#i could actually probably have a full discussion on what age would mean to hal but i dont think there would be a conclusion

[kii2me2ii2]

So is homestuck selfcest discourse real like am I gonna get exploded for saying I don't care if people ship dirkhal (for selfcest reasons, anyways)

[letterboxd]

Work Horse.

Taking on a rare leading role in his decades-spanning career, national treasure Tim Blake Nelson speaks with Mitchell Beaupre about demystifying heroes, reinventing genres and something called a quiche Western.

“This film is unapologetic about all the tropes that it’s deploying in service of telling the story... You’ve got a satchel full of cash. You’ve got gunslinging, physical violence, and feeding somebody to the pigs.” —Tim Blake Nelson

Described by Letterboxd members as “a national treasure” who “makes everything better”, Tim Blake Nelson is a journeyman actor who has tapped into practically every side of the industry since making his feature debut in Nora Ephron’s This Is My Life back in 1992. Whether you are a Marvel fanatic, a history buff or a parent trying to get through the day, the actor’s distinctive presence is a charming sight that’s always welcome on the screen.

Tim Blake Nelson is one of those rare actors who unites all filmgoers, a man genuinely impossible not to love, which certainly seems to be the case for Hollywood. Checking off working relationships with directors ranging from Terrence Malick and Ang Lee to Hal Hartley and Guillermo Del Toro, Nelson has covered the boards, even crossing over into directing and writing, both in films and on the stage.

Yet, despite being a renowned talent who can take a smaller supporting role in a massive Steven Spielberg blockbuster starring Tom Cruise and carry the film, Nelson-as-leading-man sightings have been few and far between. In fact, it’s quite a struggle to find a film with Nelson in a leading role, as even playing the titular role for directors who understand his greatness still results in him only appearing in the opening section of an anthology feature.

At last, the leading role Nelson fans were in need of has arrived in the form of Old Henry, a new Western from writer/director Potsy Ponciroli. Nelson plays the eponymous Henry, a widowed farmer with a mysterious past who makes a meager living with his son (Gavin Lewis), doing his best to leave his old life behind and hide away from the world. Things get complicated when Henry stumbles upon a satchel of cash and a wounded stranger (Scott Haze), bringing them both into his home. Soon, a dangerous posse led by an intimidating Stephen Dorff comes calling, setting the stage for an old-fashioned throwdown in this twisty Western siege thriller.

Premiering at the Venice Film Festival, Old Henry has been warmly received on Letterboxd. “Old Henry feels like the culmination of Tim Blake Nelson’s twenty-plus-year career, but from another dimension, where he’s highly regarded as a leading man”, writes Noah, speaking not only to the strength of Nelson’s performance, but also to the fact that this leading role shouldn’t be such a rarity. Todd awards Nelson the prize for “Best Facial Hair in a 2021 film”, before applauding the actor for pouring “every emotion in his body to play Henry”.

Letterboxd’s East Coast editor Mitchell Beaupre saddled up for a chat with Nelson about the intentional hokiness of the Westerns that made him fall in love with filmmaking, how the Coen brothers put other directors on notice, and the fatherly joy of keeping it all in the family.

I’ve seen a lot of interviews with you discussing your career as an actor, a writer, and a director. You always speak with such reverence for the art. Where does that passion come from for you? What made you want to pursue this field? Tim Blake Nelson: It’s funny, doing these interviews for Old Henry has been reminding me of my introduction to filmmaking as an art. I’ve realized that I had never quite located it, but it really started with the Sergio Leone Westerns, which I would see on television when I was growing up in Oklahoma in the ’70s. Before that, going to the cinema was always invariably a treat, no matter what the film, but I would just be following the story and the dialogue.

The Sergio Leone movies were the first ones that exposed subjectivity in telling stories on film to me. That was where I became aware of the difference between a closeup and an extreme closeup, or how you could build tension through a combination of the angle on a character with the editorial rhythm, with the lens size, with the music in addition to the dialogue and the story.

How old were you when this shift in your understanding of cinema was happening? I think it was across the ages of ten and eighteen, where I suddenly realized that this was an auteur here, Leone. There was a guy behind all these movies I was seeing—and in Oklahoma, you could see a Sergio Leone movie every weekend. This was a man making deliberate and intelligent decisions in everything that I was seeing.

I started noticing that a character was in a duster that goes all the way down to his boots, even though that’s not necessarily accurate to the Old West. That’s something else. Also, why is he wearing it in the desert? Would that have been very practical? And look at that cigar Clint Eastwood is smoking. It’s not smooth, it looks like it was a piece of tree root. Then later I learned it’s a particular kind of Italian cigar, but somehow it was defining this genre of Western. I marveled at that, and found it unbelievably thrilling to discover. I loved the stories and the dialogue and the intentional hokiness of it all. All of it was conspiring to teach me to venerate this form.

Sergio Leone, his daughters, and Clint Eastwood on the set of ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ (1966).

The connection there is interesting between the Leone Westerns to where Old Henry is at now. You’ve talked before about how the Western genre is one that is reinvented over and over throughout the years— Oh, you do your homework!

I try my best! What would you say defines the current era of Westerns that we’re seeing, and how the genre is being reinvented? Well, Joel and Ethan [Coen] did a lot of mischief, in a good way, with The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Genres are always about genres, in addition to their story. So, I would say that Buster Scruggs is the quintessential postmodern Western, if you look at it as one movie instead of as an anthology, because it celebrates the history of the form. The magic of that movie is that it engages you in each story while also being a meditation on death. That’s what connects each one of those tales, and then it’s also a meditation on storytelling to boot. In the final chapter, you have a character talking about why we love stories, and he’s telling it to a bunch of people who you’ll learn are all dead.

The stories are a way of delaying the inevitable mortality. I mean, look at that. It’s such an accomplishment. With that movie, I think Joel and Ethan put filmmakers on notice that Westerns had better always be also about Westerns, because whether you like it or not, they are. I think they probably came to understand that when they were making True Grit, although knowing the two of them they probably understood it already.

Do you feel there’s a direct correlation between a movie like Buster Scruggs and Old Henry, in this era of postmodern, revisionist Westerns? How it impacts a movie like Old Henry is that you have Potsy embracing the Western-ness of the movie. This film is unapologetic about all the tropes that it’s deploying in service of telling the story. You’ve got the cantankerous old man hiding a past, who’s a maverick who wants to keep the law and the bad guys off his property. He wants to be left alone. You’ve got a satchel full of cash. You’ve got gunslinging, physical violence, and feeding somebody to the pigs. Yet, it’s all accomplished without irony in a very straightforward way that is utterly confident, and in love with the genre.

