before pulling away to take a closer look at his daughter's face.

His heart felt heavy and he managed to give her a huge smile to let her know how happy he was to have her back. And he was, he was glad that she was home but was also a little uneasy at seeing the grim differences.

She gave him another small smile before dragging her trunk and swiftly darting into her room. Not giving anyone else a second glance as she disappeared.

Sirius walked over to Remus, his expression filled with anguish. "What the hell happened?!"

"I don't know," Remus muttered back in a quiet voice. "Something is seriously going wrong".

Sirius was about to say something when he caught sight of Fred and beckoned the twin over.

"What's wrong with Nova?" Sirius questioned as he placed his hands on Fred's shoulder. There was some sort of desperation in his voice.

The young man looked down with a miserable face and sighed, "It's been like this for the last two or three weeks. We've all been trying to get her to talk, but she wouldn't even open her mouth. She's hollow, a shadow of herself, as good as a ghost".

"Is someone giving her trouble?" Remus asked with a slightly stern tone.

Fred hesitated, he had promised Nova that he would not tell her Dads about anything. But he couldn't leave them without any answer, he could see very well that they were broken themselves.

"I don't know exactly, there are many things and as I said, she refuses to speak about them. Sometimes she gets stressed because of her studies, or we thought so. But it's something else too, something she's not telling us".

Remus and Sirius shared a worried look, both of them thinking continuously about the possible reasons.

"I think you two are the only ones who can bring her back," George interrupted and stepped beside his brother. "Me, Fred, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Katie, Lee; everyone has tried".

"She smiled for the first time today, you know?" Fred whispered and the two older men felt even more saddened.

"Yeah," said George with a small chuckle. "Almost after a whole month".

"We'll talk to her," Sirius nodded frantically as though trying to reassure himself.

"But don't rush her," suggested Fred. "Take it at her pace. She will lash out at you or maybe even block you away".

"Don't worry, we'll handle it," Remus gave them a small smile and they left.

The couple was left in silence now. The grey-eyed man looked at his husband, taking notice of all the worry lines on his face. He walked over to Remus and wrapped his arms around the other's torso, burying his face in the comfy material of the sweater.

Remus released a deep breath and he too reciprocated the actions, holding the other tight. "We'll talk to her after dinner," he spoke quietly.

Sirius nodded but then looked up, his eyes filled with tears and shining silver.

If there was one thing that scared him the most, it was always regarding his daughter. He couldn't bear to watch his little star struggle like that.

"I'm worried, we're not gonna lose her are we?"

"Hey," Remus whispered and cupped his cheeks. "We're not losing her, love. She's just not in a right mindset. We'll talk to her, yeah? She's gonna be fine, completely fine. We'll have our Nova back in no time, okay?"

"Yeah," he smiled and leaned forward to gently kiss Remus slowly, passionately. As though they had all the time in the world.

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The two entered the kitchen and smiled at the chaos that was currently happening, their lips twitching at the house feeling lively once again.

Remus' eyes scanned the crowd and just as he was about to sit down, he noticed Nova was missing.

"I'll get her," Sirius voiced his thoughts and he nodded, though his forehead had a crease of concern.

Sirius silently walked up the stairs and knocked on Nova's door, hearing frantic shuffling from inside.

The door opened seconds later to reveal her standing there wearing an over-sized hoodie that belonged to Remus and he smiled softly.

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah 'course," she said and stepped aside as he walked in and gave the room a brief scan, noticing it being strangely clean and organized.

Nova sat cross-legged on her bed and picked up a random book, pretending to read because she was no way interested in a conversation.

"They're all playing downstairs, don't feel like joining them?" He questioned gently, making sure he wasn't overstepping any boundaries.

"Nah," she shook her head. "Not in the mood. Just tired actually".

He nodded, fully knowing that every sentence she uttered was a lie.

"I missed you," he then continued. "Me and Rem, we missed you a lot this time. Couldn't wait for the holidays".

"I missed you too, Da. A lot," she murmured and Sirius knew this was completely genuine, filled with more feelings. "Wanted to be here with you and Pa as soon as possible".

He shifted closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, instantly noticing how her grip seemed much tighter, as though- as though she was afraid that he was going away.

He didn't say another word, being silent the entire time and Nova was thankful for that.

She then turned and wrapped both of her arms around his torso as best as she could while still sitting and buried her face in his shoulder.

He heard her let out a deep breath and he tightened his hold, rubbing her back as he kissed her head.

He then pulled away after a moment, much to her reluctance.

Sirius gently placed his hand on her cheeks to make sure she was looking at him, much like he had done when she was younger.

"Nov, what's the matter? What happened at school?" He asked as softly as he could muster.

He saw the way her silver eyes darkened and narrowed at the mention of Hogwarts, saw the way her eyebrows furrowed and how her jaw clenched.

"As usual, Da," she replied with a brave smile. "Just drama, gossips, pranks, laughter. The usual stuff".

"Like I'm going to believe that," he said with a slight scoff and the door opened as Remus stepped in.

Nova's heart took up its speed as she realised what they were doing, they were going to question her. She couldn't avoid them now.

Her face took on a panicked expression as she looked at Remus, but he just offered her a kind and gentle smile and sat to her left.

"Do you really think we haven't noticed it, darling?" Sirius asked with an understanding look.

"It's not just you, Star. We've seen the others as well," said Remus.

"No no," Nova shook her head and gave a small laugh. "Nothing's happening. Harry, Ron and Hermione are just stressed because of their O.W.L.s".

Sirius heaved a sigh and looked at Remus, communicating silently.

"Hey," Remus whispered and gathered her attention. He took her left hand in his, holding it as he normally would and Nova's insides burned as though her body was being set on fire.

She put her entire self-control in not whipping her hand back this instant and instead focused her mind somewhere else. But his fingers unknowingly brushed against the cut and despite it being covered by her sleeve, it stung like hell.

She bit her lip hard, holding the smooth flesh in between her razor-sharp teeth to contain the slightest reaction.

But she couldn't hold on anymore and without being suspicious, she slowly extracted her hand back from his grasp. "Let's go have dinner, I'm hungry".

"Don't do this," Sirius frowned deeply, not wanting to let this topic go.

"We just wanna help, love. You can talk to us you know that right?" Remus inquired and she nodded.

"I know that, Pa! The only thing, there's nothing to talk about".

"Nova," he said massaging his temple and sighing. Not angry, of course not. He would never be mad over this, just a little impatient.

"I DON'T WANNA TALK!" She yelled out, losing her cool at last.

Despite the door of the room being closed, they still heard the silence that fell downstairs. They had clearly heard the shout.

"DON'T YOU GET IT? I DON'T WANT TO TALK!"

"Hey now," Sirius said quickly and took hold of her arms. "No need to get all violent, Lion. It's okay, it's fine".

"I don't wanna talk," she now mumbled. The fire extinguished to form cold ashes. "Please," she whispered and her eyes glossed over.

"Alright no issue, not at all," Remus smiled at her. "It's okay, darling. You don't have to talk. But you gotta understand our side too, yeah? We're worried, we're bloody scared, Nov. You don't know the state of my heart when I saw you on the platform today".

"And your friends?" Sirius continued softly. "They're scared beyond belief. They think they're losing you, they think the Nova they know is gone, and she would never come back".

"I know that," Nova muttered and glared daggers at the floor, keeping her eyes from tearing up again. "But I'm okay, Da. I'm fine".

"Are you though?"

A simple sentence, a simple three word sentence and that was all it took for her throat to burn with a newfound intensity.

She swallowed deeply, a shaky breath followed soon and her heartbeat went out of control. The world around her started spinning and she felt her head going crazy with everything.

Conversations, comments, and thoughts echoed in her mind. Torturing and punishing her cruelly. Testing her it seemed, as to how far exactly were her limits. As to how much she can handle, before it was too much?

But this was it, this was too much now.

She couldn't handle it anymore and in a split second, hot tears streamed down her face as she gasped and inhaled, unable to control herself.

And before she knew it, a pair of arms were wrapped carefully around her vulnerable frame.

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itstopplingdomino · 3 months

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WIP Tag

Thank you for the tag @myst867! Juggling between university classes, personal life and an alter ego in the internet is a tough thing, and I'm sure most agree TT I will be listing them in order of priority too!)

List the titles your top five priorities for WIP updates (link your fics for new readers!)

An upcoming scene, event, or detail in each fic that you're looking forward to writing

Bonus: make a poll for your followers to vote on which top 5 WIP they are most excited to see an update on!

Then tag 10 writer friends

Titles

Untitled (coming soon) - I made a promise to write a short fiction based on how I feel after taking my test. Reader thought of Andrew Larson as a person who keeps himself; probably arrogant about his intelligence too. But in a make-up test session, reader learnt that he's actually the complete opposite.

Burning Desire - Supposed to be one chapter one-shot in celebration of Valentine's day, but I am working on the second (final) chapter. Garreth Weasley realises he has romantical feelings for reader just as Valentine's day is nearing.

Paper Bird - A potion product mishap causes reader to replace negative words into its kinder version. First part is posted, but I gotta finish up the second part.

Falling (you say i'm wise beyond my years) - Based on Isabela LaRosa's Older. Aesop Sharp has many secrets - and you are one of them. It's not explicit but it does have mature themes.

Tolerance - Just an intrepretation on how certain Harry Potter characters would react when they find out you're hurt (and doesn't seem like it from the outside). Part 1 is here. Part 2 is here. Part 3 and onwards are on the way!

