#just!!! her devotion to jughead

[sammygender]

why does nobody care about reggie from riverdale he’s got it all he’s obsessive he’s devoted he’s manipulative he’s power hungry he has absolutely no loyalty whatsoever he sees nothing wrong with murder sometimes he hates his dad he’s ruthlessly defensive of his dad his dad is a piece of shit he’s obsessed with veronica lodge (& aren’t we all?) he’s jughead he’s hiram he’s nothing like any other riverdale character because they’re all characters in their own stories and he’s a character in somebody else’s story. he kisses a guy for fun to see if he likes it and sits back and decides he wasn’t into it but he’d probably do it again just to see, yknow. he’s straight but still manages to be homoerotically obsessed, it just happens to be with a woman. he works for his girlfriends dad twice and at least one of those times is actively against her i think both but i can’t remember. he EVEN calls jughead danny devito. truly i am a reggie girl til the day i die and that’s really saying something considering i’m a guy

[godheadjones]

1 3 12 and 20 :))

thank you levi!! needed a second to process my emotions and this is the perfect way to do it

1. Who is your favorite character?

there are so many good characters and i feel like i’ve fallen in love with all of them if that’s possible but tabitha tate holds a special place in my heart for the rest of time. call me jughead jones because i love her soooo much i can’t believe she doesn’t get a happy ending she deserves so much more (jughead is a close second tho. my blog name is godheadjones for a reason. who would i be if i abandoned my jughead roots?)

3. Which season is your favorite, and which plot of that season do you like most?

very controversial but i love season 6 the most. i think while i was watching this season i finally allowed myself to fall in love with the show as much as i did instead of just being another viewer who was “just watching for the mystery.” it delivered some of the craziest plot lines for the show, introduced superpowers and alternate universes (because why the hell not) and percy pickens, my fav villain from the show and i really just had a fun time watching the season in general. i also haven’t done a proper rewatch of the whole show in forever and don’t remember much from the earlier seasons so that factors into it slightly because i barely remember anything and need a refresher before i make an official ranking, but season 6 is high up for me nonetheless. fav plotline is EASILY everything to do with vale. like that was so fun and when i started devoting my blog to riverdale because they killed archie like that was crazy that was wild i want to go back to rivervale again at least once but i know it’ll never happen

12. If you read fanfiction, recommend a fic you love.

GAHHH THERE ARE SO MANY I HAVE BOOKMARKED AND HAVE LEFT KUDOS ON THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE but there’s a new jabitha fic i read yesterday that was a fix it of 7x19 called Time is on our side and i got really in my feels reading it, it was soooo good

20. What is your favorite quote?

asking this when the show is riverdale is so evil there are way too many gems to be able to pick one. off the top of my head “get the ball, or balls, rolling,” “did you have a lobotomy for breakfast?” any line in season 7 with their silly little words, “gobbledygook,” “well shucks to that,” get shout outs btw because they are hilarious (on that note, julian pronouncing it as high-larious) and “a, it’s not queerbaiting, it’s saving the world”

[jandjsalmon]

2022 Fanfiction Reading Challenge

August Stats

Hello everybody! What an August, eh? I have a love/hate relationship with August. It’s my birthday month and it’s warm (I live where there is snow 7 months a year) but this year was just kinda blah. I hate lingering on the blah - so let’s talk of better things. Like when you find a piece of media and it’s so perfect that you DON’T have to seek fanfiction to make it better. It’s rare, but there were a couple shows this summer that felt that way to me. 

What about all of you? I feel a bit disconnected with you during the summer because we’re all off doing our own things. Have any of you being doing exciting non-fandom things? We are getting our grass (finally) this weekend and it’s been cause for much celebration at our house. What is something you’re celebrating lately?

Fandom-wise, I’m still working on my Hard (78/88) and Extreme(39/65) challenges at the @fanfic-reading-challenge​​ - has anyone heard of a ‘relay’ fic? If you have, please enlighten the rest of us. What about a single fic written by five different people? Does that happen? If you have any suggestions, I would appreciate it.

--

Also - as per usual, here are a few recs for the month. If you have any favourite stories (that you loved reading or even that you wrote - in any fandom), please let me know. I’d love to know what you’ve been reading and I never complain about new stories to read.

Love Keeps Her in the Air (series) by @bywayofmemory​​​ (2 Fics - T)

Summary: "Having no choice but to feel, River cherishes all the more deeply the ability to act. If only she knew what action to take." A study of River, working her way through the complications of falling in love, and Mal, trying very hard to avoid them. (Mal/River Post-Serenity) 

Why you should read it: We went to see Serenity on the big screen at our local theatre last weekend and it sucked me right back into my love of Mal/River. In this series, the character voices are just perfect and the plot is so plotty. So good.

- 

Sneakers and Saddle Shoes (series)  by @mistressofmalplaquet​​​ (3 fics - E) 

Summary: 1. Lingerie-inspired erotica. 2. Jughead plans a daytrip for his girl (ie. activities as extended seduction). 3. "Do not seek to tell your love, love that is not told can be..." Except Jughead can't help it, especially when Reggie threatens to make a move on Betty Cooper. (Bughead)

Why you should read it: If the summaries don’t grab you, then I don’t know what else I can say. Mistress is a fantastic writer - and this overly dramatic Jughead is really one of my faves. Add in MM’s lingerie kink and it’s a series you desperately need to revisit.

-

On the Observation of Trifles (series)  by @thepointoftheneedle​​ (2 fics - T)

Summary: 1. Bughead mystery story set in 1898 on board a transatlantic liner 2.  A prequel to the first story - How Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper met and fell in love while investigating a mystery involving Betty's sister and brother in law. (Bughead)

Why you should read it: Sleuthing Soulmates. Seriously. Also - Needle is one of the best Historical AU writers (and writers in general - no need to be specific). These are fun. Bughead is devoted. They’re clever. The mysteries are creative and not half-done. I reread all of Needle’s work several times a year - and this was a delightful revisit. If you haven’t read it - or even if you have - give yourself a gift today and reread. 

-

I hope you enjoy the recs and I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend.❤️ 

[kevin-keller-artistic-director]

Honestly like this some ride or die shit honestly like post time jump four core is funny because like depsite all the changes in there relationships they have set like this fucking ride or die presedient meaning that v and Betty asking to jug to like go in peoples heads is just totally chill and like if jughead wanted to he could ask betty and veronica for something and so obviously archie as devoted as rest of four core

but my point is jughead problem is that he has such deep attachment issues and such little self worth that he never quite understands the family and people who would give him the support if he asked for it and he never quite understands that betty is soembody who is a sibling figure and even when she isn't able to help him doesnt mean she doesn't care

I think also that archie has to reconfigure his relationship to betty and veronica and i think in his head he has to checkmark domesticity with both girls.