I think ultimately that’s why the movie works, because it’s very front-footed. It’s not hiding from you. It’s not deceiving you and trying to tell you it’s something that it isn’t. It’s a good, straightforward Western.

Tim Blake Nelson as the titular singer in ‘The Ballad of Buster Scruggs’ (2018).

That’s a bit different from those Leone Westerns, with all of their anachronisms. I remember when the movie Silverado came out when I was growing up, and people were calling it a “quiche Western”, which was funny. That was what they would call it in Oklahoma because it had a bunch of movie stars in it, who weren’t known for being in Westerns. It was the Sergio Leone crowd calling it that. I went and saw it, wondering, “Well, if it’s a quiche Western, then why is everybody talking about it?” I saw it, and I loved it. Those folks putting it down like that were wrong. It’s actually a straightforward, hard-boiled, hardcore unapologetic Western. You don’t like some of the movie stars in it, but get over it. The reason that movie works is because it’s straight-ahead and well-told, and I think that movie holds up.

Old Henry is the same kind of animal. It’s more in the tradition of Sergio Leone—or, actually, I would say more in the tradition of Unforgiven. That was a big influence on Potsy.

Unforgiven was marvelous in the way it demystified that old black hat/white hat mentality of Westerns, opening up a more multi-dimensional understanding. You’re no stranger to that. A series like Watchmen takes that approach with superheroes, who in a sense hold the position now that Western heroes used to hold culturally. Do you find there’s more of a demand these days to challenge those archetypes who used to be put on pedestals—be they superheroes, cowboys, police—and provide a deeper analysis? Absolutely, yes. At the same time, I think the demystified Western hero goes back to John Wayne in The Searchers. I think it really started with that character, one of the greatest characters ever in a Western. There’s One-Eyed Jacks, with Marlon Brando, which was made just after The Searchers, and again embracing this concept of an extremely complicated man. I don’t think you get the Sergio Leone movies without that.

I always think of McCabe & Mrs. Miller as a Western that was doing something totally different than anything I had seen before. That’s another one, with that final image with the character smoking opium, going into oblivion after the demise of Warren Beatty’s very flawed character, after you’ve watched what it has taken to really build that town. You have a director, Robert Altman, making the deliberate choice to shoot in order so that they can build the town while they’re shooting the movie, and you really get the cost of it. I think there’s a lot of history to get to a place where a movie like Unforgiven can happen. Then Clint comes along and, as he often does, moves it forward even more.

Gavin Lewis as Henry’s son Wyatt in ‘Old Henry’.

That’s a film that tackles legacy, as does Old Henry, which at its core is ultimately about the relationship between a father and his son. You got to work on this film with your own son, coincidentally named Henry, who was part of the art department. What is that experience like, getting to share your passion with your son on a project together? Well, I think something that is true for the character of Henry and for myself, and perhaps all of us, is that we all want our kids to have better lives than ours. I want that to be true in every respect. Mostly, I want them to be more fulfilled than I have been. My kids look at me when I say that and say, “Thanks a lot Dad for raising that bar”, because they see that I have a pretty good life. Which I do, but I still think they can be more fulfilled than I am, and I want that for them. One of the great privileges of this movie was to watch my son—who was the on-set decorator—work his ass off.

Those are the words of an incredibly proud father. He’s a work horse, and he’s learning about filmmaking, and I think on his current trajectory he will go beyond where I’ve gone as a filmmaker, directing more movies than I’ve been able to direct. Do a better job at it, too. He’s also a singer-songwriter, and I think he can have a venerable career doing that if he wants, but he wants to make movies too, and I hope that’s going to happen for him. It was a thrill to watch him do the work, the twelve- and fourteen-hour days, and after every take resetting and making sure everything was right. It felt like an accomplishment to see him take on that responsibility and do the real work every day.

Related content

SJ Holiday’s lists of Essential Neo-Westerns and Essential Modern Westerns

The Best Neo-Westerns of the 21st Century, according to JS Lewis

Our interview with Slow West director John Maclean

Follow Mitchell on Letterboxd

‘Old Henry’ is in US theaters now and on VOD from Friday, October 8.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #455

Top Ten Comedy Sidekicks

Ha, LOL, ROFL, guffaw, snort. Comedy, eh? You’ve got to love it, unless you somehow fall through a timewarp into a late-seventies working men’s club in Blackburn and you find yourself choking to death on second-hand smoke, mother-in-law jokes, and a simmering undercurrent of racist violence. Good times!

Anyway, it’s fairly common that even in the most serious of narratives and with the most serious of protagonists, we need a little chuckle very now and again (nobody tell Zack Snyder – actually, no, scratch that, somebody definitely tell Zack Snyder). It lightens the load, makes the world more nuanced and realistic, and even makes the truly dark moments stand out all the stronger. Most films have a bit of a joke every once in a while (and, of course, Shakespeare’s tragedies are full of comic characters or bits of business), and one very common trope is the Comedy Sidekick.

What is a Comedy Sidekick? Well, it’s a supporting character who offers comic relief, basically. sometimes this can be obviously discernible – Luis in Ant-Man, for example, may function as a plot engine from time to time, but has little in the way of actual character development and is mostly there to be funny whilst the heroes do hero stuff. Sometimes it’s harder to define; I mean, are either of the Blues Brothers a comedy sidekick? Arguably Jake is the lead and Elwood is a bit more of a “turn” (he’s almost eternally deadpan and unemotional), but I’d never say one was inherently funnier or “straighter” than the other. And the you get onto films like Aladdin: sure, Aladdin himself is obviously the protagonist, and there’s an argument to be made that the Genie is a comic relief supporting character, but I feel in this case he’s far too integral to the plot, played by a significantly more famous actor, and really just dominates the film to the extent that he becomes the de facto lead (see also: Captain Jack Sparrow). Again, in Men in Black, Will Smith’s J is clearly the “funny” one, but Smith is also the bigger star and the audience entry point; plus, Tommy Lee Jones is hilarious as the deadpan K. So it’s not as simple as it may first appear.

Anyway, the ten in this list are ones I define as definitely being supporting characters. They may be big characters, in terms of plot or development, but they’re definitely there in support of another protagonist. And whilst they may be fully-rounded characters with their own arcs, their primary function is to be funny; they’re the ones who deliver the comedy lines back to the main character, or crack a joke at the end of a serious bit.

Right, I think that’s my usual ridiculous caveats out of the way. Now let’s make ‘em laugh.

Baldrick (Tony Robinson, Blackadder series, 1983-99): Baldrick is one of the supreme comic idiots in all of fiction. Serving as a perfect foil to Blackadder, he is not only supremely stupid but also his niceness and naiveté serves to undercut his master’s wickedness; plus his idiocy is often the undoing of Blackadder’s villainous plans. But he is also charmingly fully-rounded, oblivious to his own stupidity, possessed of “cunning plans”, and with a great love of turnips. A phenomenal turn from Robinson.