Mainly Hogwarts Legacy universe and all is x reader pairing, all except 4 is minor-friendly (just be warned of mild cursings). It just so happens that these two weeks are packed with tests and assignments, so I'd be active to lurk but too exhausted to write. I gotta get back on writing as soon as the urgent big stuff in life is dealt with.

Upcoming Scenes, Events, Details

Untitled (coming soon) - We're at a point where reader's perception of Andrew will be changed. I think I would be done and ready to post this by this week (most likely the weekend).

Burning Desire - As soon as Garreth realises he has feelings for reader, he decides to act on his feelings but here comes the light angst. Let's just say, I love misunderstanding trope <3.

Paper Bird - Fred Weasley's redemption arc, basically. He will do everything to make ammends.

Falling (you say i'm wise beyond my years) - Upcoming chapter will be all about hurt/comfort, supportive figure, and generally fluff. Considering the first two chapters were playing on pining on reader's side and growing sexual tension (is reader imagining it..?), I want to write something a little more in-depth and platonic.

Tolerance - I've got to be honest; I am actually stuck on this. It's Ron's reaction and I couldn't decide which reaction would suit him best.

Please forgive me for tagging you TT Genuinely interested in your current progress of your works!! @applinsandoranges, @cuffmeinblack, @ravenelyx, @imtheslayeraskmehow97, @arthenaa.

One thing I realised from doing this tag game is that I need to have a masterlist. When will I get around doing that? We shall see. I gotta figure out Tumblr better first XD

#topplingdominowrites #writers on tumblr #writeblr #writing #wip tag #harry potter fandom #harry potter universe #hogwarts legacy fandom #hogwarts legacy universe #archiveofourown #ao3 writer #ao3 fanfic

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fictionturnedherbrain · 11 months

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Geeking out over the cast for The Scarlet Pimpernel (1917) and The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1928)! The films are lost to cinematic history, I'm guessing, but I bought two programmes (in Danish because why not) to fire my imagination.

The 1917 film starred Dustin Farnum, an American actor later known for westerns, and English actress Winifred Kingston as Sir Percy and Marguerite, with honourable mention going to Bertram Grassby as Sir Andrew (hel-lo). There's also a plot summary in the programme with an intriguing detail: 'Then [Marguerite] learns that her husband's unkindness is due to jealousy: he wrongly suspects her of being in contact with a Frenchman named Chauvelin, who occupies a prominent position within the secret police of the revolution. In reality, she hates and loathes this Chauvelin, who has stormed her with declarations of love in the past - but fate now gives him an uncanny power over her.' (Thank you, Google Translate.) Perhaps the 1982 film wasn't the first to write in a love triangle after all!

The 1928 sequel, The Triumph of the Scarlet Pimpernel, follows the book with Theresia, Tallien and Rateau, and stars Canadian Matheson Lang and his real life wife Marjorie Hume.

The actors seem to resemble Fred Terry and Juliet Neilson from the original screenplay, and I would love to find even a clip from either film but the programmes are fun finds.

#the scarlet pimpernel #baroness orczy #silent films #sir percy blakeney #marguerite st just #the triumph of the scarlet pimpernel #film adaptations

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supercap2319 · 5 months

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"Nice slut you got there, Andrews. Feel like sharing him?" A member of the Serpents grinned. Imagine their surprise when the son of Fred Andrews, King of the Southside Serpents, brought a pretty boy for the north side of Riverdale.

All eyes were on them as things like: drinks, pool, and arm wrestling were put on a temporary hold as they waited for Archie to respond. He gave them a mischievous smile. "Any other time, I'd happily share my slut with all the Serpents. Let them service everybody in Whyte Wyrm, but this one... he belongs to me."

They disappeared through another room, as Archie pushed Y/N into his dad's office in the back and made out with him on the desk.

#x male reader #male reader insert #male x male #archie andrews #archie comics #archie andrews x male reader #kj apa #kj apa x male reader #southside #southside serpents #archie is a serpent

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riverdale-retread · 1 year

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Riverdale S7 E8 Hoop Dreams

I kid you not, this thing is 20 pages. Enter at your own risk. (ILY for reading even part of this.)

Jughead Jones tells us that while “some towns are football towns,” Riverdale isn’t. My longing for OG Tabitha, the angel of chronokinesis and savior of FailAdult Jughead Jones, is such that I pondered if this is Tabitha’s touch - to make a town that for six seasons has been all about football (insert the immortal “Highs and Lows of High School Football” quote gif here if you’re able, which I am not, so you’ll just have to imagine it for this summary) stop caring about that sport altogether and switch over to basketball, which might be her favorite.

Please come back, chronokinetic angel Tabitha, God of Time Loop Manipulation!

The funny thing is, even though Jughead says with what sounds like regret that Riverdale has but a “so-so football team” there’s a banner over the in progress basketball game that says 1942 RIVERDALE HIGH FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS. Granted, it doesn’t say WHAT they were champions of, but I suspect Jughead might be wrong about everything he’s saying, because the other banners say things like Riverdale High Field Hockey Champions 1944, Riverdale High Boys Basketball Champions 1945 and Division II State Champions Field Hockey 1952. Jughead insists that kids only play hockey on the river in winter, implying that they only do that because there’s nothing else to do. Granted, field hockey isn’t ice hockey, but it’s still hockey, and they were champions of this twice across eight years, so - basically, Jughead currently only thinks basketball is cool because (a) his girlfriend-god that he’s been (tw: Harry Potter reference) obliviated into forgetting wants him to think that and (b) Archie in the 1950s AU that we’re in plays basketball not football.

I wondered if the reason, say, that the one and only time the Riverdale football team was the champion was because of WWII or if that war had something to do with this spotty history of performances from the high school of at town that is completely obsessed with sports in every iteration, but I don’t think it quite lines up. WWII was between 1939 and 1945, and the US entry into that war was in 1941.

One more irrelevant point - in OG Riverdale True Timeline of previous seasons, SWEET PEA played basketball. So did Reggie Mantle. And now - now that the tallest boy Riverdale ever had is gone for good, NOW is when they make basketball a thing. O Riverdale Why Are You Like This?! (All Hail the Members of the Cult of Sweet Pea of which there are about five at any given time). I only say this because they actually cut to Fangs, playing basketball, which spiked my stress levels.

Basically, every time I see Fangs I’m enraged because that actor - while beautiful in the face and body - makes for a very terribly unintimidating Serpent and a very terribly unintimidating US Civil War warlock, and a deeply inappropriate basketball player because everything about him says gymnast weightlifter.

Anyways! Even though Fred Andrews, who is basically a saint now in Riverdale because Luke Perry was apparently a very kind man as well as valuable actor who died tragically young during the production of this show, led the team to become champions of the state three years IN A ROW, there are no signs to actually commemorate this achievement in the current halls Riverdale High where his son, Archie Andrews, plays basketball. Granted, doing some rough math, if Archie is 17 in 1955, his dad’s high school career would’ve been in the mid thirties, so the basketball glory days of Riverdale High would’ve been between like, 1934 and ‘37 (assuming Fred was born in 1918 and had Archie at age 20 in 1938 - omg this makes this Archie so old to me - 1938?!?!). Do they only put up banners for wins from the last 10 years? (But then why the 1942 win?)

I tried really hard to see what team kicked the Riverdale basketball team’s butt so hard they lose 63 to 32 (with the announcer saying “that’s another big loss for Riverdale” while all the worthies - the evil vile boyfriends the HS principal and shrink, Hal Cooper, the Blossoms, Betty and Veronica, all mourn the loss) but they had very small print on red jerseys and I could not make it out. Uncle Fucking Frank reacts with violence against innocent paper cups that Dilton Doiley with literally Long Duk Dong hair (ARE THEY SERIOUS?) cringes beside him.

I always wonder about actors who get hired for roles that essentially play a hateful racist stereotype based on their racialized phenotype. Is the actor’s ‘cringing’ reaction portrayed here so awkward because he’s a bad actor, or because the scene is bad, or is he ‘resisting’ the Asian Dweeb stereotype he’s being forced to portray by being very unnatural? (There was a black and white film from the 1940s I watched for a college class whose title escapes me where white people go do things in “China” - a set - that had as its plot device and local color provider character a “Chinese” girl who spoke surreal pidgin English, and the obviously California born-and-raised Asian actress insisted on delivering these “Me Help For You Go Get!” type of stupid lines with the most So-Cal Accent of all time). Anyway, Dilton cringes because the awful white man beats up his paper cups because he sucks as a coach.

Choni, looking amazing in those cream turtleneck sweaters (I really want a cream turtleneck sweater with something navy emblazoned on it because of this), are so very upset about this loss. They find it unspeakable. Further, Toni is discomfited by the fact that Lizzo the Lesbian who dresses in proto Tom of Finland outfits and looks very hot came to sneer at her and only her for being a cheerleader.

In the locker room, Archie, because 1950s Archie is adorkably wholesome and a natural leader, is trying to give his discouraged teammates a pep talk. He sounds so decent and sweet. The other redhead, because really, there is room for only one redhead to be supreme in this town, the Julian who isn’t Jason, interrupts him with a generic sort of homophobic slur against them all - “Not if we keep playing like pansies!” before launching into a shouting rant that Archie cuts off. Nostrils flaring, Julian invokes St. Fred’s sainted “legacy” of having gifted Riverdale with a streak of wins at Archie, who is very very peeved. Julian makes sure to mention the fact that his parents sponsor the team, to which Archie fights back with a very pointed pronunciation of the title, “Captain.”