And as he does this jug with tabitha and his healthy non childhood relationship gains the ability to return the devotion that was given him to as a teenager by Veronica and betty and i think whats interesting that when he finally gets put in danger and also sees thw absurdity of archie comphet relationship with veronica in obviously post time jump hes able to better help veronica when she asks for his aid and hes able to give veronica what she wanted when they were young sympathy and understanding of darkness he doesn't judge v for putting a hit on her dad (as within the context of her moralilty) unlike reggie who gets mad at her( veggie is parrell gay sibling dynamic to bughead btw so I'm not shaming reggie)

To jughead veronica is this raven haired princess whom he balances the universe with and she the person who most fundamentally understands his ugliness through similar childhood she's the girl he always wanted to be and now when she asks for his help he return it with affection and devotion

I think also here jug and betty are interesting i think tabby understands that they are crucial to the other and through black girl trope obligations manages to let them both grow by supporting them so when they come back together it much more peaceful meeting

I think jughead has to start thinking of betty as person outside of him but he also like her in his adult years puts his trauma in worped ya adult novel and betty spends her life training to track serial killers and when they kind of join together again they are still investigating but they are individuals who grow and get back there homosexual love interests from childhood and as they gain that part of them back its alot easier for them to see each other as people

Archie interesting becuase he kind of takes everything heterosexual hes ever felt and just pours it all out when he comes back to riverdale and in his act of protecting v from chad he puts himself in that hetero headspace because she is like the raven haired princess as jughead says but ultimately arch has to learn that veronica is her own tough person and that he cant deny that but that trying a traditional het dynamic with bunch of men in house both places her in a one of the boys and puts him in a neglectful boyfriend role will not fly with her and she refuses to play the role in the end

Ultimately the final straw is betty and archie and i think shes his tether to heterosexuality shes one the thing but she has trouble giving it to him for one he doing this as he and jug get back to regularly scheduled gay dynamic and veronica and betty have returned to there as jug says destiny his proposal is silly and betty who has left her childhood dreams denies him hes the final pecie of the puzzle left to heal

And then 1950s hell comes because like meta commentary

[maya-matlin]

Your metas are phenomenal! I realized while reading your take on Barchie that even though I'm with you on shipping Brucas and Bughead, Barchie is for me a worse ship than Leyton. Part of that is no doubt due to the fact that for all of OTH's problems, it's imo not nearly as awful as Riverdale quickly becomes after the first one or two seasons. It's mostly just that there's a lot more to leyton imo. Like you and I might not like them or buy that they have true love or even very good chemistry, but I can at least see why others view their story and see them as in love. But with Barchie it's like you didn't even sell me on them being genuinely close friends let alone in love. As you point out their entire relationship seems rooted in childhood memories, not in any sort of present day friendship and connection. And then they go from literally almost never even having conversations and both of them having years-long relationships with other people they love to being 'friends with benefits' and even then there's no real feeling or substance or connection or anything, you know? I'm not phrasing this well, but I just feel like Barchie is so hollow and empty. I may not personally like Leyton, but I can objectively acknowledge that at least there's something there---Barchie is just kind of total nothingness that the writers 75% into the series started pretending was meaningful. And again your metas are such a gift!

Thanks! I genuinely don't think they're anything special, but I like answering asks LOL

Yeah. My feelings about Leyton vs Barchie are complicated for that reason. The love story between Lucas and Peyton bothers me because in my opinion, there's plenty wrong with it from the beginning. It's based in something that feels very shallow with the narrative claiming there's this deep, intense connection rather than showing it to us. Then when Lucas and Peyton finally do decide to get together, it's behind Brooke's back. Their affair leaves Brooke with a lot of trust issues. And then, Peyton and Lucas have the audacity to stab her in the back a second time, after they've spent the past season and a half claiming they'll never hurt her again and that the circumstances are now different. That being said, the fact Lucas and Peyton's feelings are established as a mutual thing from the very beginning means that when late season 3 and season 4 heads back to LP, it's rooted in something believable. If nothing else, I can appreciate that One Tree Hill properly showed that just because your intentions are supposedly good and what you have is "true love always," that doesn't mean other people's feelings don't matter. A lot of time was devoted to Brooke eventually finding her own "true love" and working past the double betrayal of Lucas and Peyton.

In the case of Barchie, 100%. It really feels like in the beginning, the plan was to move away from the Betty/Archie/Veronica love triangle that had dominated the comics for decades and explore other things. Betty was allowed to want things other than Archie and to have a real, genuine relationship with Jughead where she was both happy and fulfilled without feeling as though she'd missed out on not winning the golden cock, so to speak. Betty and Veronica formed a strong friendship based on more than competing over the same guy. Even Archie seemed to have a strong preference for Veronica over Betty in spite of occasional moments like "a part of me always thought.." at the end of season 1. The writers set up their eventual relationship and cheating in an extremely poorly done way. They even used flashbacks during the big Origin of Love scene, but it only flashed back to the first two episodes of Riverdale and their season 2 kiss because that was the beginning and end of their BA build up. And absolutely! I didn't detect any true fondness or interest in the Betty/Archie relationship during seasons 5 and 6. It felt like they were checking off things on a list. Like, they have to live together, get engaged at some point, become official, say I love you, blah blah blah. It's like, they decided to fulfill every BA's dream and then literally blew up the universe. I honestly think the writers hated their jobs by the end and resented their fans for still caring about the characters and relationships established years before. Still, it's upsetting that Jughead and Veronica weren't allowed to voice the fact that they were hurt over Betty and Archie betraying them. Unlike on One Tree Hill, it was as though they walked on eggshells and went out of their way to ensure nothing was the slightest bit awkward for Betty and Archie (but mostly Archie because Betty at least emotionally suffered for years over what she'd done while Archie didn't seem to have the slightest bit of shame or guilt). As much as I hated seeing Brooke heartbroken and disliked the effect it had on her friendship with Peyton, that's more honest to me that both Veronica and Jughead never properly acknowledging that Archie and Betty had been in the wrong and needed to make amends.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: A Curse of Blood and Wolves by Melissa McTernan

2.5/5. Releases 10/1/2023.

Vibes: light werewolves, paranormal with a new adult sensibility, very very very faint Little Red Riding Hood

I really love Little Red Riding Hood, which is why I requested this book. While there is obviously a LRRH inspo, it's super cursory. At the end of the day, this book reminded of one of my YA obsessions of yesteryear, Maggie Stiefvater's Wolves of Mercy Falls series. Of course, it's much more explicit, and the writing style definitely leads more New Adult. This isn't YA, to be super clear.

Unfortunately, I don't think it quite worked as a mature romance. While I was entertained at points, my attention wasn't held, and I think there were some easily avoided mistakes made.

Quick Takes:

--One issue I had with this book was Rafe's general self-loathing. Now, I like a self-loathing hero; but there's that, and there's mopey. Often, Rafe seemed dejected and sorrowful, and just plain dull.

This contrasted to Ruby, a heroine who was introduced in a very Jughead-ian "I'm weirdo. I'm a weirdo" manner, but brightened in a way I found... if not super unique, nice. I wasn't enamored with Ruby, but I honestly didn't really get what she saw in Rafe, aside from him being generally hot and good at sex.

--And about that connection... or lack there of. This is a mating bond book, and I'm not against that. In fact, I think all the werewolf books I've loved have been fated mates books. It's part of the werewolf appeal. But when I think about my favorite mating bond books... When I think about, for example, Kresley Cole's Lykae novels which handle it so well... The issue is that while the hero immediately wants to protect, have sex with, conquer his heroine--he doesn't actually love her. He adores her, maybe, because of his instinct. But he does notknow or love her. Additionally, this is met by friction from the heroine, and in the end he must realize that she cannot be conquered because he's fallen in love with her as a fully realized person.