Sir John Falstaff (various plays by William Shakespeare, from 1597): is it cheating to include as significant and iconic a literary figure as Falstaff? Feels a bit like it, especially as he's practically a lead (and, indeed, becomes one in Merry Wives). But really he’s the archetype: a supremely vain and self-serving comic foil, but one with vast hidden depths as he’s keenly aware of his own frailties and the inevitable end of his good times with Prince Hal.

Father Dougal McGuire (Ardal O’Hanlon, Father Ted 1995-98): in many ways he’s a slightly watered-down version of Baldrick’s comic idiot; but Dougal is, if anything, even stupider, and less self-aware. He’s like a perfect idiot, a beautiful naïve fool, a supreme man-child with his Masters of the Universe duvet. And he’s divine, just incredibly hilarious throughout; and, like Baldrick, serves as the perfect foil for his more duplicitous and cynical elder.

Donkey (Eddie Murphy, Shrek, 2001): animated sidekicks are very often the comic relief, and I’d argue that Murphy’s Donkey is as good as they come. I actually think Murphy’s prior turn as Mushu in Mulan is probably the better character, but Donkey is just a comic force of nature, a creature who exists only to make everything dafter and funnier. It allowed Murphy a chance to go all-out in a way he hadn’t on screen for quite some time, and it was something we’d rarely seen in animation (arguably only Robin Williams’ Genie is in the same ballpark). Plus, he actually is a good friend to Shrek, bringing out his better nature. Well done, Eddie!

Danny Butterman (Nick Frost, Hot Fuzz, 2007): another of those characters who really skirts the edges of “supporting comic relief” and is really a deuteragonist. But I feel like most of Frost’s characters in his partnerships with Simon Pegg are, essentially, supportive; Pegg is almost always the lead. In this film, despite Danny having some great development and functioning almost as a romantic partner for Pegg’s Nick Angel, he’s usually presented as a beautiful comic foil, his folksy, slobby demeanour contrasting perfectly with Angel’s straitlaced professionalism. And – for the second film in a row – he gets a tremendous C-bomb.

Luis (Michael Peña, Ant-Man, 2015): another comic fool, Luis is the silly, charming, endearing, loveable thorn in the side of Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang. He’s daft, yeah, and comes across as a bit dim, but his permanently-smiling demeanour means we just keep on loving him, even when we can see how annoying he would be. but what cements his position is his rapid-fire OTT explanations, and how the movie presents them; pieces of comedic joy in the MCU.

Cosmo Brown (Donald O’Connor, Singin’ in the Rain, 1952): Singin’ is one of those great Golden Age movies full of witty dialogue (as well as great songs, natch), and by its nature Gene Kelly is the lead and therefore straight man, whereas O’Connor’s Cosmo can be wackier and funnier, and in doing so get to the truth of what his friend is feeling. But what really gets him in this list is his performance of “Make ‘Em Laugh”, running up walls like he’s in The Matrix or something, and feeling like a Bugs Bunny cartoon brought to life.

Silent Bob (Kevin Smith, View Askiewniverse, from 1994): I guess you could argue that both Bob and his less-silent colleague Jay are, as a twosome, the comedy sidekicks in whichever films they’re in (apart from the two they headline, I guess); but if you take the pair on their own, I’d say Bob is the comic of the duo. Yeah, it’s Jay who’s the mile-a-minute loudmouth, cracking jokes and being explosively filthy. But who really gets the laughs? For my money it’s Smith’s perfectly-judged expressions, punctuating the pomposity or reinforcing the eccentricity of whatever Jay’s on about. And then every now and again he gets to speak, and delivers a great one-liner (“no ticket!”) or serious, heartfelt monologue (cf. Chasing Amy).

Semmi (Arsenio Hall, Coming to America, 1988): Semmi is supposed to be a loyal and devoted servant to Prince Akeem, and he is, I guess; but he’s also a true friend. Akeem’s quest to find love in New York is genuine, and despite the film’s high joke quantity, Eddie Murphy has to be relatively restrained in his lead role. Hall’s Semmi, on the other hand, gets to be acerbic, throwing shade and barbs at his lord, questing their quest and seeking his own share of wealth and, well, women. And we all love his line “you sweat from a baboon’s balls”.

Dory (Ellen DeGeneres, Finding Nemo, 2003): as discussed above, comedy cartoon sidekicks are a cinematic staple. They’re not often female, however, and even more rare is a female character who gets to be both funnier and seemingly dumber/goofier than the lead. Of course, Dory is full of pathos, a borderline tragic character whose chronic memory loss has a dreadful impact on her day-to-day life. It’s her sunny optimism (“just keep swimming!”) that makes her endearing more than her humour, however; and, of course, it’s this optimism that begins to chip away at Marlin’s (Albert Brooks’) flinty suit of armour. Funny, warm, makes our hero a better person, but can be a little bit sad – perfect comedy sidekick.

There are two that I’m annoyed that I couldn’t fit in so I'll mention them here: Carrie Fisher in When Harry Met Sally and Danny Kaye in White Christmas. In the former case, whilst Fisher’s Marie is hilarious throughout, and definitely comic relief when put alongside the relatively straight Sally, the fact that everyone, really, gets a lot of funny lines in what is a consistently funny film kinda knocked her down the rankings a little bit, even though I feel bad about it, because everything is always better if Carrie FIsher is in it, including these lists. Kaye’s Phil Davis in White Christmas absolutely steals that film from Bing Crosby, with fast-paced witty wordplay and some supreme physical comedy, and the running gag about how he saved the life of Crosby’s Bob Wallace is golden. But, I dunno, he just kept slipping down the list, despite being my favourite thing in that film. Sorry, Danny.

[goodticklebrain]

Q&A August: Kate Powers of the Redeeming Time Project

Q&A August continues! I first met Kate Powers at the opening reception of the 2016 Shakespeare Theatre Association conference.  It was my very first STA conference and I was, needless to say, SUPER NERVOUS about suddenly being in a huge room with hundreds of top-notch Shakespeare experts, artists, administrators, and educators. I felt very much like an impostor and interloper: after all, I was just drawing these stupid little comics, while these people were making Shakespeare come to life, and were changing lives in the process.

I had heard of Kate’s phenomenal work with Rehabilitation Through the Arts at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, so I was already suitably intimidated when I was first introduced to her. However, she took one look at my name tag, said “Oh my god, you’re HER”, and then seized me by the arm and proceeded to lead me around the reception, introducing me to all manner of Shakespearean theatre luminaries and instantly incorporating me into the STA community. And that’s pretty much Kate in a nutshell for you: welcoming and supportive, absurdly generous with her time and energy, and never hesitating to help lift people up in any way she can. Over the past several years she has become a wonderful resource, correspondent, and friend, and I’m so excited to share her with you now.