After the game, Uncle Fucking Frank is begging Clifford Blossom for something. When Archie asks him in his 1955 voice (which I now realize is a very creditable impression of the tenor husky tone of Luke Perry actually) what Blossom wanted, Uncle Fucking Frank says that he’s been permitted to bring in an outside player.

And here we come to it.

This is another Very Special Episode of Riverdale S7 - subtitle, The Thorny Question of Race in America.

Uncle Fucking Frank has many many MANY MANY flaws but he is a middle aged white man in 1955 who is entirely free from not just racism but any sort of prejudice or racial awareness whatsoever. Which - what? How? Does Uncle Fucking Frank have prosopagnosia or something? I mean, he called with evident, drooling joy, Betty Cooper in her underwear that he happened to see without her permission in her skivvies “a ripe peach of a girl” to Archie his nephew, but this is what he has to say about Reggie Mantle, about whom the first thing literally everyone other than him notices is his Not Whiteness:

- Farm kid out of Duck Creek

- Kid who knows how to win games

- 6ft 3, 220 pounds, pure muscle, fast.

- Nickname: ‘The Blur - cause you never see him coming.”

Zero mention of Reggie not being white, of being Asian (or as he may more likely have said, Oriental), or Korean. Zippo, nothing, nada. Just the barest locational and socioeconomic background, no mention of immigrant status, and only what needs to be known for his credentials as an ace basketball player to be communicate to Archie.

Do I - must I - stop hating Uncle Fucking Frank quite as much? I mean I’ll always hate him, but I might have to downgrade from Despise to just Hate. Frank, Sir, you are coming up in the world.

Wait no, I figured it out. I still can still hate Uncle Fucking Frank despite the fact that he manages to talk about Reggie Mantle purely limited to his traits as an ace basketball player with zero mention of his race, ethnicity, being oriental, what kind of Asian etc etc. During the past few years I have seen and heard in passing analyses about how pro and college football will populate their winning teams with not-white athletes, build out hugely profitable merchandising using these same athletes but not pay them their due share. I’m sure coaches that recruit students for this sort of enterprise also don’t really go into what color their skin is or their facial phenotype: they only want to know if they have the physique to render them profitable for the team. Same with Uncle Fucking Frank. He’s not enlightened, just desperate.

Meanwhile, Cheryl and Toni are working off the stress of cheering for a losing team (and in Toni’s case, whatever that meaningful look was between her and Lizzo at the end of the game.) Cheryl, who manages to not have her siren red lipstick all over her face after this make out session looks very fetching in her red neckerchief (omg the clavicles on this chick are to die for) proposes that she and Toni “go steady, just for us." Toni, looking equally fetching in with her thick bangs and leopard print scarf (do they wear these to hide the hickeys or are they too sophisticated for that?) is not nice about it. She points out that they can’t walk down the hall at school holding hands nor can they ‘pin’ each other.

Uh. That’s struck me as quite nasty, and a weirdly underhanded blow at that. 1955 is only five years after the founding of Mattachine Society which moreover was just white men, and it’s not clear to me that those dudes would’ve necessarily welcomed either of these girls. Why is Toni pointing out that they are living in a homophobic society to blame Cheryl for it?

When Cheryl finally gets the hint (“Unless you don’t want to!”), Toni finally says that monogamy is too ‘square’ for her. (What the hell is happening with her and Lizzo?) Cheryl though is nothing if not obnoxiously persistent, so she works her way around Toni’s refusal, which was I will note once again, not at all gentle, by concluding that “it’s kind of like we’re already secretly going steady if you think about it.” Way to be suffocating, Cheryl. Toni is annoyed.

We are now finally going to meet 1955 Reggie Mantle. A very dusty blue pick up truck drives down a road to turn into a yard with lots of goats. It turns out to be Archie Andrews’ ride. The farm house looks pretty huge, though not particularly fancy. Reggie is moving bales of hay from one truck to the other. His hair is all glossy and shiny looking as he does this. Archie asks apparently for the second or third time if he can’t give Reggie a hand, to which Reggie who is very Eyeore in 1955 says no.

The second thing that Archie says to Reggie is to ask if Reggie is “from Korea.” Which means at some point Frank told him he was Korean.

Maybe American and European awareness of Korea existing waxes and wanes, but this question surprised me, as in, it struck me as very unrealistic. It’s only in literally the past seven or so years (i.e. since BTS hit it big in America in 2017) that an Asian looking person is going to be asked if they are Korean first and foremost. My, how we’ve come up in the world, I guess? (Except this more like that one nutty Englishman who plastic surgeried himself into ‘being Korean’ for a bit before deciding that he wasn’t Korean after all.)

Reggie gives a very, like, 1990s answer to this “Where are you from” question, politely answering with his genealogy - Mom is “Korean.” Then he goes on to say his dad “was born here,” before adding “I was born here.” This convoluted writing is necessary because the show doesn’t want to say if Reggie’s father is ethnically Korean or not. If Reggie was born in 1938 like I’ve calculated already for Archie, and let’s just say for the sake of argument they’re all the same age, Reggie’s father was born in 1918 in the US and his mother managed to enter the US (that’s what “from Korea” or “Korean” here is supposed to mean) before the 1924 Oriental Exclusion act banning all Asian immigration to the US, which stayed in place until 1952 (My head hurts. Why did they have to make his being KOREAN a thing on this show?). This makes her the wrong age to have come to America as a picture bride (1905-1924). Also what the heck does Reggie mean by “here”? Most of the initial immigration by Koreans to the US were to Hawaii (prior to annexation) and to California because those land masses are closer to Korea (Koreans moved east to America).

Reggie looks very hot in his baggy jeans and brown belt and work gloves that match his tan boots. Of course this is a bit of a call back to the Jarchie Run Away from Hiram Together moments where Archie takes his shirt off and moves bales of hay as Jughead watches peevishly because he gets annoyed whenever Archie does things that are likely to get him laid.

Apparently, Reggie used to play basketball for Stonewall Prep, but then dropped out. While he’s willing to be polite about explaining his ethnic background (kind of - we know his mother’s ethnicity and his father’s immigration status, to be accurate), Reggie gets testy when asked this question about his history as a Stony. He says he dropped out, as Archie smiles ruefully at the rebuff (“You writing a book?”) which seems very harsh because OG Archie of course has difficulties learning things from books.

I was wrong- it wasn’t Archie’s truck, it was Frank’s. Frank has come out of the farm house to tell Reggie that things are “squared away with your folks” and that Reggie should “say his see you laters.” I don’t think this is intentional, but it’s actually accurate. Certain types of Americans do lay it on super heavy with the colloquialisms when they are speaking to someone they didn’t expect would have an American accent.

When Reggie walks past Archie towards the house, Archie looks exactly like I would if a panther just casually walked by me in the street. He’s so amazed by Reggie that he gives Uncle Fucking Frank a ‘Oh My Golly Gosh Did YOU See That Too?’ look to which Frank gives him an understanding nod. Frank apparently doesn’t find this reaction ‘bent’ at all.

So now we’re at the dinner table at the Andrews home with Mary politely trying to make conversation.

I’m gonna have to break the summation again once more to note the huge problems that trying to be ethnically accurate about Charles Melton the actor (his mom is ethnically Korean and his father is not) for this season that they’ve set in 1955 causes the show. In S2-6, they gave Reggie a Tiger Dad type father who looked Asian (or part Asian) and his mother was cast with an Asian (or part Asian) actress. But in 1955 we’re having to go with the idea that Reggie was a mixed race kid born in 1938, without actually going into anti- miscegenation and laws associated therewith (I am not going to research this ok? I just know Loving v Virginia was decided in 1967. FML. I hate history so much and here I am having to do this for my RIVERDALE HOBBY - , like wtf is my life rn).

The thing is, THE THING IS, the set up they have for “dad born here, I’m born here, I speak fluent English with an American accent” Reggie is that of an exchange student far from home, an alien guest in an All American Caucasian Household.

Long Duk Dong set up (from Sixteen Candles, which is a movie Molly Ringwald was in, who now plays Archie’s Mom) ONCE AGAIN. There’s a classic Margaret Cho quote from decades ago about how Asian Americans aren’t allowed to just, like, EXIST in American shows and movies. There’s always got to be some reason that justifies their existence - foreign exchange student being one of the most benign go-tos. Riverdale is reproducing the Explain Your Existence, O Surprising Oriental trope even as they pretend to actually engage with Asian American identity.

Friends, I have written five pages, single spaced and so far I’ve covered literally FOUR MINUTES of the show. Let’s move faster.

Mary Andrews has heard that Reggie grew up on a farm, and wants to know all about it. Uncle Fucking Frank is seated at the head of the table like somehow he has a right to be there. Anyway, Reggie is bouncy and discreetly proud of himself when he says that his dad was injured in the Korean War (“Came home with shrapnel in his shoulder”) so he has to step up, because it’s his family’s legacy.

These are all words designed to ping every string in Archie’s heart - Dad, Korean War, Family Legacy, Stepping Up.

Times are hard, is what Reggie is telling them, so Archie asks why they couldn’t get assistance from the GI Bill. “We’re not considered eligible” is what Reggie tells Archie. So… is Reggie’s Dad a Not Korean But Asian person? Who was born in America in 1918 and got drafted into the Korean War while Asian? I mean, I have no idea how many that might be actually, and the Korean War was an international police action that had battlefield participation from, like, Ethiopia, Turkey and South Africa, so there were bunches of not Korean men fighting that war. (Oh and uh, if you bring up MASH to me I will curse your bloodline and block you because NO.) So where the US government refused to do right by its veterans of color, Clifford Blossom's need to have his pet basketball team win something will provide the assistance the Mantle farm apparently needs and should’ve received from the US government.