Here, once Ruby finds out about the werewolfitude, she takes it in remarkable stride (like, I don't need ten chapters of agonizing, but girl goes from "there is nothing paranormal" to "there is a naked werewolf and we're vibin'" so easily). That tension? Is gone. They just like each other, and he's so devoted, and that's all nice. But it's not very interesting, at least not to me.

--Ruby really doesn't ever seem concerned enough about anything with respect to its importance. Rafe angsts about everything, and with Ruby it's like... Girl, wake up. There's some seriously intense shit going on, maybe be a little more active?

--I actually didn't mind the fact that a lot of the werewolf stuff was more mood and vibes, versus much unique societal structuring. I don't think that's inherently a bad thing, and like I said, it reminded me of the sort of vaguely magical "small town YA romance with monsters" thing I used to gobble up. But here, it just didn't feel very real. I think the writing style just didn't linger enough. It told the story in the plainest way possible, and the characters and dialogue weren't compelling enough to make up for that.

The Sex:

The sex scenes are solid. I liked them--and I especially liked the whole "we cannot have sexual intercourse because werewolf stuff but we CAN do everything else" thing. I liked that Ruby saw that as sex, and I liked that they did get creative with it. Interestingly, this is like, at least the third werewolf book I've read where he couldn't put it in Because Reasons. The focus on pleasure versus anatomy was good.

While I didn't hate this book by any means, I really didn't get into it either. There was potential, but I think this was just the most straightforward route possible. That said, I can see New Adult lovers getting into it.

Thanks to One More Chapter and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[zumpietoo]

Racist 3rd/With 3 Stoopids!

Oh good lord, there never was a “promo department”, dumbass....they contract that out and, I’m quite sure, somebody, even if it’s the intern’s babysitter’s little brother’s cousin will piece together something. It doesn’t cost much to splice a trailer. 

Plus, again, I thought they HAD to restore the ratings in their final year or else????

You mean with Jabi being eternally and beautifully together and Barfie in love and engaged?

Umm....again, Barfies seem pefectly happy (plus it’s really interesting how THAT’S your big concern, here!) and, actually, the show has always been interested in the BAV triangle....what they never were “interested in” or wanted was Jizzy...

I actually think the trailer will be lots of pointless 50s vignettes, just like the season, with Jughead all horrified/some sort of hint of what Tabi tells him....

Crazy Ex wasn’t all that and it’s the CW, idiot...

OMG.....there will be nooooo Jizzy, you fucking idiot. Cole and PP barely ever film together, anyway....plus, I thought, again, it’s all make or break, noooo???

Okay, Racist, they’re a beautiful, grown up couple who love each other, look gorgeous together and are both played by fab actors. And you hate it/them because A) you’re a total racist and B) you can’t accept that Cole doesn’t want to film with his psychotic ex. 

And dude, again, bullshit, but they keep having to use the split screen for a reason with Jizzy scenes.....

Feel better?

You sure to comment and obsess a lot about something you don’t watch, kettle-bullshit. 

OMG.....jizzy-cartillage is even moar heelarious! Dude, Ted doesn’t have that much power and they don’t have to cast an entire new LI just to “have Jughead out of the way”. It’s all pretend, so they can write him however TF they please to have him “out of the way”. Good lord, you’re speshul stoopid, on a speshul stoopid DAY!

Again, RAS did not figure it out, RAS has always wanted that and the BAV triangle.....and RAS is the one who dictates this. 

Jizzy split up because SH split up and PP is fucking nuts. Do the math. Once and for all.

Umm....nooo....you just hate Jughead kissing a black lady. We all are fully aware. Can’t wait to see your head explode every week thru August...

Ummm....everybody knows that....but it’s because he’s played by a better, hotter actor. Very simple. And those of us who are Jughead (and Cole) fans, prefer him not with his cuntwipe ex. Either way.....

Ummm....beg to differ, Racist....we already know better based on leaks/interviews alone. 

Awww....another noobie sock haz teh sadzz...Dude, Erinn’s posted herself multiple times, she’s in the credits as a main and RAS has already teased her role as significant. Stop being an asshole....(and a fucking moron).

Once again, you guys sure devote a lot of time and energy to something you despise, that nobody bothers with, huh????

[crazymisscarly]

Hot Bughead Fanfic Moments

Just a collection of sexy scenes from my Season 5 AU that I hope show that Betty and Jughead can be both successful career people and devoted parents - all while still being able to get down and dirty 😈 

This post was inspired by that one spoiler pic of Betty’s bare leg post-kissing Jughead and is entirely self-indulgent

Our Story’s Not Over

Chapter 7

And when they were done, he still hadn’t made a move to undress her, so Betty decided to take matters into her own hands.

She stood up and made her way towards him, and he gave her no resistance as she straddled his lap and he wrapped his arms around her waist. She kissed him hard, and slid her tongue into his mouth. He moaned into her open lips, and she sighed as he pulled away and kissed her jaw. She moved her hands down to the buckle of his belt, but he stilled her movements, and she groaned.

“Don’t tease me, Jug.” She said quietly. “Do you have any idea how desperately I want you right now?”

“Probably as much as I want you.” He said against her neck. She shivered as he sucked on the skin, and kissed a trail down her neck. “But hasn’t it been nice…” He said as he slid her coat back off of her shoulders. “To slow things down?”

He stood up, and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his hips. He continued the slow and steady pace as he walked them over to the mattress, and laid her down beneath him. She placed both her hands on either side of his face, and they kissed slowly. So slowly.

Chapter 8

Jughead pulled away as he walked Betty backwards towards their bedroom. “You taste like alcohol.”

“So do you.” She said defiantly, then raised her eyebrows and reconsidered. “Or maybe it’s me I taste.”

Jughead shrugged. “I don’t mind. You always taste good.” He said slyly, then surprised Betty by ducking to slide his arm under her legs and lift her up.

She let out a quick shriek, followed by a giggle. “You’re meant to wait until after we’re married to carry me over the threshold.”

“It’s an archaic tradition anyway.” Jughead said as he carried her to their bed. “I love your dress. It’s so sexy…”

Betty shifted to get out of his arms before he placed her on the mattress. She stood in front of him and smirked as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Let me guess - it looks great, but it’d look even better on the floor?”

“No way.” Jughead said, shaking his head. “Something that hot needs to be properly appreciated.”

She pulled him hungrily down with her as she sat on the bed then leaned backwards. Jughead pressed her into the mattress as they kissed, their lips and teeth and tongues showing each other proper appreciation. Then Jughead slid down to kneel beside the bed, and kissed Betty up her legs, and then her thighs… he pulled her legs apart further…

“Betty… you’re not wearing any panties…” Jughead noted as he looked up at her with wide eyes. “Have you been walking around like that all night?”

A faint blush appeared on Betty’s cheeks. “I didn’t want to have underwear lines… this dress is really tight…” She pursed her lips. “Does that make you uncomfortable?”

“No.” Jughead said, and the heat in his eyes made Betty shiver. “That’s such a turn on.”

Betty moaned and leaned her head back as Jughead ducked his head between her legs and showed her just how much it turned him on…

I’ll Never Stop Loving You

Chapter 4

“Sounds like that went well.” Betty’s voice came from behind him.