Take it away, Kate!

1.  Who are you? Why Shakespeare?

I am a director, a text nerd, a prison theatre maker. I saw my first production of Shakespeare before anyone had a chance to tell me that this was going to be good for me, or that these people talk funny.  I was eight.  The play was in a park downtown; we had a picnic and a can of mosquito spray standing by as we watched Petruchio arrive (on a motorcycle, wearing leopard-print hot pants, as it happened) to wed Katharine.  I am sure that I missed a lot, but I had a great time.

After a student matinee of my production of Measure for Measure at the Kansas City Rep in 2005, a girl asked at the post-show discussion, with great urgency, if Isabel was going to marry the Duke.  When I directed The Winter’s Tale at American Shakespeare Center, I spoke to a lady in the audience who was seeing her first-ever Shakespeare play.  She asked me if I had updated the language or if someone else had done it for me.  She was stunned when I told her that we had not changed a word.  “It’s crystal clear,” she exclaimed.  I am all about smashing up the cultural church of Shakespeare and starting the Shakespeare block party.

2.  What moment(s) in Shakespeare always make you laugh?

It’s cheap, but it is textually supported cheap. I laugh every time an actor playing Malvolio reads the letter, “If this fall into thy hand, revolve,” takes a beat, contemplates, and then turns in a circle. It’s not actually what the letter writer means (it means “consider,” essentially), but it doesn’t matter. I think you have written a strip about revolving Malvolios, (Mya interjects: I have!)  and I would like someone to start a band called the Revolving Malvolios.

3.  What's a favorite Shakespearean performance anecdote?

I would probably have to go with Squirrel Butt Romeo.

Mya interjects: Kate is, of course, referring to the immortal anecdote that led to the creation of this comic:

4.  What's one of the more unusual Shakespearean interpretations you've either seen or would like to see?

I saw a Czech language production of Hamlet while I was in grad. school. The host at my B&B in Prague strongly discouraged me from going. I think he thought I would be upset when it wasn’t in English. I told him it was okay, that I was fairly familiar with the story. They cast Claudio much younger than I had previously seen. The late king’s much younger brother. He read like an older brother to Hamlet in some ways, and also, he was HOT. I suddenly understood “The king doth wake tonight and takes his rouse, / Keeps wassail and the swaggering upspring reels,” much more clearly, and I also could see the appeal, the sexy appeal, the temptation, the need to believe, for Gertrude.

The interpretation that I have seen far too often is the leather-clad Hamlet wielding an AK-47. Just. Don’t.

Mya interjects: OK, I have definitely seen leather-clad Hamlets, but Hamlet wielding an AK-47? What is that??

5. What passages from Shakespeare have stayed with you?

“It is required you do awake your faith” and “Let be” are perpetually in the front of my consciousness.

Mya interjects: I totally forgot about “Let be”. Is there a more powerful two-word quote in all of Shakespeare?

Right now I hear Sir Thomas More’s “mountainish inhumanity” speech to the rioting mob loudly and insistently:

“Grant them removed, and grant that this your noise Hath chid down all the majesty of England; Imagine that you see the wretched strangers, Their babies at their backs and their poor luggage, Plodding to th’ports and coasts for transportation, And that you sit as kings in your desires, Authority quite silent by your brawl, And you in ruff of your opinions clothed; What had you got? I’ll tell you. You had taught How insolence and strong hand should prevail, How order should be quelled; and by this pattern Not one of you should live an aged man, For other ruffians, as their fancies wrought, With self same hand, self reasons, and self right, Would shark on you, and men like ravenous fishes Would feed on one another.”

6. What Shakespeare plays have changed for you?

Which ones haven’t?

7. What Shakespearean character or characters do you identify the most with?

I pretty much am Beatrice, with a dash of Paulina. Very smart, very punny, often wielding my words as a weapon, tenacious, determined, protective of those around me, and also afraid of getting hurt, yet determined to speak, to name injustice when I see it. “I care not. It is an heretic that makes the fire.”

8. Where can we find out more about you? Are there any projects/events you would like us to check out?

I am the founder of the Redeeming Time Project. Our name comes from Hal’s speech in I Henry IV, “I’ll so offend to make offense a skill / Redeeming time when men think least I will.” We make theatre with men incarcerated in two Minnesota state prisons. I started doing this work over a decade ago with Rehabilitation Through the Arts in New York state.  We believe human beings are born inherently good, and we teach critical life skills (such as empathy, critical thinking, communication skills, teamwork, conflict resolution, goal setting, delayed gratification) through making theatre together. At Sing Sing Correctional Facility in 2016, while we were rehearsing Twelfth Night, one of the men said, “Shakespeare gave me words for emotions I didn’t know I had.”

The act of imagination required to play a character can become the spark of compassion that leads to empathy. One can learn empathy through the effort of performing a play, because one must ask, “What is it like to be this character? What is it like to walk in his shoes?” Through rehearsal room disagreements about the interpretation of a scene, or a line, one can learn to tolerate not just different points of view but also ambiguity itself. This newly acquired tolerance and wider understanding of human behavior helps cultivate patience and perspective.

Shakespeare teaches us what it means to be human, in all the nobility as well as all the depravity that it can entail. Again and again, he asks us, “What does it mean to be alive? How should we act? Who am I? What do I love?” Redeeming Time makes Shakespeare accessible to all, restores a voice to the silenced and voiceless, and explores the full complexity of the human condition.

Incarcerated individuals who study and perform Shakespeare challenge. They develop a passion for learning. They explore the full complexity of humanity through Shakespeare, reassessing their past and current choices, as well as their future options, as they do so. Although RTP will work with material written by other playwrights and authors, Shakespeare will always be the firm ground on which we stand.

(Back to Mya) Thanks so much to Kate for taking the time to answer my questions. You can find out more about Kate and her excellent work here:

plainKate.com

The Redeeming Time Project

@_plainkate_ on Twitter

Plus, you can hear Kate on several episodes of the Reduced Shakespeare Company Podcast:

Episode 346: Theatre in Prison

Episode 398: ‘Salesman’ Behind Bars

Episode 498: Year of Shakespeare

Episode 532: Shakespeare and Trump (also featuring yours truly)

Episode 580: Redeeming Time Project

COMING THURSDAY: A fellow Michigander who just happens to be one of my personal Shakespearean superheroes!

