#so obviously he watched riverdale with his son and his husband

[dean-mikaelson]

friendly reminder that jack canonically made both his dads watch riverdale with him

[stina-is-a-punk-rocker]

jacqueline wilson’s ‘love lessons’

tw: abuse, pedophilia, characters making Bad Decisions, long unnecessary spiel about my childhood like I’m running a recipe blog

It’s funny how loads of the authors who helped shaped me into the vaguely humanoid being I am today have names beginning with the letter ‘J’; Judy Blume, Jeff Kinney, John Green, J.K. Rowling (yikes, I know) … and Jacqueline Wilson.

I’ve never owned a Jacqueline Wilson book of my own; they were always borrowed from a friend, or from a friend of a friend, or from a friend of a cousin- you get the gist. Her books, for me, come with an entire aesthetic: something reminiscent of yard sales, and reading under the covers with a flashlight, and being lulled into a false sense of security by the deceptively innocent Nick Sharratt illustration on the cover until someone’s best friend gets mowed over.

So I knew what I was getting into when I picked up Love Lessons. I knew this was going to be Fucked Up; and boy, was I right.

(Here’s the part where I warn you about spoilers.)

From an abusive dad to creepy child predator teachers to slut-shaming and victim blaming, this book has it all.

The main character is Prudence ‘Prue’ King, who is homeschooled at the beginning of the book, along with her sister, Grace. Their parents remain rooted in the early twentieth century, and are very strict about- well, everything. No TV, no computers, not a single mobile phone in the house; their clothing worse than the orphans’ from Annie; and their father remains distinctly distrustful of modern institutions like the school and the hospital; and so on, and so forth.

Daddy King suffers a stroke, and has to be taken to the hospital. Meanwhile, Mrs. King (a floppy, spineless woman who lives in fear and awe of her, frankly horrid, husband) sends the girls to school, behind the then invalid Mr. King’s back. Cue Prue and Grace being the freakshows of the school, with their strange clothing and overbearing mother.

Grace manages to make friends, but Prue remains alone. The kids are dicks, the teachers are dicks… well, all of them but one. And that’s the art teacher, Mr. Raxberry (I just couldn’t get over that name; it seems like something you’d name a mythical plant from Pixie Hollow or some shit. I’m assuming it isn’t an actual name, since the spelling & grammar check on my computer doesn’t seem to recognize it), or Rax, as he’s called.

Oh, yeah; Prudence’s favorite subject in school is art, and she’s a whiz at it. This is relevant, because reasons.

And here’s where stuff gets murky. Prue develops a crush on Rax- which is perfectly normal. I’m definitely no stranger to it; I’ve had crushes on my teachers, my mum admitted she used to think one of her professors was cute. And yeah, as I grew older, I grew out of those crushes and now have a markedly more refined taste in men (unless he’s 5’ 7’’, born in ’97 and named Bang Chan, I don’t want him); and my mum married my dad, so I’m assuming she did, too. Admittedly, now that my dad teaches at a university, it’s icky to think that there might be students who have crushes on him- but I digress.

My point is, loads of us have liked our teachers. But I doubt the majority of us have acted on it.

And Prue actively showing her interest in Rax isn’t the worst part. That’s a spot reserved for Rax reciprocating her feelings.

Guess Ezra Fitz and Ms. Grundy (yes, I watched Riverdale; please don’t cancel me) have a new addition to the Creep Club.

The age of consent in the UK is 16, if I’m not mistaken. Prue is 14. She’s just barely become a teenager, and she’s being preyed upon.

Because that is what Rax is. He’s a predator; he preys upon this vulnerable girl who’s never been in a relationship before- hell, she’s never even had friends- her father’s abusive, so she obviously doesn’t have the best experience when it comes to men- she’s unpopular at school, with the students and staff alike- and he lures her in. I don’t care how bloody nice he is to Sarah, or what a good dad he is (well, he’s really not, seeing as he cheated on the mother of his children WITH A BLOODY FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD CHILD)- the guy’s a fucking pedophile.

I was staunchly stuck at a yellow light with him; like, sure, maybe Prue thinks he’s flirting with her- maybe she’s looking at this all wrong, she doesn’t know how relationships work- see, he drew a picture of Sarah, too, in his secret notebook- Prue’s just reading into this too much- up until he says he loves her.

Dude. Humbert fucking Humbert. She’s fourteen, for Christ’s sake, and you’re married. You have two children. She’s a child. She’s probably closer to your son’s age than she is to yours.

(This is the part where I bury my head in my pillow. And scream. Extensively, and with passion.)

The book does make some genuinely good commentary on slut-shaming and victim blaming and abusive parenting. And on one hand, I can see why so many people find issue with the romanticization of the when I kissed the teacher trope- but I can defend it, too.