Jughead pushed his chair out from the table so he’d have more room to face her - then abruptly paused as he noted her attire had changed significantly from the yoga pants and oversized shirt she’d been wearing when he started the interview. Now she stood close to him, a satin robe covering her arms but completely open at the front, giving Jughead a complete view of the lacey purple underwear she was wearing.

Underwear that seemed to be flying solo and missing the matching bra Jughead knew existed somewhere in their bedroom.

Jughead tried to keep his eyes on her face, but the sheer amount of skin she was revealing was causing quite the distraction. He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I think it was a great interview overall. Plenty of opportunities to discuss my book and clear up some rumours.”

“Excellent.” Betty said quietly. She walked closer to his side; the robe opened wider with the movement. “I was feeling a little… inspired, listening to you talking about your new book.”

Jughead looked up at her as she loomed over his seated body. “Is that so?”

“Mmhmm.” She hummed. Slowly, she leaned forward and placed a hand on Jughead’s shoulder. “Indeed. In fact…” she slowly lifted a leg and draped it over Jughead’s lap so that she was straddling him. Jughead swallowed as she slid further up his legs. “I think that maybe we should get a little…” she leaned in towards his ear; he felt the heat of her skin through his thin shirt, and the warmth of her breath against his neck as she whispered: “Creative.”

Jughead slid his hands beneath her robe to wrap his arms around her warm body. “How could I possibly deny my wife when she’s so…” he planted a kiss at her neck, “inspired?”

Betty smirked as she captured his lips. It wasn’t long before Jughead stood, lifting Betty with him, and carried her into their bedroom - her legs locked around his waist, gripping him with a heat that would only scratch the surface of how hot their bodies would become that night…

Chapter 5

Cool hands suddenly trailed down his neck and over his chest. Jughead smiled as he felt a warm breath in his ear.

“Finished writing your latest book, Mr Jones?” Betty whispered in a low voice that promised an imminent exchange of body heat.

Jughead drew his hands back towards himself slowly, allowing one to land on Betty’s neck. He looked up to her and smirked. “Now that my biggest inspiration is here, I just might.”

Betty moved around the chair and settled herself onto Jughead’s lap. Her legs, straddling him either side of his thighs, kept him locked in place. “I have an… important question about our essay task, Mr Jones.” She said, and her eyes drifted down to her chest. Jughead’s own eyes followed her gaze; the first three buttons of her pink blouse were undone, teasing the edges of the black lingerie she had beneath it.

Jughead swallowed, a flood of heat pooling in his gut. “How can I help you, Miss Cooper?”

A spark of amusement glowed in Betty’s eyes, but she kept her face in an innocent, doe-eyed expression. “I wrote my first draft… do you think you could take a look at it for me?”

Jughead’s lips twitched. “I’m certain I could… where is this essay?” His eyes flickered over her cleavage again and caught the gleam of a long silver chain she wore around her neck.

Betty bit her lip and placed both hands on his shoulders. “It got lost inside my shirt… you might have to take it off to find it…”

Jughead’s hands slid up from Betty’s hips to her chest. “Well, I guess we’d better get to it then…” He mused as he slowly unbuttoned the remainder of her blouse. “Maybe afterwards I can give you another homework assignment for extra credit… wait.” His face furrowed in confusion as he discovered her FBI badge dangling from the chain around her neck.

Betty’s tone abruptly changed from sweet and seductive to forceful and intimidating. “Propositioning a student, Mr Jones?” She cocked her head to the side. “That won’t look good on your teaching records.”

The heat in Jughead’s abdomen instantly burned.

“I’m going to have to place you under arrest.” She said, her voice increasing in authority. She reached behind her back with one hand and pulled a pair of handcuffs out of her back pocket. She dangled them from her index finger in front of Jughead’s face. “You have the right to remain…” she leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “silent.”

Goosebumps peppered Jughead’s arms…

Fifteen minutes later, Jughead’s hands were handcuffed to the headboard of their bed. He was blindfolded, and Betty alternated between sliding fast-melting ice cubes down his chest and licking slow circles into the skin of his neck.

The rush of adrenaline brought out by the interchangeable hot and cold sensations Betty subjected him to made Jughead groan in a thrill of pleasure.

“Tsk, Mr Jones.” She said, then placed two fingers over his lips. “I don’t recall giving you permission to make a sound.” She added quietly - but the sheer domination in her tone rang loud in his ears.

Jughead obediently bit his lip to keep any noise from escaping as she rolled her hips hard against his own…

Chapter 9

Jughead emerged from the ensuite late at night, his hair still damp from the shower and his legs exposed to the cool spring air thanks to the relatively ineffective boxer shorts he’d pulled on. He carried his discarded clothes and towel to the hamper in the corner of the bedroom, and watched as Betty lifted one eyebrow and smirked.

“Why did you bother getting dressed?” She asked, then sat up on her knees as Jughead walked closer to the bed. “You know you’re just going to take those off again.” She indicated his boxer shorts, and Jughead matched her smirk as he crawled onto the bed.

“Maybe I was just looking forward to the exquisite pleasure of watching my wife remove them.” He said, his smirk morphing into a grin as he reached out and placed his hand on Betty’s hip. The smooth texture of her silk pyjama shorts tickled his skin as he pulled her closer to his body and drew her into a kiss.

Betty breathed a sigh into his mouth as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The press of her body against his own warmed his bare chest. He tilted her backwards, settling above her and slowly kissing down her neck. Her legs had just wrapped around his back, her heels digging into the very top of his thighs and slowly sliding up further…

Reunification

“I can’t sleep.” Betty noted, her eyes open in the darkness. She tilted her head back and made out the shape of Jughead’s face looking down at her. “Can you?”

“Nope. Got a lot on my mind.” Jughead admitted.

“Oh, yeah?” Betty mused, tracing her fingers along Jughead’s chest.

“Yeah.” Jughead said quietly. “You know… it’s been over a month since we…”

Betty was suddenly wide awake.

Five minutes later, she was on her knees on the cold tiles in the bathroom, Jughead’s hands roughly pulling fistfuls of her hair off her face as she reunified with his body.

“God,” Jughead groaned, his head bumping against the bathroom wall as Betty slowly stood up and smirked, “my whole body feels like it’s in a cloud right now.”

“That good, huh?”

Jughead snickered as he gripped her hips. “Do you think that sink can hold your weight?”

“What do you..?” Betty’s question was cut off by Jughead’s hot mouth as he roughly pulled her closer. She let out a yelp as he lifted her up and unceremoniously planted her on the bathroom sink.

“Your turn.” Jughead said darkly, then made quick work of her pyjama shorts as he knelt before her.

Betty had to use a combination of steadying herself by gripping the edge of the sink to keep from toppling over, and shoving her fist in her mouth to keep from crying out in pleasure as Jughead reminded her of what she’d been missing out on.

It was almost embarrassing how quickly he managed to get her off. Afterwards she melted into his embrace, slowly slid off the bathroom sink and leaned in to kiss him.

Jughead pulled back, a glint in his eyes as he said: “That good, huh?”

Betty playfully shoved his shoulder.

Read the whole fanfic series on Ao3.

[scorpionwins]

No bc. Jughead is a kid who had to parent not only himself when his parents didn't step up, but also his little sister, whom he loves so much and isn't even aware how much JB looks up to him.

He had his heart broken by FP several times, - broken oaths to sobriety, destroying the drive in, being accused he was the bane of the serpents, - and forgave him each time without hesitation.