Reggie is going to be roommates with Archie. He gets a bunk, lots of blankets, and a dresser drawer. Reggie looks very glum about this, though the adorable clueless 1955 Archie whom I do like so much is being very sincere in his efforts to be a good host. Reggie happens to glance out the window to see Betty Cooper, very fetching in green and white polka dots, settle on her bed

“Who’s that?” he wants to know. He says everything in this dour, serious tone, which I guess is meant to convey that the weight of the world is on this Reggie, as opposed to the one that lived in the permanent year 2020. Archie tellingly refuses to say her actual name, describing Betty as “his neighbor” that Reggie will “get to meet at school tomorrow.” Then, just to make things extra weird, he firmly notes that they’re both supposed to keep their window curtains shut from now on - no further explanation. Reggie clearly has a ton of questions but decides not to ask any.

Hal comes to give Betty a visit. Werthers has advised Hal that Betty might be better off burning off her excess energy by becoming a cheerleader. The fact that her school shrink is talking about Betty's sexuality with her dad is supposed to give me the heebie jeebies but it doesn't. When this town's adults don't like something about their kids they straight up shove them into a mental institution run by a pseudo Catholic cult (both in the OG Universe and 1955 AU) so what Betty is getting is cosseting. What's more interesting is the very All American conviction that repeatedly keeps getting voiced that Sports Will Fix Sexual Problems In The Young. Kevin's unacceptable homosexuality was supposed to be cured by participation in homosocial team sports. Betty's unacceptable sexuality in general (because God forbid women do anything) is also supposed to be cured by participation in a homosocial team sport. Nobody sees the contradiction in any of this. When told that she must join the Vixens - AND without auditioning! Join through back channels! - Betty looks completely disgusted. And yeah there's a very Rivderdalean triple pun here, of a sexualized virgin being forced to join the most objectfied female activity in American high school AND acquire the title VIXEN into the bargain! I wonder if this is the show advocating for teen girls to send nudes to boys - because that's what Betty would've done had she had the technology, right?

The next morning Lizzo the Lezzie is waiting for Toni at the school. I thought Lizzo dropped out? Is she just an incorrigible morning person? This is a disturbing level of stalking of Toni is it not? To come super early to the grounds of the school you dropped out of to provide sneering commentary on someone else's relationship is a LOT. And Lizzo is so carefully dressed too : Tom of Finland leathers hat and jacket, maroon pants, belt with a big interesting buckle that is the same color as her huge hoop earrings. She tells Toni she's "figured out a good hustle." She picks put "ripe" closeted girls, brings them out and uh deflowers them, then ditches them.

Oooh is this Toni Topaz having a toxic trait? Because her relentless pursuit of Cheryl, who was all manner of unwilling (plus the usual lack of sexual frisson between these two performers- also sidebar rant WHY WONT THEY GIVE VERONICA A GIRLFRIEND) was in truth a little icky right?

Toni looks shifty and avoidant when she spots Tabitha Tate and simply leaves Lizzo in the lurch.

Tabitha says that Mrs. Till was all the things that sound exhausting to have to be ("so strong, so inspiring") but that the tour trying to voice the racial injustice of America took a personal toll on her. This is the start of a severely, comically fucked up race related discussion vis a vis African Americans on this episode. First of all, you have two African American women explaining white racism to each other, very calmly, without expressing anger or fatigue and even managing to experience some surprise. That is so weird. Second, Toni says she "can only imagine" the hatred and racial injustice that Tabitha just got through encountering up close and personal. Excuse me? Why can she only imagine? Wouldn't Toni actually KNOW? Because anti black racism doesn't exist at all in Riverdale 1955?? (But she was one who pointed out exactly what some of the more obvious ones were to Featherhead!) When Toni confesses to Tabitha that she's now a cheerleader, she prefaces by saying "Don't laugh" and doesn't say the BS she tried to push on Lizzo at the start of her River Vixen career - that being the first black cheerleader is somehow meaningful. Tabitha evidently doesn't feel anything other than horror at the idea of being a cheerleader so she instead asks about whether Toni is still writing think pieces for the Blue and Gold. She isn't. Tabitha completely runs out of things to say. OK so thus far, 1955 Toni is a bit of a predatory lesbian lothario who will get sanctimonious about race only when she thinks she can get away with it, and Tabitha is a judgmental prig. I suppose this could be considered a sort of progress for characters who used to be all about their “race,” each with the designated role of being the only one with the braincell because that’s clumsy representation but it’s better than a hateful depiction, but the dark sides shown here are still a simplistic flip of the equally nuance-free ‘light’ sides that were dominant for both.

In the student lounge, Betty, Veronica and Cheryl (who really would be an ultimate throuple - with Veronica as the hinge person, if only, well, if only all of them didn’t have the various issues they’ve always had) allow Kevin to sit with them, which I simply do not understand. Betty is too good for her own good, to coin a phrase. Veronica is deeply amused by Betty being a “RiverVixen” to which Cheryl makes it clear that she did not want this to happen - for Betty to join the cheerleading squad NOR the nepotistic way she joined it. Veronica now owns the Babylonium - complete with “paperwork.”

Why. Do they do. This. with the Contract Mentions. [fists clenched, vibrating with rage] Finalized by who? Which paperwork? Is Veronica an emancipated minor too like Jughead probably possibly is or has she been lying all this time about being the same age as everyone else purportedly is in this universe?

In any case, Betty, who has developed a new oral fixation with lollipops, finds Veronica’s penchant for business as adorable as Veronica finds the thought of Betty in a cheerleader uniform. Veronica is wearing a very un-1950s Veronica outfit - the collar goes right up to the collarbone, the sleeves are puffy, the color subdued. Now that she’s recovered some element of her OG Universe self (compulsive entrepreneur), she is now speaking of herself in the third person and archly. The camp is dialed up so high the knob breaks off. (“Veronica Lodge likes to burn rubber” which is, what, three layers of pun? Burn Rubber = goes fast. Rubber = slang for condom. But Veronica is a virgin, etc). Betty and (Sighhhhh) Kevin think so too, because they give each other a look.

Or it could be because their 17 year old friend suddenly talking like she’s a 1940s screen diva at a waning stage of her career AND talking about herself in the third person using her full name is just fully very strange.

To make matters worse, Archie brings in Reggie Mantle to this little group, trying to do his best to integrate this valuable new teammate (and roommate, and all round amazing looking cool handsome guy that he thinks is just the tops on first sight) to his coterie. Veronica fully falls into an erotic fugue at the sight of Reggie, and starts to speak in tongues - “Are you gonna introduce us to your strapping flutter bum of a new pal?” 1950s Archie smiles nicely at her while not answering, which is the usual thing that he does when he just doesn’t understand wtf the other person is saying but doesn’t feel safe asking them to explain in case everyone else understands and they all wind up finding out that he’s dumb.

Reggie apparently expects Riverdale people to be completely insane because he doesn’t even do a double take at this exceptional sentence from this girl he’s meeting for the first time. He just soberly introduces himself. I mean, given that he has first met Uncle Fucking Frank on a mission from Clifford Blossom of all people, and then had Archie say what he said about the curtains and Betty, he’s not wrong.

Veronica is laying it on an inch thick - “I suspected a tall drink of water like you was a sportsman!”

She’s taking all her behavioral cues from an earlier era of movie diva, I think. This is like, Marlene Dietrich (“Marriage? [scoff] I never found a man good enough for that.”) or Greta Garbo (“But I vaaunt to be aloonnne”) with a certain brassy kind of young Joan Crawford making movie after movie with Clark Gable.

The original high-camp archly-haute queen of Riverdale, Cheryl, fights for her crown. She interrupts whatever next thing Veronica was going to say by snapping that Veronica “might get a ticket for speeding.” This doesn’t just mean that Cheryl really dislikes it when people are very heterosexual around her (though she does feel that too). Veronica first of all is intensely wlw-coded, which is why it irks (the closeted) Cheryl that Veronica is laying it on so thick with the attraction to big handsome man’s-man Reggie (which of course goes all the way over the maximum virility level to loop all the way around to being gay!). (In a way that Toni never actually appeared to like or interact with other women, OG Veronica absolutely LOVED other women and made the personal political in a very principled way). And it shows that Cheryl not only closely listens to everything Veronica says but also really thought the whole ‘burn rubber’ triple pun was great, which is why she references it in her attempted put down.

She tries to demonstrate how she thinks not-straight girls should react to someone with Reggie’s glossy hair and sculptural face. Cheryl puts on the most anodyne professional face to tell Reggie what “professional” (ahem) connections they have, and makes sure to say that the two of them “will be working closely together.” She does this very well. But the thing is, she looks even more insane than before because the flip of the switch from her sniping at Veronica (an explosion of genuine feeling) and this ‘groomed professional’ self is so abrupt!

Reggie is like, okay so hot girl 1 is nuts and so is hot girl 2, but maybe hot girl 3 (and neighbor) is not insane, so he asks Betty if she’s a cheerleader. Kevin makes a face like he knows exactly Reggie’s thought process (but honestly, fuck you Kevin. Die in a ditch.). Betty does give the most sane reaction out of the three. When Reggie calls her ‘neighbor’ though, Veronica AND Betty AND Kevin all have a reaction. (Cheryl already knew and possibly doesn’t care so she doesn’t say anything). Kevin and Veronica look over at Archie, while Betty scrunches her forehead at Reggie.