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

thanks to a conversation with @declermontdiana i’m now thinking about the end of riverdale s2 and where all the characters were at after the chaos in town and the black hood reveal, and i think it’s time to talk about the fact that alice was perfectly positioned to be pulled into a cult.

because while she was vulnerable to the farm because of how traumatized she was, i’ve never seen a discussion of the way that she was also incredibly, horribly alone in the face of nearly being murdered by her husband and finding out he was the source of the town’s terror for all that time.

yes, we know that betty was trying to look after her, but not being able to pull herself together around betty could only have added ‘i suck as a mom’ feelings to alice’s emotional problems in the immediate aftermath. despite what betty thinks because she’s spent her life trying to be everything to everyone, alice would actually be a worse parent if she were using betty for friendship and emotional support, because that shouldn’t be her teenage daughter’s role.

and yes, polly also came and offered her support and potential help. but despite being a mom already, polly is her teenage daughter too, who she shouldn’t expect to lean on, so it makes sense that alice would be more likely to throw all her trust in with the adults in the cult that polly eased her into.

but why, after everything she had been through, would she decide to trust and get help from total strangers? we focus so much on the fact that she was an easy target, like her instability after hal and fake-charles and even polly is the only factor. but alice’s openness to the cult because of what happened to her is just part of it--the world around her matters too.

and the reality of it is that alice let the farm become her most trusted support system because nobody else was there for her.

alice doesn’t have a single female friend in riverdale. though she and sierra probably have the least antagonistic dynamic, that doesn’t make them friends...and hermione, mary, and penelope make it very clear how they feel about her. obviously there are valid reasons why she’s not well-liked, but having made more enemies than friends doesn’t change the fact that alice is a mess after hal and in need of sympathy and support.

arguably, the two people in town who you’d most expect might care about how alice is doing after she’s nearly strangled to death by her husband are fp and fred. with fp, there’s all the history and obvious feelings that s3 showed us were still there even after their affair ended...and fred has both known her forever and is a genuinely nice guy. he may snark back when alice is being a jerk about archie, but it’s hard for me to believe that he wouldn’t check in on his next door neighbor who’s just been through a tragedy.

however, that’s where the events of s2 really conspire to leave alice totally isolated. fp’s son is in the hospital barely alive, and fp dove into a losing fight with a rival gang--he’s in no shape to immediately rush to her side, even once word does reach him about hal. meanwhile, fred was hal’s first victim. he nearly died thanks to alice’s husband, which i imagine would make it hard to offer her unsolicited support, even though fred assures betty she’s not to blame when it comes up.

now personally for the sake of human decency, i think it’s totally crappy that alice was left alone in that house to suffer. i don’t care how little she was liked in town, anybody who’s nearly murdered should get checked on by someone. but as far as we’re aware, that doesn’t happen. after hal tries to kill alice, the only people who come to her door are reporters looking for more scandal. (you could argue that this part is a twisted kind of karma given how often alice’s reporting reveled in others’ pain, but that shouldn’t mean she’s also without other visitors.)

when you really think about it in context, alice and the farm make even less sense. the last thing alice cooper should want to do is trust a stranger just because her daughter vouches for him--the last time she did that, she had to bleach her whole kitchen! and by the end of s2, she’s found out that she can’t trust the last twenty years of her life, the most intimate partner she had, or her own judgement.

only desperation can explain her throwing herself into the arms of polly’s new friends, when she must have the worst trust issues she’s ever had in her life.

but honestly, of course she’s desperate. her entire carefully-crafted life unraveled a piece at a time over the last three years. she lost her older daughter to the blossoms, her younger daughter to the serpents, her husband to madness or evil or both depending on how you look at it, her credibility at her job once her history was revealed, and her rekindling with fp because they’re both idiots who can’t get it together. she wasn’t even left with a shred of normalcy--or the facade of it that made her life worthwhile before.

alice smith became alice cooper who reinvented herself again and again once things started falling apart, and it’s not clear if even she knows who she really is deep down. so she’s heading fast toward middle age, with very little to show for it, living in a house full of ruined memories with no one to talk to, and no reason to believe any of the other adults in riverdale would be there for her if she did reach out.

in the aftermath, all she has is one daughter she didn’t protect from her own father, who she never knows how to save...and another who’s offering her hope.

it’s terrible that she took it, as is everything alice has done since the farm became the center of her world. i don’t know anyone who’s blindly trying to defend her s3 behavior, or who isn’t expecting an awful reckoning someday.

but at the same time, of course she accepted the help that edgar evernever was reaching out to her, during the absolute lowest period in her life.

he was the only one who offered.

[riverdaleroundup]

Riverdale Roundup: 2x08 “House of the Devil”

Alright so here we go

Jughead has made the bar his new pops and has decided to take to writing his dramatic ass novel there. Is this like an all ages place? I know I say this a lot but jughead is 15.

Veronica and Archie are also 15 but are going at it like it’s the end of the world. Veronica honest to god bites him and it’s just so much that I can barely handle it. When Jughead was talking about Archie and Veronica creating the opposite of death in his bedroom I honestly thought that they were like hinting at a pregnancy scare type thing but like whatever. They just continue to sin all over the place and have all the sex all the time. They literally get it on infront of the fireplace on a fur rug that Daddy worked hard to pay for.

Archie proclaims his love for Veronica post fuck and she’s like ummm let’s watch some netflix? Or HBO. Honestly she’d probably settle for Cravetv if it meant that she didn’t have to have this conversation. Master of avoidance.

Jughead and Betty are chilling at Pops and discussing the Riverdale Reaper. Betty knows about the creepy truck driver so like does she know that Jughead has been running drugs? They discuss going to Sheriff Hot Bod with this information but Betty like JUST accused him of murder so they decide to give him a break from their nagging.I don’t know what it is about Jugheads jacket but he honestly looks like he got it at forever 21. Jughead gets a call from an unknown number and honestly Betty probably feels pretty triggered about it.  By the grace of god FP is getting out of jail and i’m so excited about it because honestly I adore him more than I should.

FP is getting out because of overcrowding and honestly this is so how Khloe Kardashian only have to spend like 35 minutes in jail. Praise the justice system.

Jughead and Betty are busy with his dad so they ask Archie and Veronica to head the investigation on the Riverdale Reaper and they are pissed. They have basically just been given a pile of homework and neither of them are the brains of the operation. They don’t know how to solve murders, all they know how to do is fuck.

So Cheryl and Josie are in the locker room and Cheryl is ready to roll up in all her bi curious glory and give Josie a nice back rub that in her mind will lead to them falling in love. The janitor rolls up and Cheryl is ready to have the man fired for ruining their moment.

Veronica gets home to find Sherif Keller in her house and honestly she’d probably panting. The lodges have received a threatening letter from the black hood but they aren’t that concerned about it. Veronica is a little worried because she and archie have been sinning all over town.

Mr and Mrs Lodge think that Veronica should use Archie as like a bodyguard in hopes that he’ll pull a Moose and protect her with his muscles if someone starts shooting at them.