His mother forgets about him and abandones him while fully knowing FP was the way he was and wasn't getting the help that he needed, and instead of being mad? He simply asks her to come back. He simply asks her to put him and JB above her lame drug empire and she can't even do that and he still defends her when JB feels abandoned.

When Archie consecutively disregards their friendship, often remembering it at convenience, Jug is there for him to talk about the terrible thing that happened with Grundy and give him tips on Betty and continues to write him as the hero of the story and someone who's pure and good.

He goes to apologize to Cheryl and gets pummeled and not once does he blames her. Betty, someone he's shown endless compassion and understanding and acceptance to and trusted to do the same, went behind his back with his best friend on two separate occasions and he took her back each. Time.

The Serpents, people who initially wanted him to act like a Southsider and stay true to his heritage, rarely if at all made him feel like he belonged and he still tried to make life better for them.

And still, he wanted to protect them and lead them to prosperity and comforted Fangs so tenderly when he was scared at school. Then, later on, they're ganging up on him because of a book they never once asked about, despite helping Alice fucking Cooper who's done way worse in the open.

He trusts Tabitha with watching over him while he's high and she leaves him, handcuffed to a table , and he doesn't even expect the apology for that and deems it as unnecessary despite the great danger he was in.

Then, in a moment of desperation, he submits a manuscript that isn't his, immediately calls his editor and admits that it's not and isn't upset by the fact that he's dropped.

He constantly forgives and forgives and forgives and it's so frustrating sometimes, but most of the time it reminds me exactly why I love him so much. I love him because he's loving and kind and devoted and brave and each time the world tries to beat the goodness out of him, he just tells it 'no'.

Archie may be the heart of Riverdale. But Jug is the soul of Riverdale.

[iconic-ponytail]

there's always money in the banana stand

riverdale promptathon week 3: yellow + business

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

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

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

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

Enter: the banana stand.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Betty grins.

I did that.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Do you have a pencil?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Betty Cooper is extremely cute when she stammers.

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

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

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

“Betty, wait.”

She pivots back, eyes down at the ground.

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

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

They shake on it.

[theeternalblue]

“Babe!” A sweet and giddy voice babbles.

Jughead rolls his eyes at the excitement of his 18-month-old daughter - yes, he was one of the guys who always complained about kids’ age in months but in his new role as a dad, he gets it. There’s a difference between months because babies grow incredibly fast and one day you’re trying to make them stop crying and the next they are crawling and munching on the plug of his laptop’s charger.

But this time, Agatha is not exactly looking at herself in the mirror or having a friend over for that essential (and horrific) experience of playtime - he cannot say it enough but he only stands his child and he will not witness the stupidity of another kid shoving legos up their noses.

Aggie has just spotted Jughead’s childhood best friend, Archie. Of course, he’s accompanied by his wife, Veronica, who looks thrilled to hear the child's voice.

“‘onnie!” Aggie adds with a big smile as Veronica joins her on the floor.

“Hello, darling,” Veronica coos and starts tickling Aggie’s sides making her squirm and laugh.

Meanwhile, Archie is already blushing.

“Jug-“ he attempts as apologetically as possible. Everyone knows this is not his fault. Aggie keeps mimicking Veronica and after one weekend with her godparents, she decided that calling Archie babe was the best thing in the world.

“Babe! Up-up!” Aggie demands, lifting her arms so Archie picks her up.

Jughead snorts a laugh when Archie shakes his head.

“Babe,” Veronica pouts, copying the baby, and Archie rolls his eyes. “Pick her up. You are her favorite.”

“Everyone needs to stop calling me that.” Archie gets on the floor and repeats his name like when they were toddlers trying to spell their names.

“But babe!” Jughead teases and Veronica chuckles. This earns him a glare from everyone’s favorite redhead.

Aggie though decides to soothe Archie’s worries by placing her chubby hands on Archie’s face and shaking her head. “No mad, babe?”

“I can’t win, can I?” Archie’s rhetorical question is met with a bout of laughter from Aggie and those adorable kissing sounds she makes because her mom spends too much time trying to prove a Jones can be lovable and sweet.

Jughead sweeps his hair to the side while sipping his third coffee of the day, watching as Veronica sits next to Archie and they both play cool auntie and uncle, spoiling Aggie to no end.

“Get your own kid,” he has said jokingly before, and even if Archie gets the gleam in his eyes, the couple agreed to wait a bit more. Veronica has never said no, but she hasn’t said yes either. It's a running joke she's taking notes about what not to do after witnessing Aggie growing up.

But it's funny. While Archie's friendly deameanor might seem the obvious choice for a child, Veronica steals the spotlight with her expressive gestures and calm voice – she had the touch when Aggie was a colicky baby.

"We're getting a puppy," Archie says later when they are feeding Aggie – more like making a Jackson Pollock with apple sauce.

"You're not getting a puppy," Jughead replies, glaring at Veronica who chuckles. "You're not."

"We are," Veronica confirms. "It's a cute little fur ball. Sweet, friendly, a bit goofy."

"You have Archie," Jughead quips, while Aggie shakes her arms giggling.

"Ha-ha." Archie leans against Veronica, wrapping an arm around her shoulders in a gesture that makes Jughead think they are working on something more. He'll figure it out later.

"You're trying to make my child like you more than me."

"Maybe," Veronica jokes.

"She already does!" Archie exclaims. "Right, Aggie?"

"Babe!" Aggie shouts, delighted when Archie takes the spoon from Jughead's hands and gives it to her. She obviously takes all the food without effort now.

"May I hire you as a babysitter?" Jughead wonders. "I think it's one of the few jobs you haven't added to your list yet."

"You can't afford me, Jug. I'm a kept-man, devoted to my wife. The only job I haven't been fired from."

"Yet."

"Shut up."

Veronica laughs but decides their antics are too much. She takes Aggie to clean up and change, look cute for when mom gets home from work.

"A dog, huh?" Jughead asks as he washes his cup and Aggie's bowl.

Archie smiles. "Baby steps."

So there's a plan. There's always a plan.

[plus-size-reader]

If Looks Could Kill

Sweetpea x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 2035 words

Warnings: none

Summary: Pea's ex getting jealous when he sees him with Josie at the pool

——————————————————————————————————

You had never been jealous when you and Sweetpea were in a relationship.

Everyone knew that you were his and he was yours, in your gang and every other gang. Really, you didn't have to worry about anything happening on either end because no one was bold enough to ever cross that line.

It was no secret that Pea only had eyes for you and even if someone was stupid enough to make a move on you, that was a situation that your boyfriend would correct rather quickly.

Though, you found that when you two broke up, those lines sort of blurred.

Not only were you no longer off limits to all the guys who'd had their eye on you for the last few years, but Sweetpea was no longer off limits to the girls of Riverdale. You really didn't think that it was going to bother you, seeing as the split had been mutual.

However, you found out fast that things you would have been completely comfortable with before now made your skin crawl. It just didn't feel right to see him with someone else, even though you'd come to terms with the fact he didn't want to be with you anymore.

...and for that matter, you didn't even want to get started on Josie McCoy.

You had never had a problem with her before, and from what you could tell, she was an okay girl but recently, it was becoming more and more difficult to be near her. She had been spending a lot of time with Pea in a way that made you really uncomfortable.