Archie is still looking at Reggie like made of solid gold. “He’s gonna help turn things around for the Bulldogs.”

Veronica is so bored by Riverdale. She must be. Why else is she acting like this? She immediately tries to monopolize Reggie’s attention, calling him “Reginald” and interviewing him like she’s a celebrity journalist trying to win some sort of tabloid spirit award. Reggie continually gives her looks that blatantly say, Are you really like this - like, really?? Yet Veronica is utterly undeterred. What she reminds me of is Samantha from Sex and the City. No woman talks like that - that was a ‘woman’ written by gay men who thought THEY would talk like that and behave like that if THEY were women (which no, they would not. There are reasons why actual women can’t talk or behave that way). Veronica tries to lay out all her best cards (she thinks) on the table, concluding with “I own my own business, yes” and calls her movie theater a “movie palace.”

Oh Veronica. Being a entrepreneurial girl in a heterosexist world is exactly like being a logical confrontational girl or a scientifically rigorous girl. Being these things is surely a strength, to be aspired to and will fuel you to achieve self actualization, but no straight boy ever found these things hot. They like us in spite of these strengths, not because. Sad, but true.

Reggie clearly just doesn’t believe her, possibly adding ‘mythomania’ to his assessment that already includes ‘speaks strangely’ and ‘incomprehensible’ about Veronica.

When showing off her fabulous gift of the gab, her perfect face, and her entrepreneur skills fails to make an impact on Reggie, Veronica gets annoyed. In response to his saying his town just did not have a movie theater AND his parents never owned a TV (possibly, never made enough to buy one), she offers Reggie a job, which will come with a side order of sexual harassment from a very attractive female boss.

Cheryl Blossom, who knows all about Reggie’s financial dependence on her father, finds the mention of money horrible (Cheryl Old Money vs. Veronica New Money dynamic). She calls Veronica uncouth (“Raised by wolves!”). Reggie has had more than enough. He used to go to Stonewall with rich WASPs so can tell when things are about to go sideways. He literally backs away from everyone, asking to be shown the gym.

Veronica AND Kevin leap at the chance to get near Reggie and a shower stall at the same time, so Archie comes to his rescue to show him the way. Reggie gives Kevin a Et Tu Brute?!? look, not because he’s homophobic, but I think because he thought a big muscled fit person like Kevin might conduct himself with better comportment. Archie gives Kevin a look before leaving.

Tabitha approaches Jughead in the hall. They are wearing perfectly matched outfits. She’s wearing a fabric with a pink-and-green checkerboard pattern, while Jughead is wearing a vest with shades of green in a grid over a pink shirt. His locker door is very interesting. He’s got a big cover of the Super Duck comic issue taped in the honored central location, which I take to mean that not only is he actually really working on the Super Duck comics but he actually is proud of and excited by the work (Unless this is some super tightly thought out trickery against Werthers and Featherhead). There’s also that month’s calendar with each day crossed out - is this him working on his personal writing ‘every day’? To be true to himself, there’s also some sort of movie postcard about SPIDERS and another one about TOMB. I wish I could make out more of what’s on there but I can’t.

Anyway - Jughead apparently has NOT been doing anything to help Tabitha keep abreast of her schoolwork like he promised her a few episodes ago. Tabitha smilingly takes him to task for it, and he’s full of stammering apologies. Tabitha says that she didn’t actually have difficulties keeping up with school, so Jughead is “hereby absolved.” She even wants to know why Jughead was so preoccupied, like he tried to explain during his apology.

The way Tabitha and Jughead keep echoing each other in this little scene is just so cute. Their outfits exactly match, as I’ve said. Jughead says that he “got a job” writing a “broad range” of comic books and that he’s also working for Bradberry. Tabitha has read Bradberry because she “reads across all genres, including science fiction.” The cuteness of these super attractive nerds with their pretty faces just moisturizes my dry little heart. Their twitchy little body language tells of excitement and shy liking also match - they both shake their heads a little when they suggest something, to indicate Please Don’t Say No, and bounce on their heels and do minute little up down motions with their shoulders. Whereas 1955 Archie is wholesome in a slightly clueless way but also because he’s trying to be perfect as a way to grieve the loss of his father, these two, memory-wiped Jughead and 1955 Tabitha, are genuinely wholesome. When Tabitha takes her leave, Jughead looks at her with slight disbelief at his own good fortune.

At the ‘movie palace,’ Kevin, who like Cheryl pays very close attention to everything Veronica says I guess, asks Veronica for a job. He’s also obsessively watched Singing In the Rain so many times that he’s gotten it memorized end to end. (This is yet another way Kevin is not friendshaped to me - I’ve always been a Fred Astaire girl.) One of the (spoken) prerequisites of getting a job at this theater is to love movies. One of the half-spoken prerequisites, however, is a willingness to get involved, either directly or not, in Veronica’s attempt at having a sex life in Riverdale. Veronica really thought that becoming a sort of mogul would help her land straight guys.

Oh honey.

Veronica (sort of like Toni, actually) is sexually predatory and also desperate in a way I find curious. She’s been hitting on Clay for a while, apparently, but even though hes just NOT RESPONDING (which is very woman-coded of him) she refuses to take the fucking hint. She makes it blatantly clear that she only hired Kevin because he is friends with Clay AND will help her “suss him out.”

Oh honey!

We finally get to the reveal of Reggie The Blur Mantle's basketball skills! Uncle Fucking Frank calls his players "turkeys." Waterboy Dilton is there wearing an especially unflattering rotten greenish Grey color sweatshirt while everyone is in either a blue or a yellow jersey. I guess gold was too expensive? I can comfortably hate Frank again because a teammate tosses a used paper cup right at Dilton and another gives him a fist bump for it in a very visible act of denigration and Frank neither notices nor cares. Maybe it's this inability to see detail and perceive reality by this coach that is the cause of this team sucking so badly?

Reggie’s purpose in being brought on is made crystal clear to everyone. He's either to be an unwelcome alien element that provokes the existing property team members to hitherto impossible levels of competence and, if that doesn't work, use his own proven excellence to drag them over the edge. Frank has no interest in Reggie’s quality of life or smooth integration into the team, accordingly. I've been hired a part of a reform and upgrade effort like this one and lemme tell you - the push back from the existing people who are told We Are Bringing Them In Cuz You Suck is insidious, nasty, brutish and persistent. People don't like being insulted nor shown that they are replaceable.

So Fucking Frank makes Julian the captain of one team and Reggie the captain of the other. The only two that initially join Reggie’s group are Archie and Fangs. Archie thinks it's a no brainer - he dislikes Julian, this is his uncle's big gambit, and he thinks Reggie is just tops. Fangs joins, I assume, because Reggie has black hair like him. When everyone else joins Team Julian, Fangs objects (3:7 is unfeasible).

Reggie invites Dilton to join. Dilton lights up as that fucker Frank looks back at him as he's seeing him for the first time. Maybe he has. I've had white teachers "forget" wholesale that I was in their class when the class had only 6 other students when assigning roles for a semester length project. (Riverdale got this right, is what I'm saying.)

The thing is, I HAD TO be in that class.

Why Dilton puts up with this especially when he had no ability in it is confusing to me.

Archie is worried about this decision but he does nicely ask Dilton if he's up for it, then prompts him to get on the court.

This is by the way fascinating kingly behavior on Reggie’s part. The easier choice when you're bullied is to avoid the people who are the same type as you.

The Vixens filter in. I didn't realize the cheerleaders were obliged to sit and watch team practice. That is truly terrible. No wonder Betty was so annoyed.

And we're off!

I do not care about sports and therefore have zero knowledge or reference but is this sort of angle normal for basketball??

Reggie scores a point immediately. I'm assuming that what he does here - a sort of demi tourne en-l'air as he scores- is awesome because they show it a) in slow motion and b) most of the Vixens clap and all react like they saw something amazing. Cheryl especially looks shocked.

I am again so enamored of their outfits this season. An extra wears a beautiful pinstripe skirt with stripes of color mixed in - white, red, and mustard - with a grapefruit cardigan over a white shirt. I covet this outfit. Betty is fetching dressed only in pink and white. I LOVE IT when they put Cheryl in navy, like they do here, because it makes her look like three scoops of vanilla ice cream. Midge looks extremely not pregnant in her cinched-tight skirt. Toni is trying to dyke it up while matching Cheryl in navy tones - tight blue jeans and a matching sweater.

Julian makes like he's going to smash Dilton's glasses (or face) with the basketball in his hands. Dilton cringes, costing his side however many points Julian immediately scores. He's crushed. Reggie comes up from behind to reassure him with pats to the stomach, maintaining eye contact with Dilton to make sure he is OK.

The fucker Frank seems worried at this show of solidarity that Reggie feels with other Asians.

Reggie scores every time he attempts to. He looks right at Betty as soon as he scores the first one, and Betty is getting into it with every score Reggie uh, scores. (I am bored and I also know very few sports words.)

Julian fully elbows Dilton right in the chest, knocking him over, before scoring too. Abusing Dilton seems to be what helps him achieve excellence. I'm wondering what exactly was wrong with this team to begin with because Julian at least seems as good as Reggie at scoring, albeit in less aerodynamic ways.

Muscles rippling, Reggie lifts Dilton up off the ground. I feel a grim obligation to look up a Dilton/Reggie tag for s7 on Ao3. (Grim because I much prefer the other Dilton, the feral one that eventually grows his hair long and has that secret close friendship with Jughead).