Betty wants to borrow the family car to go pick up FP and i’m like okay did all these kids turn 16 without me noticing? I guess that Jughead did have a birthday, but they spent so much time solving murders and getting into so much hyjinx so when did they have time to get their learner's permits and their required supervised driving hours?

All the serpents are excited to have FP back and for things to get lit. Tall Boy doesn’t like change and thinks that talking to the mayor is a bad idea and that Jughead needs to stop acting like he’s the big man on campus because he’s literally been in the gang for maybe half an hour. Jughead tells Tall Boy to stop being a lil bitch and then everyone cheers. We get a quick shot of Sweet Pea and i’m like oh i forgot about you. You’re kind really hot. So like he can stay. Toni Topaz is still just hanging around and I still don’t like her. I don’t want to not like her but like come on.

Archie comes over to Veronica's and really wants to talk about his feelings but V is like” hmmm no how about be don’t and we just get busy instead?”

Archie and Veronica both seek their parents advice about the Love issue and it’s honestly a little awk.

FP walks out of jail like a true baller and i’m just so glad that he’s back. Daddys Home. Alice came with them to pick up FP and is like “ so how sexually frustrated are you?” ALICE OMG!

So FP isn’t going to be a serpent anymore? What happened to being a serpent for life? Alice knows that if FP is going to be a waiter he’s going to turn back to drinking real quick. Waiting tables will have him hitting the bottle within the hour.

Archie and Veronica keep it in their pants for long enough to start the investigation and find out that they need to go to the devil's house.

So FP and Jughead suddenly both have their own motorcycles and they go on a father son ride. I just want to say again how much I love FP. Jughead is a dumb little bitch and lies to FP about Penny. We find out that FP was in the army and i’m just like “ that’s hot”. Jugheads hair is just so intense in this scene and It needs to calm down a little bit. FP just wants Jughead to pursue his dreams of being a writer. He’s just such a good dad.

So Reggie has his Daddy offer Josie 5 thousand dollars to perform at his car dealership so that he can get a date with her and i’m like who knew Reggie had so much cash on hand. That’s hot. But I mean come on Reggie.That’s a little desperate. Play hard to get.

Cheryl starts coming for FP and Jughead is not having it. Jughead wants his Daddy to be treated like a king and won’t settle for less. FP is top shit and everyone should know it. Betty wants to throw him a party because the only things she knows how to do is throw parties and solve murders.

Betty rolls up to the bar and Toni is working there and i’m like okay that’s so fake. She can’t be a bartender she’s literally a child. Betty and Toni chat like old friends and Betty admits to wanting to be serpent adjacent which is so a sentence I would say just in my everyday life. Some old serpent bat is like Betty you have to do this serpent strip tease and she also calls her Sweet Valley High and no nick name has ever been so fitting. She is so an elizabeth I just can’t handle it, but watch out here comes dark Betty.

So they’re going to have a retirement Party for FP. So i guess you can just leave a gang whenever you want. That just doesn’t seem on brand.

Penny calls Jughead and makes him come meet her at pops for another secret chat. Jughead is like  “fuck you Penny this was a one time thing” and she’s like “ I already told you i’m blackmailing you did you forget?”. Jughead once again decides that he has the authority to speak for the whole gang and tells Penny to go fuck herself. He tries to make a dramatic exit but then Penny is like “ Um i’ll murder your girlfriend so you better do what I say.” So poor little Juggie is in a pickle.

Veronica and Archie head out ot the devil's house and she’s wearing a cape AGAIN. We find out there’s a third child who didn’t get murdered so now they gotta hunt this guy down. This is more detective work then they’ve done the whole series so they are probably very tired.

Alice storms into Pops to have a chat with FP about their children and not letting Betty get wrapped up in the serpents. Okay i’m so strongly getting the vibe that something went down with FP and Alice back in the day. Like come on “ They weren’t all mistakes”. FP is like come to the party and Alice thinks he’s high and besides her boring husband would never come. FP tells her to leave Hal at home wink wink. Like honestly shove it Hal. I’m so convinced now that they had a thing or something like. Freak. Honestly this has the potential to be so gossip girl. Jughead and Betty are about to be the new Dan and Serena with their parents having a romantic past. I could be wrong but whatever.

So they finally get the whole scooby gang together and Archie and Veronica report their findings to bughead. Betty and Jughead have a party to plan which they forgot to invite Archie and Veronica to so they have to leave the rest of the investigation to the B team.

So the janitor is the third kid and they find out that the riverdale reaper is dead so there goes that lead but I don’t think we’re done with the janitor yet.

Betty practices being sexy in the mirror and honestly it’s kind of tough to watch. Yikes what's going to happen? Oh shit she took her hair down. It’s about to get real.

Alice and Betty roll up to the bar and Alice Cooper doesn’t do anything half assed so she’s in her biker best. She’s like living her best life and getting shots but she’s got Bettys back and she’s ordered her a shirley temple.

Archie and Veronica have a talk and Archie gets all pissy that Veronica doesn't love him.

They sing Mad World and i’m like okay so is this show supposed to use songs that put me in such a depressive state that I want to swallow a hand full of sedatives, drink a bottle of wine and sink into a bath to live out the final moments of my life?

Also the sheer number of musical numbers in this show like i’m sorry i didn’t know i was watching glee.Archie and Veronica bail and Betty saves the day. Holy shit she takes off her clothes what the actual fuck you literal 15-16 year old. I’m dying. Omg stop. I can’t do this. Jughead is like not living his best life. Alice is not ready for this. I’m not ready for this. Alice wanted her to dress more like serpent but she didn’t mean like this. FP leads an awkward clap for Betty and then gives her his jacket so that she can cover up for christ sake.

FP gives this big speech and honestly kind of calls out Jughead for not always being on his side. FP is still going to be the HBIC of the serpents and I’m like “ yas. These are your people” . Jughead is like not happy about it but like he thought that FP was still going to be a serpent before so like….

Oh shit. FP knows about Penny and is staying a Serpent to protect Jughead. He is pissed that Jughead didn’t do the only thing he asked him to do. FP is here to clean up the mess. He’s doing what he has to do. What he always does. He’s just the best. That forehead kiss broke my damn heart. I love him.

Okay so like did Archie and Veronica just break up because Veronica isn’t ready to love him? Jughead doesn’t want Betty to get wrapped up in the Serpent world so he’s breaking up with her to protect her? Yikes. Why is everyone getting dumped? This is such drama.

Oh shit so now Archie is going to go after Betty because he knows that she can love him? Fuck. I can’t deal with this.