Even with as much as you tried to stop it.

It wasn't her fault that you had that nauseous feeling in the pit of your stomach when you saw her with him, and you couldn't blame her for anything that had happened between you or the male in question.

It was just that in the time since the two of you had split, Sweetpea had completely thrown himself into paying attention to her and doting on her in a way that he had always done with you. You had clearly just misjudged how much you would struggle seeing him with someone else.

Seeing him that devoted to someone else was nearly enough to make you sick.

You hated having to admit it, but you were starting to come to terms with the fact that you were jealous of her.

Though, that somehow wasn't the worst part.

As much as it hurt your pride to have to accept that you were jealous, and that you were actually also questioning how okay you were with the breakup at all, there was one thing worse than that. The worst part was that Josie clearly didn't feel the same way about Pea as he felt for her.

She was having her fun with the attention, just like anyone else would in her position, letting him praise her and be a little bit of arm candy for the summer but she didn't care about him. She was using him for a good time.

...but you knew that Sweetpea couldn't see that

He was so blinded by whatever it was that he was feeling for her that he would gladly get his heart broken. It may have been inappropriate, seeing as it wasn't your business what he did or who he did it with but you didn't really want to sit around and watch.

Although, just because you didn't want to didn't mean you were going to get up from your beach chair and do anything about it.

All you could do was sit and stare, waiting for something to change or for something to happen, it was pathetic, you knew that but you didn't care. It was like driving past a car accident and no matter how awful it was, you couldn't look away.

However, though nothing had happened quite yet, the rest of the party was starting to notice that something was up. You were perched under an umbrella, watching the pair of them with a focused gaze, and had been for at least half an hour.

It would have been hard to miss.

In any other instance, you would have looked crazy, something that your friends-namely Cheryl-would have pointed out but everyone knew how hard the breakup had been on both of you and you were dealing with it in your own way.

Your way just happened to be a little bit stranger than others.

Sweetpea had chosen to deal with it by turning his focus to someone else, but you couldn't tear your eyes away from him. For the past four years, you were sure that the two of you were going to be together forever. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that the illusion you'd built up came crumbling down.

Anyone would have struggled with that.

So, your friends collectively decided to give you a pass this time.

It wasn't until you stood from your seat that Jughead decided to step in, worried that something was going to happen. You had just been quietly stewing this whole time, and it was a fair assumption that you were planning something.

"Where're you going?" he asked, stopping in front of you to casually block your view from where Sweetpea and Josie were currently sucking face behind him. The last thing he needed was for you to see that.

It would only stoke the fire of your upset that much more.

Still, as subtle as he was trying to be, you saw right through Jughead's casual check in. There was no reason for him to want to talk now, other than whatever was going on at the other end of the pool. You weren't an idiot, although it was fair to assume that you may react rashly in this instance.

Jughead knew how hard this had to be for you and was not willing to underestimate your temper.

"I was going to go get a drink, am I allowed?" you questioned back, rolling your eyes at the strange interrogation. It was a little harsh, you knew that, but you couldn't help yourself.

Everyone else had to know just how bad an idea letting Sweetpea get close to Josie was but they were paying it no mind, even though he was going to get his heart broken. You could see it coming a mile away, but you couldn't stop it.

Though, it had crossed your mind to just go over there and push her in the pool. It wouldn't solve anything but there was a possibility that it would make you feel better.

"Do you want me to get you one? I think Cheryl's got some margaritas in the kitchen" he offered, knowing that there was a good chance there were margaritas somewhere. Those were the redheads favorite, and she had them at every soiree she threw.

You didn't really want one, but just as you were about to refuse, you decided that what he was suggesting was probably a good idea. Hyperfixating on whatever Pea was doing wasn't good for you, and a break could be nice.

So, you shook your head and decided to get up and go to the kitchen by yourself. If nothing else, you could get out of the sun for a little bit.

Now, that would have been perfect, if you were the only one going into the house but after ten minutes or so, Sweetpea also stood up from where he'd been sitting poolside to head in that direction as well.

It wasn't going to go well, but when Jughead started to intervene once again, Betty stopped him. "Leave them alone. They'll figure it out" she suggested, and while it probably wasn't a good idea, he listened to her.

Talking could be good for you, and there was only a slight chance someone would get seriously hurt in any kind of exchange, so he sat back down.

You two were adults, and you should be able to be near one another without some kind of explosion following or at least he hoped so.

~

When you heard the patio door slide open from the other side of the kitchen, you assumed that it was Cheryl coming for a refill or Veronica looking for a towel after her swim but when you spun around with the margarita pitcher in hand, that wasn't the case.

Standing there in his swim trunks and a blue flannel shirt was Sweetpea.

You had no idea what he wanted or why he would even bother coming in here but you naturally assumed he wanted nothing to do with you so you turned back around toward the counter. It was easier to just focus on pouring your drink instead of him.

After all, you didn't want to interact with him if you didn't have to. There was no telling how that would go.

"That any good?" he asked, the small talk between you almost painful though you'd yet to say anything. It was just so strange to go from talking about your future together to not even being able to say hello, and you didn't like it.

Personally, you would rather just pretend that he didn't exist but as Pea was to do, he wasn't going to make that easy.

"It's a drink" you shrugged, swallowing heavily before you even meant to. This wasn't what you wanted today to be like but while you were at it, you may as well have made this whole thing harder on you.

It would be too easy to just let it go.

He nodded at that, taking the pitcher from you once you'd finished pouring your own drink. The action caused your fingers to overlap slightly, something that made you pull back immediately. The whole thing was tense, and awkward but worse than that was the silence that followed.

The two of you just sat there for a bit, in complete silence before you decided to just go for it. No matter what happened, at least you had never lied to him.

"Josie's a pretty girl. Do you like her?" you wondered, if he was going to commit to small talk, you were going to do the same. Avoiding one another had went out the window as soon as he followed you into the house.

All Sweetpea did was laugh at first, the reality hitting him at the same time. Still, he'd come too far to just leave it now. "Yeah, I do. Do you like her?" he questioned, turning it on you in the way that he often did when he was teasing you.

Though, all the charm that he normally had at those times felt different now. You hated it, feeling like the person you once cared for more than anyone else was a complete stranger. You just weren't sure if that was ever going to change.

"I like her fine, though I'm not sure you can trust her to not break your heart" you allowed, not even bothering to hide how harsh that was. You didn't care. From where you were standing, that was the truth and you were tired of pretending that it wasn't.

Not that Pea saw it that way.

Frankly, he felt like there could really be a future with her, and he didn't take it kindly that you didn't. Anyone who knew him as well as you did should have known that.

"Wow. I really thought you would be happy for me. Guess I should have realized that was never going to happen" he scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest, proving to you that he was really upset. Though, that was the one good thing about being broken up, and that was that you didn't have to sugar coat anything for him.

Even as you watched him leave, you didn't have anything to say.

Pea was being stupid and if he wanted to ignore what was clearly going on in front of him, that was his business. You only knew one thing for sure, and that was the fact that you weren't going to be there to pick up the pieces when it happened.

If he got his heart broke, he could clean it up himself.