Oh and when Julian scores the banner behind him says Victory Is Ours! whereas when Reggie is helping Dilton out the banner behind the two of them says Go Team Go!

Frank shouts something about game point, and Dilton, whose dusty skills are irrigated by one instance of skin on skin contact by Reggie, actually manages to score. Frank looks pleased but I think he's not proud of Dilton so much as pleased for himself that Reggie’s excellence transfers to other people.

Reggie, Fangs and Archie hoist Dilton into the air to celebrate his single solitary winning moment in life so far in the 50s alternate universe. The two Asian boys helped each other win against Julian Blue-Blood Blossom and to make sure you got it, Riverdale gave the Asian Boy Team members yellow jerseys. Guess what color Julian's jersey is. Later, Julian is so pissed he kicks a basketball.

In the locker room afterwards Dilton is shown collecting laundry to haul off somewhere. Just like I didn't know that cheerleaders were forced to attend the practice and training sessions of the players, I didn’t know that to be a water boy was to be an unpaid maid for the other players. Remind me once again why Dilton wants to participate on these terms?? (Also, an Asian boy with laundry duties is actually worse than Long Duk Dong. Having the less stereotypical Reggie (though at this point, the Super Asian Who is Good At All the Things is ripening into almost a fully fledged stereotype) doesn’t counteract Dilton’s portrayal. That’s not how this works.

Everyone other than Dilton is pretty glum, because the player that was brought in because they suck has proven himself to be superior to them. Archie suggests that they all take him out for burgers at Pop’s. Possibly for the first time in his life, Archie is met with silent treatment from a bunch of people. He wants to know “what gives?” Reggie gets it immediately, so he tries to recuse himself. Ominously, Julian suddenly says he wants to go, and that’s because when Julian is down in the dumps the immediate next thing he alights on is to use his money to squash someone. Knowing that Reggie doesn’t have a car, he sets up a race - “Last one to Pop’s treats!” knowing it’s gonna be Reggie. Archie didn’t think of that, so he feels alarmed. Dilton is permitted to come by Julian. The four of them - Fangs, Archie, Dilton and Reggie - awkwardly stare at each other.

In the extremely constricting looking cheerleader practice outfits - the button down shirts with tightly belted blue shorts - the Vixens are assigned their ‘designated’ player by Cheryl. Cheryl thank the lord gets Julian (which she doesn’t mind and is great for everyone). She describes this duty as “personalized support, baking him cookies” and “helping with his homework.” Neither Veronica nor Betty have ever heard of this. Cheryl assigns Archie to Toni, and Reggie to Betty. Toni is full of questions and suspicions about this choice, but Betty seems more than pleased.

Meanwhile, Tabitha and Jughead (him wearing the felt crown, which unlike the beanie I can’t ‘unsee’ and her in a pink bandeau headband) are visiting Apartment 407 which belongs to Bradberry. The author is not responsive to Jughead’s knocking. Tabitha suggests leaving him a note, and Jughead, while scribbling, asks if Tabitha wants to go see a movie. lOoh, sort of like how Jabitha started - with her asking him to hang out!! “I would love to go to the movies with you” is what she says, in her melting sweet voice and her huge soft eyes which can’t be fully obscured by those huge glasses frames. It’s a completely unromantic movie, about being attacked by a giant octopus, yet Jughead gets starry-eyed when she says Yes without hesitation. Having written his note, Jughead takes out a piece of gum from his mouth that he hadn’t been chewing this entire time to attach it to the door. Jughead and Tabitha giggle cutely at each other as they head off to the movies.

In the changing room back at school, Toni is changed into her Hot Beatnik Chick outfit. Cheryl asks what’s wrong, to which Toni ominously replies, “We need to get real, Cheryl.” So, this emotional rollercoaster that Toni keeps dragging Cheryl on - is this supposed to serve as some sort of corrective to the way Choni ultimately worked out in the OG timeline? Lizzo’s critiques about how Toni’s predatorily self-serving ways being correct doesn’t really do anything for me until they do more with Lizzo as a character. Toni, though, is not wrong when she says, “Baking for my own personal meathead is not really want I want my life to be about.” Hear hear. Plus, I don’t think that it was general knowledge that this level of handmaidenhood was what was required of cheerleading, so this probably is far beyond what Toni is willing to put up with for a girlfriend. Cheryl seems infinitely sad at the dismissive way Toni says “cheerleader” when she says that isn’t what she wants to be. Then she asks a really scary question, so scary that she closes her eyes the entire time she is asking. Cheryl wants to know if this whole rejection of everything square and cheerleader and so forth is because Cheryl asked to go steady. Toni says no, at first, but then says that she needs to “figure herself out” plus she “needs space.” Again, I must reiterate my question about what making Toni not just a bohemian but such a toxic one supposed to show me. Cheryl is left alone with two sets of paper shakers lying like dead animals on the bench. Poor Cheryl.

At the movie theater, Jughead is ordering a LOT of food because he is flush with cash from his writing gigs I guess - popcorn, large cola with ice, two packs of ‘Senior Mints,’ a ‘Butterflinger’ with a hard emphasis on the G, Mint BoGos, Buccaneers and a Skit-Skat.

I happen to love KitKats and calling them SKAT is hurtful to me in a personal way. The official ‘joke’ of this little bit is that all of this is entirely for Jughead’s solitary consumption. Tabitha, who is grossed out by this collection of foodstuffs, has no appetite. There’s an inflation joke too, because Veronica says all of this is 75 cents. The thing that’s truly an insider level of joke about this bit, of course, is that Jughead seems to have entirely forgotten that he and Veronica had a pretty long term flirtation where they dated and she fixed up his residence and he read her his first drafts.

Veronica tells Clay that she founds it “interesting” that Tabitha and Jughead are at the movies together. Clay does not care about straight people’s shenanigans, plus it’s apparent that Veronica will not stop bringing up the topic of sex to him, so he deflects as politely as possible.

Veronica however has not forgotten their entanglement, which she describes as lasting as long as a “New York minute.” Now Clay has no choice but to show interest. Clay thinks Jughead is “plenty handsome” to which Veronica rolls her eyes before saying a very lukewarm, “I suppose.” Veronica says that Jughead is an oddball, which she makes sound like a bad thing, before trying to butter up Clay by telling him that she prefers her men to be “continental” and “worldly” and with an “air of mystery.” Cut to Kevin’s POV (Kevin is sweeping up the front hall of the theater while Veronica has Clay trapped in close proximity with her behind the concession counter. The signs on the wall immediately behind Clay read:

Refreshments

Hot Buttered (much small writing: Popcorn)

FRISKY (sandals - is this a movie?)

FLESH (eating spiders).

Clay gives Kevin a helpless look before deciding to beat a swift retreat. He’s got reel changing duties to attend to. Before he can fully get away, however, Veronica turns it up a notch to fully sexually harass her employee: “Just think about picking up what I’m putting down” she says, placing pointy manicured fingernails against his hand. Clay gives Kevin yet another Oh Help Me look (unseen by Veronica). Kevin is trying to figure how to rescue his boyfriend.

At the student lounge, Betty is trying to provide support for Reggie. She asks him what he got for a certain question, to which Reggie says she doesn’t have to do this. Betty tells him straight out that this is part of her job as a Vixen. She also wants to know what his favorite cookie is because she’s obliged to bake him some. Reggie doesn’t want her to do that either. Reggie is either some sort of paragon (Uhhh Model Minority?) or sexually repressed (Sigh) or gay because he seems ultra unreactive to Betty, being gorgeous and friendly. Betty is repressing a lot of anger about being made to participate in any of this, so it comes out in this arch, sarcastic way. I also think that she’s defensive about her ‘reputation’ so she pretends she doesn’t care as she tells him how her innocent sexual exploration (“A peep show, in our windows, if you can even call it that”) was violently taken out of the realm of privacy and ruined her reputation in town, leading her to flash her underwear on live television.

Reggie has fully had enough. He looks very concerned for her sanity as well as his own safety. Betty belatedly realizes how insane how she said what she said makes her sound but her panic makes her unable to order her thoughts. (“We didn’t— No, we’re not— I’m completely–! [dissolves into adorable mouthsounds of incoherent reassurance]). He decides he should just go. This is very reminiscent of the “Am I the only one here who hasn’t gotten rid of a dead body” moment from Killing Mr. Honey, except a bit less funny because Reggie’s personality is so tamped down for 1955. Overwhelmed by this girl mentioning “peep show” and “flashing panties” in her first real conversation with him, he tells her that she’s hereby “relieved of your, uh, Vixen duties, okay?” As he takes off, Betty puts a hand to shield her face. She is just the cutest.

Reggie is practicing basketball when Archie finds him at the gym. Archie invites him to lunch, but Reggie refuses. Archie insists that it’s not with the team (shitty people) but instead his other friends (hypersexual crazy people) so Reggie politely declines double.

Then we come to a comical bit that I don’t know the show knows is comical. Clay, Tabitha and Toni are sitting together to discuss Toni’s idea of starting a literary society at Riverdale High for black students because of …Emmett Till. That’s a really weird jump to me, but OK. Clay and Tabitha seem excited. This isn’t what I find comical. What I find comical is that this is an oblique discussion about anti-black racism by three black students who are all dating white people in an episode that decided to focus on Reggie’s Korean ethnicity.