Alright now for real. Where is Smithers? There must have been a reason they had him replaced with Andre. Where is Kevin? Hanging out with his hot dad? Where is Reggie? Hanging out with his rich dad? For the love of god WHERE IS MOOSE?

[jeemyjamz]

27. “Please shut up. I can’t stand how appealing your voice is.”

Working at the Riverdale Register for the summer wouldn’t have been so bad for one Betty Cooper. However, since her parents own said paper where they, read her mother, can watch her like a hawk, the situation was less than ideal.

The perpetual funk that she’s been in since the beginning of the summer only worsened when she caught her boyfriend of two months sucking faces with Ginger Lopez behind Pop’s yesterday night.

Needless to say, she’s now newly single, and her ex-boyfriend was in dire need of some serious dry cleaning in order remove the stains of strawberry milkshake from his shirt.

“Screw him Betty. Nick St. Clair didn’t deserve you. He was, and always will be, a pig.” Veronica said matter-of-factly as she chewed on her fries.

“I was never gonna marry him V. So, I guess I’m not that heartbroken. I’m more angry...and defeated.” Betty finished off with a sigh.

“Don’t let one bad apple turn you away from the entire harvest B. You’ll find someone that’ll treat you the way you deserve to be treated.”

Betty shrugged her shoulders. “After multiple attempts of dating this past year, all ending with disastrous results, I think I’ll be swearing off men for the time being and just focus on myself.” She paused and took a quick sip of her milkshake. “And that means no matchmaking Veronica. Absolutely NONE.”

“But, but what if prince charming comes along and you’re not there to welcome him with open arms.” Veronica eyes grew wide at the possibility of her best friend shunning away from true love.

“No way, V. I mean it.” Betty looked pointedly at the brunette before standing up from the booth. “I’ve gotta go head back to the Register. I’ll text you later.” She bid her friend goodbye and headed out the door.

A few seconds after Betty left, Veronica heard someone call her name, “Hey, Ron!” She saw her ginger-haired boyfriend heading towards her and greeted him with a kiss. “Did we just miss Betty?”

“Yea, she just left. And ‘we’? who’s ‘we’?” Archie turned around, pointing his thumb in the direction of a boy around their age who was leaning over the counter talking to Pop Tate.

“My friend, Jughead, just moved back to town from Toledo.” Jughead, who finished placing his order, made his way to the couple.

Veronica took in his appearance and decided she liked what she saw. Tall, lean build, ebony hair, and eyes to die for. ‘He’s perfect for Betty!’

“Sorry, who’s Betty?” Jughead spoke up, confusion written on his face from what the dark-haired girl mumbled.

Veronica shook herself out from her mild stupor. “Never mind what I just said. Jughead, allow me to welcome you to Riverdale.” Clasping her hands together, she gave the newcomer a beaming smile. “You’re gonna love it here, I can already tell.”

---------------------------

Betty woke up the next morning to numerous texts from Veronica. Sensing that there was a theme in all of them, all revolving around a boy she just met whom she dubbed to be the Romeo to your Juliet, Betty.

*seriously, jughead’s got the whole brooding writer thing going on. and I know how much you love brooding writers*

*he’s a solid ten betty*

*betty, don’t let your shitty exes bring you down from getting to know him*

*you guys will have the cutest babies*

*I’m setting you guys up, when would you like to meet him?*

*betty? betty? B? helloooo????*

*BETTY ELIZABETH COOPER, ARE YOU IGNORING ME???*

Betty ignored the messages and set about getting ready for work. Once she arrived at the Register, her mother immediately pulled her aside and led her to one the conference rooms.

“Betty, I’d like you to meet Forsythe P. Jones the Third.” Betty shifted her attention away from her mother and set her eyes on the other occupant of the room. “He’s going to be an intern here for the summer. Forsythe, this is my daughter, Betty.” He held out his hand for Betty to shake and she couldn’t help the thrill she felt from feeling his hand wrap around hers.

After their brief meet and greet, Alice ushered the two teens back into Betty’s cubicle, instructing her daughter that Forsythe will be shadowing her for the day. As they walked, Betty couldn’t help but notice that he certainly wasn’t horrible looking. Ok, fine. The man was gorgeous. But she promised herself that she’d take a break from dating, and she won’t let a pair of incredibly blue eyes sway her from her promise dammit!

When the two teens got to Betty’s desk, Forsythe spoke up, “You don’t have to call me Forsythe you know. In fact, I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”

“Then what do you want me to call you?”

“Jughead.” Oh.

“Oh.” There was a silent pause between them as Betty connected the dots.

“Umm.” Jughead shifted his feet and cleared his throat. “Yea. So, do you mind showing me what to do?”

“Oh! Yes, of course.” Betty cleared off some space on her desk and rolled a chair over for Jughead to sit on. “Sorry, just spaced out for a second.”

It had been three days since Jughead first started his internship, and to say that he’d been a handful would be putting it mildly. Veronica certainly wasn’t kidding when she said that Jughead was the brooding type. He gave off the vibe of a lone-wolf for the most part, shunning away from any help that Betty tried to give. He also just couldn’t stop critiquing her work and always seemed dismissive of her ideas.

“Betty, I don’t think that this is the type of material the residents of Riverdale would want to read.”

“Betty, this story won’t grab the attention of the readers.”

It wasn’t like she can do anything about it. They lived in Riverdale for chrissakes, nothing interesting ever happens here! And whenever she’d ask him about what type of news should they be covering, since he acts like he knows everything (she didn’t actually say that to him), Jughead would lose himself in his little world, close himself off, and type away on his computer.

What’s worse, however, was that he had Alice and Hal eating out of the palm of his hand. Her parents were praising Jughead left, right, and centre for his visionary ideas and the bastard was milking it. 

---------------------------------

Betty couldn’t help but voice her frustrations to Veronica during one of their meet-ups at Pop’s. “I don’t know why you’d ever think I’d like the guy V. He’s a nightmare, honestly.”

“He seemed nice enough when I met him.” Veronica took a sip of her chocolate milkshake. “Just give him a chance. I can set up a date between you two if you’d like.”

Betty gave a Veronica a look of disbelief. “You haven’t been listening to a word I’ve said, haven’t you?”

“B, trust me when I say that there might be a reason why Jughead’s acting like a dick to you at work.” Veronica leaned in closer to her friend. “Archie’s told me some things about Jughead that I’ve had to pry out of him, and it sounds like Jughead doesn’t have the very best home life. There were some issues with his mom and he had to move back to Riverdale to live with his dad.”

Betty sighed. She cursed her sympathetic and caring nature as she automatically felt sorry for Jughead. A chime from Veronica’s phone distracted the two girls from their discussion. “It’s Archiekins. He’s outside waiting for me.” The brunette packed up her things and stood from the booth. “Are you sure you don’t need a ride home, B?”