[riverdale-retread]

Riverdale S5 E10: The Pincushion Man - 5 Things I  Loved/ 3 things to consider

1. I love the fact that the actual makers of Riverdale have the same relationship with Jughead that a lot of the fanfic reading and writing fandom have with Jughead.  We all, collectively, enjoy his adorable traits - a gift for romantic gestures, devotion, resilience, bottomless kindness, courage, a sweet-spicy mix of feral anger and weepy softness. The point of Jughead for the makers seems to lie generally in taking things away from him, because he suffers in such an affecting, emotionally open way.   A lot of the fandom also revels in his pain and suffering.  Where the fandom differs from the makers, though, is that the fandom actively tries to give the nice things back to Jughead, and most of the Jughead intra-fandom arguments are about what that should be.

Which is to say, this midseason cliffhanger’s purpose was  to Take Things Away From Jughead.  Jughead starts this episode in a nice place (he’s housed at Archie’s, he’s got two stable jobs, he’s got some direction to his writing, he’s made a new friend, who is no less than the beautiful, kind, smart Tabitha). He ends it naked, out of his mind, bloody, alone in the woods and possibly summoned by aliens or rats or something, and his ex-NYC-girlfriend that he seems both afraid of and dislikes knows exactly where he lives.  He can’t even have a drug induced nostalgic sex dream stay a nice sex dream.

2. The Blossom altar and magick witchcraft whatever that was, was awesome.  I was HOOTING.  The Blossoms keep giving me so much to love.   This religion also has some sort of rosary or maybe it’s an offshoot of Catholicism? (Nana Rose totally looks like she’s praying using a rosary).  Everything about this - the pile of sage, Penelope Blossom’s crazed eyes, the fact that this table full of macabre stuff wasn’t just a display but an altar all this time, and the fact that THEY CAN SUMMON WITCH WIND filled me with joy.

3. I loved Betty stabbing Glen in the stomach.  Her antihero path continues - she is annoyed at having to make a cake each for the twins, you know, like, they’re not two separate people.  Asshole Aunty!  She uses tears and wiles to properly manipulate Charles, throws a knife at Chic (LOVED THIS TOO) and isn’t all that arsed about Charles being shot.  Like, Charles is shot in the chest (!) and Glen was stabbed in a way that she knew would miss organs, but the one Betty rushes to is GLEN and this seems like a strategic, calculating choice.

4.  I really LOVED, like, ADORED that Reggie’s way of trying to get the groves from Cheryl was to woo Nana Rose, and he wasn’t cheap about it either. Put on a silk tie, combed his hair back, and bought two dozen scarlet roses.  His full service smiling and winking with his handsome face, giving her some of his sexy young man energy was fabulous.  His willingness to set an entire forest on fire though was very disturbing.

5.  Things we learned about Jughead this episode were all very very interesting to me.  When he gets high he gets naked. . He dances around, which I just found so cute.  He has a really lovely chest tattoo - a big crown, a quill, and a bunch of roses. He likes bondage, with handcuffs. He is really scared of Jessica but also won’t refuse her advances even in hallucination.  He uses “being a Betty” as an insult, and it’s supposed to mean something to other people, and yet when his guard is down, he would have sex with Betty again in a second (I mean, fair. Have you seen her?).

3 things to think about 

a) So now we know that Archie was in Uzbekistan, and it’s like I’ve already said. It makes zero difference to this story, to know where he was.  Oh and just a funny bit - The reporter who calls Archie is named Sara Bellum = Cerebellum?  This cracked me up.

b) Neither Glen nor Jughead (!) understanding that actual people really don’t like it if you turn their lives into content under your name as a sole author if you don’t have prior permission is very amusing.    Like Glen seems to think Betty would be flattered by his delving into her entire family tree in this invasive way, and we’ve seen the Serpents’ reaction to however it is Jughead depicted them in his novel. 

c) I’m not sure why I hate Uncle Fucking Frank so much.   He’s constructed to be sort of sympathetic.  A nice enough looking, gruff, manly man, that Archie obviously likes and trusts on sight, who is on some sort of redemption arc from a dark past about which he feels very badly, and so on.  Like, normally, this type of character does not make me HATE them - feel bored by them because done to death, sure, but the level of vitriol I feel about Uncle Fucking Frank surprises me.  I WANT HIM DEAD.

[petalsmooth]

One more thing.

This show knows there is only ONE fanbase that not only did NOT react well to cheating/musical beds but has hardened about the guilty party. That fanbase mostly left the show, and those that remain are now Jabitha fans. 

Having another woman cheat on Jughead would NOT go over well with small number of people still remaining with this show and I think they know that. 

Lili stans? They can jerk you around and have Betty jump into anyone’s bed and you’ll excuse it. She could sleep with Archie’s uncle who her mom apparently will have a thing with and you’d excuse it. She could have a threesome with Penelope and Hiram and you’d find some way to move past it. 

In some respects you get what you deserve with these writer’s and my guess is it’s not coincidental we’re going back more to the type of romance Bughead had early on (only better) because RAS finally figured out 5 years too late why he was steadily losing Bughead/Cole fans.

Because what are we getting now? We’re getting conflict that serves to address insecurities and build the couple to a stronger plane rather than tear apart. We’re getting Jughead with a woman as devoted to him as he is to her. We get a woman who can readily apologize when wrong just like Jughead. We’re getting an equal partnership and commitment.

And sure it’s RAS and he’s capable of screwing it all up but it doesn’t change the fact this relationship is an anomaly amongst all the other toxic ships on the show and I do think it’s in part because Jughead/Cole fans didn’t bend over and excuse and accept everything they did last year like every other group in fandom did.

It won’t win back all the fans they lost but there is something to be said for not sacrificing your integrity for “endgame”.

[malereader-inserts]

This Side of Paradise

Fandom: Riverdale Pairing: Jughead Jones x Male!Reader Summary: so if you’re lonely, no need to show me, if you’re lonely come be lonely with me. a song you made for jughead. Word Count: 1,549 Warning: Smoking, mentions of weed A/n; inspired by the song this side of paradise by coyote theory

You stare at him inquisitively, you and Jughead are two different people. You were a music kid, very popular in school. You were in the band, and your school is very up the ass with music because there are so many talented kids. Jughead prefers to be alone and you were always in crowds.

Jughead had no bad feelings towards you, you went to the same elementary school, middle school and now high school - objectively you two grew up together alongside with Archie and Betty. He watched you from being his friend to drift away to bigger crowds, boys and girls alike to worship the ground you walk upon. 

You were a popular band in Riverdale, you get a lot of money for gigs and parties. Jughead knows you’re going to a successful music college, you’re going to make it big in the world. Even as a high schooler, your band is getting streams on your platforms, you were already a rising star. Jughead was happy for you, but there are times where he wished there wasn’t a big crowd or a group around you.

He wished it was old times, just you and him. 

That’s when he sees you under the bleachers, skipping out Chemistry. You were reading a book as Jughead smirks to see you. You were popular, but no one ever really knew you other than your band members, those you consider as best friends. 

“It’s been a while, (Y/n).” 

Your attention diverts towards him and give him an easy smile, “Alas, Jughead Jones arrives the scene.”

“You’re dramatic,” Jughead says laughing though, as he sits by you, “Why are you avoiding Chemistry.”

“Could say the same for you,” You replied, shrugging your shoulders, “Chemistry is boring and I had to get away from people, and you?”

“I like skipping class,” Jughead responded., “What are you doing?”