Toni wants to highlight Black voices and writing. Clay is a prolific writer off screen - he writes poetry, literary criticism and short fiction. He wants a forum and probably deserves it -except he did spoken word that one time at the coffee house, and it’s not clear to me why he had to wait for Toni to get bored with her jaunt to Caucasian Squaretown to do this. Tabitha really hates cheerleading. Does she know about the baking and the helping with the homework and being assigned a personal meathead and all of that? It’s strongly implied Tabitha really wants Toni to give it up for an idea that she approves of as much more worthy. Toni says she gave up cheerleading because she was gay for Cheryl Blossom. Neither Tabitha nor Clay have a reaction to this at first. Tabitha enthusiastically agrees when, in an attempt to steer the conversation away from her personal life, Toni says her ‘journal’ would make a big difference to (just) the black students. The fact that Tabitha and Toni take it as a given that absolutely no white students would read this journal is an interesting commentary.

Clay wants to know what happened to which Toni gives a toxic significant other answer: ”We’re just so different.” I say it’s toxic because all the things she names about Cheryl - family background, race, financial status - were fully upfront and known and contributed to why she pursued Cheryl in the first place (according to Lizzo). Clay calls bullshit on it immediately - that it’s not ‘impossible’ to date someone who is very different (i.e. white, if you’re black) from you. Toni really needs writers for her upcoming journal so she graciously concedes his point about how “everything is a conversation” (when what she has been doing to Cheryl this whole time is making demands, ignoring refusals, and now, issuing unilateral decisions), but then needles him back with the fact that both Kevin and Clay are preppies. “I guess it depends on how much you like the person,” is Clay’s retort.

They’re actually fighting while making really sweet faces at each other. Clay is very interesting.

Tabitha, who is dating the show’s officially strange person, and the one that freaked everyone out weeks ago in this universe with his nutty theory about comets and the future and the internet etc, says absolutely nothing. Did she know both Clay and Toni were gay? I can’t tell if she’s just mulling over what they said or she’s in over her head and this is stunned silence.

At the theater, Veronica is stalking Clay, who isn’t there. She asks Kevin where Clay is, so Kevin has had enough. He calls her a slut first (because of course he would - “You’re coming on really strong”) but then Kevin says a correct thing: “Is that really appropriate [given that he works for you]?” Veronica thinks there is “nothing wrong with a little workplace flirtation.” Um. So Kevin (???!??! wtf wtf??) is like, literally decades ahead of his time (the COINAGE of the phrase sexual harassment wasn’t until the late 70s by the very great legal scholar Catherine MacKinnon who is a personal hero of mine and in a direct connection - not really- to this episode visited S. Korea in 2019 where I got to meet her at a talk she gave). All because he wants to safeguard his boyfriend. Anyway, not only is this the They Say the Word Korean Too Many Times For My Comfort episode, this is also the episode where all the gay people come out to someone. Kevin outs Clay first (without asking, and in a fit of pique, which is so shitty) and then himself, to Veronica.

Oh but not before he’s hateful to a beautiful woman first. When Veronica dejectedly notes that Clay “isn’t remotely interested” he answers in the most swinish way possible: “He’s not. I know that for a fact.” Have I mentioned enough times that I hate Kevin? I do. I hate Kevin.

Veronica does a huge about face to say that “she knew” both Clay and Kevin were gay. I think she’s lying. I might give her the point that she knew Kevin was gay (from all the obsessive Singing in the Rain watching, which is really about looking at Gene Kelly’s ass) but Clay? She didn’t.

Anyway she adjusts to reality really fast, thinking swiftly on her feet when Kevin confronts her with, “If you knew that, why would you make a play for Clay?” to retort that it was all to test her hypothesis, “of course.” She can’t sustain the lie, however, because her bored horniness takes over. The immediately next thing she does is to ask if Clay could possibly ever be bisexual. I really doubt Kevin has ever asked Clay this, but he states that “he doesn’t” before presuming to answer a question that Veronica did not ask - he includes himself when he says “we” don’t swing both ways. Veronica lies again and says that she was only ‘double checking.’

Her disappointment is so crushing that she turns into Mae West. She makes up some gibberish - that it’s better to have “hunky friends who are boys” than a hunky boyfriend. I’m not at all this type of woman (the old skool term for this is a double whammy of homophobic misogyny so I won’t use that word here) so maybe I’m missing something, but if Betty Cooper’s experience in this universe is anything to go by, Kevin is no friend to any woman because he hates women. Being homosexual doesn’t do anything to ameliorate his misogyny - in fact, it makes it much, much worse. He’s disgusted by female human bodies. Stay the hell away, Veronica!

Veronica in her disassociated Mae West persona is too much for Kevin to handle at this moment. She claims to have had more fun with the “Toni and Tab” types than Dennis Hopper and Steve McQueen which can’t possibly be true if you’re a woman attracted to men. Like COME ON (Tab is Tab Hunter, and I guess Anthony Perkins is Toni?). I Have got to hand it to Veronica for having a can-do spirit about everything. “This hick down is finally starting to feel like home,” she says, in the immediately aftermath of being told that the guy she’s been panting after for weeks and weeks will never be interested. Kevin seems moved, but since I hate Kevin, I don’t care.

At basketball practice, Julian has an announcement: Tomorrow is the “Bulldog Booster Basketball Mixer.” We know that it couldn’t possibly have been Julian who came up with this mouthful of a title - it has Cheryl stamped all over it. It’s a fundraiser to build a new gym, girls will be there, and everyone has to “dress spiffy.” Coach Fucking Frank forces Julian to issue a nastily worded invitation for Reggie in particular. All the boys are wearing the identical Chuck Taylor high-rise sneakers - is this part of the Blossom sponsorship?

Reggie I guess always stays later than everyone else to practice a bit more (and to avoid Julian), because when he heads into the locker room the only one there is Archie. Archie tries to get Reggie to commit to coming to the mixer (“They’re always a gas and a half!”). Reggie shuts him down forthwith.

In an echo of Mad Dog Munroe from the OG timeline, Reggie of 1955 wants to get a scholarship for college through his sports skills. Archie is wearing yellow to show his, uh, solidarity I guess with Reggie. (I rarely recall Archie in yellow, but also I am cranky now from all this unprecedented history research I’m being made to do.) Archie really, really, truly, desperately, like a WHOLE LOT wants to be friends with Reggie, not just roommate and host. He wants to know why Reggie can’t “cut loose a little.” He even tries to gloss the turd that Julian laid with his reluctant invitation, upgrading what Julian said (“We’ll be welcoming our newest Bulldog to the family, I suppose”) to “you’re the guest of honor.” Reggie refuses to go along to get along. In response to being called “naive,” Archie calls Reggie “a killjoy.” He wants Reggie to meet Riverdale’s Bulldogs “halfway.” This turns out to be a trigger for Reggie to tell his story.

Oh, before he tells his story he correctly points out that outside of Archie, who is tone deaf and determined to not see any unpleasantness even as it’s right in his face, nobody else has taken any sort of step towards him.

Bret (who is also alive - yay! - and a basketball player in this universe) of Stonewall Prep put up a hugely labor intensive prank of getting a really big bag of rice into Reggie’s locker, tearing it halfway open and then wedging it so that as soon as Reggie opens the door an avalanche of cascades from it all over the floor. He also concocted some sort of mean line (“You guys like rice” and “Enough to take back to the farm” and also “Yellow belly” which is kind of funny actually - if someone called me Yellow Belly I’d laugh, but I suppose any of the actually on-point racist epithets aren’t allowed on American television). The sheer amount of effort that something like this takes marks people who are bullies to be absolutely psychotic. Bret and Co. basically ran Reggie out of the school. Reggie in the OG universe felt safe telling Archie his most painful secrets (back then they were about his father who was openly abusive to the passive observation of everyone else in town, which is also a sort of racist reaction - “Those people are just like that” - which, no we are not). Reggie is so hurt. He’s determined to not “give anyone a chance to humiliate” him “ever again.”

OK so this is a great character moment for Reggie, but of course, people of color having to relive their most wounding moments of racist trauma in a way that feels sufficiently authentic, and/or literally bare their broken bodies (i.e. the open casket photo of Emmet Till which started this season) for the edification of single special white persons is a racist trope which keeps getting regurgitated as being meaningful in American popular culture. This time, Archie is the special white person. Plus, instead of just being ashamed of their appalling ignorance, the white person always gets to have their say according to the trope, which Archie does here as well. (“We’re not like that here.”) Reggie though gets the final word, which is very nice; “Aren't you?”

Wounded Reggie is wearing the navy jersey top. Wounded Cheryl is wearing a violet-navy long coat, with red accents (gloves, collar, shoes, file folder, patent leather shoulder bag) as she descends the steps of the school. Can we just talk about how hard it is to get the exact same shade of anything for an outfit like this, nevermind red, and across so many different articles of dress? I covet the coat and the bag, especially.

Toni is waiting for her. The way she says “hello” like a scared little cat filled me with tenderness. This season’s highlight of Cheryl’s essential softness has been wonderful for me. Cheryl says she’s being “stoic and strong for the sake of” the Vixens. Toni doesn’t really pretend to care about that. Instead she directly asks for money. Toni sells the journal idea to Cheryl as “a way to express ourselves on our own terms.” Cheryl indicates that she’s all for it, but that Featherhead might nix it.

Because Toni is doing this social justice type thing but the only three black students with actually speaking parts are all dating white people and there is a statistically anomalous over representation of not-straights, the show has a black extra stand on the steps of the school to show that there are indeed other black students. His legs stay in view the entire time Toni and Cheryl are talking .