“I’ll be fine, I need a break from the Jughead Jones fanclub that are my parents anyway.” Betty bid her friend goodbye as she pulled out her laptop from her bag. 

“Might as well finish editing this piece before going home.” She said to herself. Betty had only been working for a few minutes when she felt a presence settle across from her.

“You’re never off, are you Cooper?” Jughead Jones, of course.

“Well, when the new intern seems to be gunning for your job, I can’t afford to slack off.” The bluntness of her reply threw Jughead off and he opened his mouth to reply, but closed it when he couldn’t find the words.

There was an awkward pause between the two of them. Betty could feel herself flush from embarrassment for having been rude and was about to apologize when Jughead spoke up.

“You don’t like me very much, do you?”

“Wait-what? D-don’t like you? Where did you hear that? I don’t...not like you.” Betty said flustered.

“Nice try, Cooper.” Jughead smiled and Betty couldn’t help but notice-- No. Stop, brain. Don’t go there. “As much as you like to pretend you’re being discreet. I’ve caught you rolling your eyes at me.” Jughead didn’t sound offended. Heck, he didn’t even seem mad about it.

“Oh.” Betty pulled the sleeves of her cardigan down, a sign that she was feeling uncomfortable with the situation. “I-uh...I don’t really know what to say to that except I’m sorry.” She felt sheepish and couldn’t bring herself to meet Jughead’s eyes.

“It’s alright. I realize that I probably may not have been the best person to work.” Raking a hand through his hair, Betty’s eyes followed the movement of his fingers as it moved through his luscious locks. “So how about a fresh start?” He said, startling Betty out her thoughts. She couldn’t resist when she saw a hint of vulnerability on his face and put her hand out for a shake.

“I’m Betty Cooper, and you are?” When he shook her hand, the thrill that passed through her body from when she first touched him came back at full force.

“Nice to meet you Betty. I’m Jughead, Jughead Jones.”

Betty and Jughead were walking home after leaving Pop’s and took the chance to better know each other.

“Wait, wait, wait, so you almost burned down your elementary school in Ohio?” Betty stared at him in shock from the story he just told her.

“It was an accident.” Jughead laughed. “I was only eight years old and I found a lighter just laying on the school yard. As a matter of fact, it was my friend who dared me to light a bunch of dried leaves to see what would happen.” He shrugged as his laughter tapered off.

Nudging his shoulder with hers, Betty said jokingly, “If my mother knew you were such a hoodlum, she wouldn’t have hired you on as an intern.”

When the quip she expected didn’t come, she glanced at the dark-haired boy and saw a hardened look on his face. He felt her looking at him and his stony expression dissipated. “Sorry, Betts. you just kinda hit a soft spot.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Betty asked, reaching for his left hand and clasping it with her right. ‘It’s for his comfort’ She told herself.

Jughead eyes briefly flashed down to their intertwined hands and let out a sigh. “This internship, it’s my only hope of being able to do something with my life.” Betty could feel his thumb rubbing against hers before he continued. “We’ll both be starting university in just a few weeks, and your parents hold the key to me receiving a full-ride scholarship to NYU for my writing program or not.”

Jughead stared at the road ahead of them, seemingly lost in thought. “The school said I needed to some experience before they can consider me eligible fro the scholarship. If I don’t get that, I wouldn’t be able to go. My dad can barely afford to put me through high-school, and I calculated the loans that I was already approved for and it’s not enough to put me through four years in order to get my degree.”

Feeling defeated, Jughead hung his head low and Betty could do nothing but hold him against her tighter in a form of solidarity. They continued their walk until they got to Betty’s house.

“Don’t worry, Juggie. I’ll make sure my parents give you a raving letter of recommendation. I’ll make it my mission to help you get to NYU.” Betty squeezed his hand that she was still holding as they made their way to her front porch. “

“Not to sound ungrateful, Betts, but I want to earn it through my own merit. I don’t think I’d be able to live with myself knowing I got in through pity.” Betty saw the look of determination on Jughead’s face and couldn’t help but smile.

“Well, they already love you more than they love me, so I don’t think they need much convincing anyway.” Betty regretfully pulled her hand free from his as she reached for her house keys.

“This is me. I guess”

“Oh, um, yea. So, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Jughead asked.

“Bright and early.” Betty unlocked her front door and was about to step inside when she felt Jughead grab her wrist. She turned around, not expecting what was going to happen, when she felt his lips land on her cheek.

“Thank you.” Jughead stepped back from her, his cheeks turning red. “For tonight, I mean.” She could do nothing but nod as Jughead walked further and further away from her house. Betty placed a hand on her cheek, still feeling the heat from his brief kiss.

Later that night, she quickly texted Veronica before falling asleep. When she woke up, she saw three messages from her friend which put a smile to her face.

*what do you mean I was right? right about what?*

*what are you talking about B???*

*is this about jughead??? betty answer me!!!*

Betty’s good mood didn’t last forever though. As soon as she got to the office, everything went wrong. Some files had gone missing, hence delaying the entire team from their duties. Her mom was yelling at everyone and everything, and Betty was not safe from her wrath.

So when Jughead came in and started telling her about possible ideas that he had for news coverage in the middle of her trying to concentrate, It pushed Betty to her limits. ‘I mean, does he not know how fucking attractive he sounds?!’ She thought frustratingly.

“Please shut up. I can’t stand how appealing your voice is.” Betty cut him off mid-explanation and Jughead looked at her with wide eyes, not fully comprehending if he heard her correctly.

She quickly turned to him, mouth open in shock from realizing what had just come out of her mouth. “I-uh...that’s not what I meant to say.” Her voice getting quieter.

“So you didn’t just tell me that I have an appealing voice?” Jughead asked as a smirk started to form on his face.

Her embarrassment flew out the window as she threw a pencil at him, which he quickly caught before it hit him on the throat.

Jughead couldn’t control himself any further and bursted out laughing “Hey, careful there Betts. If you damaged my voice box, how are you supposed to live without my appealing voice, hmm?”

“Then I guess I’ll just have to hurt you somewhere else.” Betty said as she aimed to slap him on his arm.

“Alright, alright. I give up.” His laughter starting to die off as he stopped her hand from trying to reach him. Seeing an irate Alice Cooper rounding the corner, however, made the two teens settle down quickly and got back to work.

As they were about to go on their lunch break, Jughead held Betty back. “About earlier, all joking aside here, I’m not reading the signs wrong, right?”

“Well, I just don’t tell everyone that they have an appealing voice, so I guess you’re on the right track.” Betty could feel the burning in her cheeks and she desperately tried to calm herself down in order to avoid looking like a tomato.

“So Pop’s after work?” Jughead asked hopefully.

Betty nodded. “It’s a date.”