You flip the book to show him the cover, “Just reading, trying to find inspiration for a new song really. Been told we have to make a new single soon, to get the ball rolling for the new album. Nothing significant has happened in my life recently nor the two idiots.”

Jughead nodded, chuckling amusingly at your nicknames for your drummer and bass player. Jughead loves his best friend, but the atmosphere is different with you. You two are chilled that conversation flows smoother than ay interaction Jughead has ever had.

“How’s your dad?” You asked him after an hour into the conversation, a double period almost coming to an end.

Jughead shrugs, “He’s the same... Getting better though.”

“That’s good, heard you join your dad’s gang, but you’re always welcomed in my house whenever.”

Jughead smiles, keeping that thought in his mind. Every now and then, the two of you would meet under the bleachers, Jughead feels at ease and another feeling he couldn’t explain properly, but it was there. There was conversation ranging from his writing to the magnificence of Pop’s diner food. One point you talked about carnivals, and how you would love to go with someone like him.

You two talk about the weird happenings in Riverdale, sometimes his dreams and hopes in the future. He asked you how was songwriting going and you vented how you were stressed to the max that you had to roll a joint to calm yourself.

“Hey, Juggie,” You hummed, smoking the joint before offering him some which he takes - not every day you’re given weed, “Ask me why my heart’s inside my throat?”

“Really?” Jughead giggles, “This is what you’re asking me to do?”

“Aw come on,” You whine, pouting at him, “Ask it!”

“Why is your heart inside your throat?” He asked you, passing the joint back to you.

You take an inhale for a second, letting the smoke exit your mouth, “I’ve never been in love, I’ve been alone. I just feel like I’m living life asleep because I figure love is so strong it would make me feel so weak.”

“Are you lonely?” He asked you, almost in disbelief as you finished the joint, you shrugged your shoulders facing a high Jughead as well as you were.

“Why’s that surprising?”

“You’re always with a crowd, I figured it’s hard to be lonely with so many people surrounding you.”

“I’m alone in a crowded area, Jughead,” You say, “I like being alone, but to be lonely in a crowd, feeling lost? It’s a different vibe, atmosphere. A feeling I hate experiencing.”

“Right, well, I’m lonely most of the time.”

“Oh, I know, Jughead Jones.”

The bell rings signalling class period ended, at least the two of you had lunch next. You stand up, grabbing your bag to your shoulders as you did your old-time handshake with Jughead that you created with him when you were little. Your fingertips gentle caress his fingers, tips barely touching, a slow dance between the ends of the digits. 

Jughead started to notice that you were drifting away, the occasional smile across the room would be given. There was a period of time where you hadn’t met him under the bleachers, he felt offended, angered. So, when you accidentally met him under there as you were making a speedy escape he caught you.

“Want to explain why you’ve been so distant?” 

“Songwriting, I had a spark of an idea.”

“Right,” Jughead says, though you could tell you weren’t off the hook. 

So, you stayed with him as he vented. You listened to him, the occasional encouraging nods and reassuring smiles that you were listening to him. When he got everything off his chest, he smiles at you.

“You’re very passionate,” You concluded as Jughead scoffs.

“Says you, you’ve devoted your life to your band and music.”

You chuckled, nodded that he seems to one-up you, “Alright smart ass,” you rolled your eyes, “Hey, Juggie?”

He looks at you questioningly.

“I’ll be busy in the next few days perfecting the song, but Veronica is holding a gig at her speakeasy were I’ll be performing. You’ll get to hear the new song live.” 

“I’ll be there.”

Jughead stands by his dad in the speakeasy, he listens to his dad drone on about how he always thought you and him had something, but he couldn’t place a finger on it. You’re performing in the background, people engaging and some talking in hush tones. 

“This is our last song,” You introduced, “This is a new song a wrote, it’s called This Side of Paradise. It’s inspired and dedicated to a special someone in my life.”

Everyone looks at you, fiddle with the mic, you’re hair and the plectrum in your hand as you readjust your guitar strap. Jughead watches you curiously, as your eyes flicker from the strings of your guitar to his eyes. Captivating him in a trance.

“This is for you, Jughead.” 

FP pats his son’s shoulder tightly, gripping it hard and shaking him, proud that his son managed to inspire a local band into possible fame. The guitar strings vibrate the melody, Jughead can’t help but look at you as Veronica specially made different colour lights beam around the room but when it hits against you - it just feels different to Jughead.

“Ask me why my heart’s inside my throat,” You sang, Jughead falls a little bit in love as he recalls you asking him to ask that to you, “I’ve never been in love, I’ve been alone.”

Jughead smiles as you catch him smiling, you look down at your chords smiling to yourself.

“Are you lonely?” Your bandmates sing,

“I’ll be the only dream you seek, so if you’re lonely, no need to show me,” You sang, Jughead recalls you telling him that you could tell when he’s lonely, “If you’re lonely come be lonely with me.”

Jughead chuckles to himself, flashbacks of all the antics you and him had during under the bleachers. The conversations that were held there, stupid little enactments of your favourite plays.

“You’re the ground my feet won’t reach, so, if you’re lonely, darling you’re glowing.”

Jughead beams when he sees you brighten you smile as you sing the word darling. He gets a funny feeling when you address him as darling. FP looks at his son, with a knowing smile. His boy is in love, he hadn’t realised it until now. FP’s shoulders relax as he continues to watch the performance happily, throwing side glances at his love-stricken son. 

“Underneath the pale moonlight, dreaming of a circus life, carousels and Ferris heights,” You sang so angelic like, “I’ll be yours if you’ll be mine.”

Jughead stops as he noticed that when you sang that line, you stare directly at him. It’s almost like the crowd of people watch you had disappeared and in the room was just you and him. You’re directly serenading him, nothing else could ruin this moment. 

You continue to sing as Jughead returns to reality, he watches you lovingly, thinking of ways to accept your love. Because, at the moment, Jughead realise what that feeling was that was brewing in him for days, for weeks. 

It was the feeling home.

You’ve opened the door and it feels so safe, Jughead cannot help but melt. 

It’s home, right ahead of him, he can’t wait to settle back into warmth and love.

[arsenicpanda]

I feel like maybe some things were changed because RAS said we'd get an entire episode devoted to Jughead's back story and we got 15 min. Still so many unanswered questions. Maybe the blanks will be filled in later, maybe I'm reaching but this felt rushed and incomplete even by Riverdale standards. Why in debt? Why didn't he graduate? He didn't graduate right? Why the drinking/drugs, just because... Why not at least an illusion to FP and JB, they could have shot body doubles from behind. Why??

I have absolutely no idea. Also, why did Jughead's trauma visions involve two bright lights like a train or truck but then his trauma had nothing to do with either? Like, the episode had quality nonsense, but also Jughead was an asshole to Jessica, and what even was their relationship? Like, why did they ever date in the first place? Idk, this backstory kind of massacred my boy, all while answering, like, none of my questions other than "what was Jughead's specific trauma?" and I have like 5+ more questions more pressing than that (what is in that book? What did Jughead mean by talking about Betty blowing him off? Why is he in debt so bad that he's getting evicted? Did he graduate? Why did he start drinking? If Betty called to tell him she couldn't make it, why did he then leave a voicemail that sounded like he hadn't spoken to her?). ALSO, that he might not have graduated college...fuckin' bullshit it, I hate it here.