Cheryl even volunteers to bake for a fundraising bake sale, if it comes to it.

Cheryl then asks if she was dumped for being white. Toni says yes, which is very brutal. I have no idea what the hell this is supposed to indicate because um, what is wrong with Toni? Did she somehow discover that she is more black than she thought? But she’s dated not-black women before, no? Her and Lizzo are exes, right?

At the fundraiser mixer thing at the Blossoms, a mixed race couple (a white man and a black woman) pointedly walk across the screen. Fangs is posing for Midge, which Cheryl intercepts by hauling Midge off screen as the camera moves on in one long take towards ARchie, who is hanging out at the food spread. The Blossoms own what looks like an enormous oil painting based off of an Audubon print. Why that bird and why this shot I don’t know. Betty approaches him for a chat.

When asked how being a Vixen is going, Betty says that she’s been forced into it by Werther, who thought it would “burn off excess energy.” They both agree that adults are really stupid about the fact that becoming more cardio-fit doesn’t actually make you LESS horny. Plus the outfits and all the looking at boys in short shorts? How exactly would this make Betty not think about getting naked with boys? Betty tries to tell Archie that there’s a weird system of “taking care” of basketball players on the cheerleading squad but Archie is not listening at all. Oh- by the by - now that Toni is off the squad, does this mean Archie is the one boy without an assigned cheerleader?

Anyway, drawn by the power of recessive genes, Archie has made eye contact with Clifford Blossom. He is summoned to the circle of people of the inner sanctum at this party - the Blossom parents, Julian, Uncle Fucking Frank and one more dude whom I don’t know named Dennis. Penelope is wearing the most extraordinarily unflattering terrible dress of all time. I am so fascinated. It’s a long dress with sewn on details all down both sides from the waist to ankle mimicking the effect of a hoop skirt, making the extremely narrow and petite Penelope look as wide as a barn door.

Clifford Blossom wants to discuss Reggie, his “secret weapon.” Clifford, with Julian behind him, says that being forced to share a room with Reggie is a “sacrifice” that he appreciates Archie for being willing to take on. Archie is “cranked” to do it. Dennis says he wouldn’t be able to tolerate such a thing, having to “bunk with a…..” [Korean yellow belly? Lol why does that sound like a species of bird or fish?] Penelope chimes in saying that having Reggie around is “a necessary evil.” Clifford Blossom is obsessed with winning. Oh and he was also a former Bulldog basketball player. He then turns to Frank to say that he was initially skeptical of bringing on a “Korean prodigy.” Clifford is offended by Reggie’s absence, even though he finds what he’s seen of Reggie’s basketball skills very impressive. Archie, possibly because he had that talk with Reggie earlier or maybe because the recessive gene holders communicate better with each other, realizes that he needs to say the right things to Clifford Blossom and tries to appease him, by saying that Reggie “doesn’t want to fall behind on his schoolwork,” which is why he’s not here at this party kissing Clifford’s ass. Clifford, intending that this message be conveyed by Archie, threatens Reggie that if he doesn’t keep smiling while bringing home the championship trophy, there will be “trouble for his family.”

Why? Why will there be trouble for his family? What is Reggie’s father? Are both his parents illegal immigrants? (But how was his father able to enlist for the army?) Is this something to do with his mother’s status? Did they break anti miscegenation laws? WHAT?

Dennis smiles evilly at this threat, but it has no teeth because I have no idea why it’s threatening. Archie is perturbed enough to take his leave right then. We scan to Cheryl, having overheard this entire exchange, also look quite upset.

At the movie theater, Veronica is very pleased to see Reggie. She needles him right away, and he banters right back - I thought you didn’t like movies vs I didn’t say that, I just said my town didn’t have a movie theater. Why oh why is Veronica so desperate though? She hits on Reggie in the most nakedly fishing-for-compliments way. And why oh why are these dudes so brutal to her? Reggie bluntly says he didn’t even remember he might run into Veronica at this theater. Forgot all about her. What the hell.

Veronica rewards his churlishness with free popcorn. 1955 Veronica being overly generous to whatever boy she is interested in is upsetting to me the way 2020 Adult Veronica was never not drinking liquor. When Kevin points out that what Reggie just said was quite rude (as though he himself did any better? Hypocrite.) Veronica says this about Reggie:

“Take a powder, Herman Melville, because that is the real Moby Dick.”

I’ve already made the post about how this is a joke about Asian Dick Size. But also, a second layer of this is that she called an Asian guy a Great White Whale.

Meanwhile, Jughead has taken Tabitha all the way back to his home that Veronica has fixed up for him for free.

Actually the line progression is very hilarious:

“... that is the real Moby dick.”

[pinging music]

Tabitha’s voice: “Wow this is like the Orient Express!”

So they managed to work the word “Orient” in here I guess. Well done. Tabitha has brought Jughead a book gift. “Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil by WEB Du Bois.” Jughead pronounces it Du-Bwah, which Tabitha corrects as Du-Boyz. We’re not allowed to make a pun about Du Bois I guess, like call him Trois Bois. Jughead is impressed with the title, so Tabitha tells him to read “The Comet” first since he likes science fiction. She describes the actual real story written by Du Bois, which is “one of the first times an interracial relationship has been depicted in science fiction.” She wants to read it aloud together with her new white boyfriend. Jughead looks entranced by the twitchy cuteness of Tabitha as she suggests this activity.

Archie has come back home to find Reggie reading Super Duck(written by Jughead??) on his bed. Reggie wants to know if the cheerleaders looked pretty at the mixer, but Archie is too burdened by the choice of whether to convey Clifford Blossom’s threat to Reggie, and opts the path of least resistance. He doesn't convey the message, and skips out on further discussion about the event with Reggie. Reggie seems to take this as a dismissal of his overture which is intended as an apology and a gesture of friendship.

The next day, Julian is being obnoxious at the basketball practice. Uncle Fucking Frank is ‘in a meeting’ so Julian runs warm up, to bully the shit out of Reggie. At some point he calls Reggie “Banana Boy” which is another ridiculous epithet. I kind of wish they would either not address the fact that hate speech exists or just use the actual examples because this and Yellow Belly just aren’t cutting enough. In any case, Reggie reacts like he’s been called a proper slur. Reggie refuses to pass the ball to Julian, instead giving it to Archie. Archie, however, decides to um, White Knight the situation. He punches Julian so hard he knocks him flat on the ground.

I mean, it can’t be that hard, because Jughead Jones managed to do this on behalf of Ethel Muggs. But the violence startles Fangs and Dilton on the bench, and Reggie grimaces because he just wants to get his NCAA scholarship and get out of this general area.

Archie gives an anti-racism speech to his teammates about Reggie, based on Reggie’s merits. Merits based arguments in service of anti-racism only feed the racism, so I’m not sure this is better for Reggie’s life than just not saying anything. Moreover, in a very strange move, whoever directed this decided to have a black extra stand next to a white one as the main 2 people that Archie appears to be directing his speech at (Julian is still flat on the ground). Um. The look that the black student gives Archie can only be described as disassociated. Archie says that if any player can’t get on board with being true teammates and supporting Reggie be his excellent self, they are free to leave. He even tells Julian “that includes you, too, captain.”

Meanwhile, at the offices of the Blue and Gold, with the world “Gold” in huge font right behind her head, Cheryl hands Toni a check. It sounds like she’s committed a form of embezzlement, diverting funds that were originally intended for something else, on her own cognizance, without Featherhead final approval. Even though Cheryl took a huge personal risk, her toxic ex girlfriend Toni does not give a shit. She even shittily helps herself to a ‘plausible deniability’ option (“Well I won’t ask any more questions.”). Cheryl is so disappointed.

Toni stops her just as she’s about to step out the door, to ask what her plans are after cheerleading practice. Oh Cheryl. She’s twisting her hands, almost breaking them off the stem, when she tells Toni she doesn’t have plans, because she is so hopeful. Toni asks her out on another date. “About what it would mean if we tried again.” Cheryl is so happy her eyes are tearing up, but I hate this. It reads to me just like Toni has realized she has more ways she can use Cheryl than just for the power trip of bringing someone out and taking their virginity.

Meanwhile, Reggie and Archie are sitting together in the boys’ locker room. “I didn’t sock Julian for you,” he says, confirming that that is indeed what he was doing. He’s had a realization, he seems to say, that Riverdale is “just as messed up as any other place.” Then he says the pivotal thing, the only true thing he can say with any conviction: “I don’t know.”

In a weird reward for his outburst of violence, Reggie accepts the friendship overture at last, asking of Archie wants to grab a burger “on the way home.” This is as sour to me as Toni wanting to restart things with Cheryl only after she has the check in hand. Archie says sure.

Jughead has stayed up all night reading the “Comet” story (about a comet hitting NYC and only two people surviving) and talking about it with Tabitha. Why can’t we at least get a montage of this? Why do all the important Tabitha things have to happen OFF screen?

In any case, because the experience was so “swell” he runs immediately to his adopted daddy to tell him all about it. When he gets to Rayberry’s apartment, however, he is told by Sheriff Keller that Rayberry has killed himself. (They are just now covering the body on the gurney with a sheet). “I can no longer continue living this way.” Jughead is deeply upset. Keller is kind enough to say he is sorry because he knows Jughead was friends with Rayberry.

#riverdale #riverdale recap #riverdale opinion #too many thoughts about riverdale #but this time I've gone too far #riverdale ep 7.8 #if you say the word Korean in your show once too many times you summon a korean reaction which is a whole LOT of reaction

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