The book is in Prue’s perspective. She thinks she’s in love with Rax, so obviously, she’s not going to throw in some valuable moral at the end- because she’s too young and inexperienced to think otherwise. And sadly, there are loads of instances of child abuse that go unreported because the victims just don’t know better.

What I have issue with is how the school dealt with it, ultimately. Prudence, a child, has to deal with the consequences of the actions of a literal child predator. Sure, Rax ‘clears his name’ by cooking up some bullshit story about how it was only a crush and he didn’t encourage it, but you’d think other adults would know better and, oh, I dunno- dig deeper into it, instead of blaming it on a child?

“She says you told Mr. Raxberry you loved him and he held you in his arms and fondled you.”

Which Prudence denies, because, again, she doesn’t know better. She then goes on to say that they did nothing wrong. To which the adult speaking to her, in this case, the principal, Miss Wilmott, goes on to say:

“I’m not sure that’s entirely true… I feel that there are some aspects of your friendship that could be considered inappropriate.”

FYI, lady, he kissed her- multiple times (not that kissing her once makes him any more redeemable), and told her he loved her, and admitted to fantasizing about running away with her and leaving his family behind. Fun fact: do you know Prudence is underage?

You’d think that Miss Wilmott would maybe give this whole fiasco a favorable ending, but it turns out she listens to school gossip;

“I haven’t been at all happy with your attitude. You don’t seem to understand how to behave in school. I’ve heard tales of unsuitable underwear and then a silly romance with one of the boys in your class. I feel that in the space of a few short weeks you’ve made rather a bad name for yourself… I don’t know whether you intend to be deliberately insolent but you certainly come across as an unpleasantly opinionated and arrogant girl… I can’t help feeling that you’ll be much better off elsewhere. I shall try hard to engineer a suitable transfer to another school.”

And then she comes out with this gem:

“If you won’t leave, then I shall have to ensure that Mr. Raxberry finds another position.”

“No, you can’t do that! He’s a brilliant teacher.”

“You should have thought of that before you started acting in this ridiculous and precocious manner. If I were another kind of headteacher, I would have Mr. Raxberry instantly suspended. There could even be a court case. He would not only lose his job, he could find himself in very serious trouble. Did you ever stop to think about that?”

Girlboss, gaslight and gatekeep. The fucking trifecta.

Also, by ‘another kind of headteacher’, does she mean the kind of headteacher WHO DOESN’T LET CHILD PREDATORS ROAM FREELY WITHIN THEIR HALLS?

This bitch is out here blaming a child, a literal child, for the crimes of an adult man.

The only time Prue seems aware of the fact that Mr. Raxberry is actually a very shit person is her immediate thoughts that follow after she tells Miss Wilmott she’ll take the fall;

I so wanted to save darling Rax- and yet why hadn’t he wanted to save me? Had he told Miss Wilmott it was all my fault, that I’d got a ridiculous crush on him, that I’d made ludicrous advances to him? … I wanted to tell this horrible, patronizing woman how hungrily he’d kissed me, but I couldn’t do it. I loved him. I had to help him.

NO, SWEETHEART; YOU MOST DEFINITELY DO NOT.

And maybe I’m going overboard with all these excerpts, but here’s what Rax has to tell Prue, after school, following her expulsion:

“I let her think the worst of you, the best of me, just to save my skin. I said it was ridiculous talking about a love affair between us. I said you simply had a crush on me, and that I was just trying to be kind… You were brave enough to stand up to me and force me to acknowledge the truth… I love you… That’s why I had to take a risk and see you this one last time. I didn’t want you to think I didn’t care… Every night when I close my eyes, I’ll think of us together in this car and how badly I wanted to drive off with you. I’ll imagine us walking hand in hand at the water’s edge… I wish I wasn’t such a coward.”

(I burrow into the pillow further. I’m trying to suffocate myself.)

And that’s where I think Wilson went wrong. Sure, Prudence getting expelled for something that was completely out of her hands is unfair, and horrible, but it’s real. That shit can happen.

What’s bad is showing Rax in a positive light after all that. If only Wilson had written Rax to not be the Romeo he thinks he is. Make him ignore Prudence, throw her under the bus in front of her face, instead of this star-crossed lovers bullshit it’s made out to be. Show your younger audience that Rax is not a good man. I’ve got a little over two weeks left for my twentieth; I can see why this is unacceptable. But I was a little younger than Prue when I watched Pretty Little Liars, and my only gripe with Aria dating Ezra was that Noel Kahn was so much cuter.

It shows when you scroll down the Goodreads reviews; you’ve got adults giving it one or two stars, and teenagers giving it four or five, with their biggest complaints being, “but Toby was cuter!!!”

Other non-pedophilia related complaints regarding the book include: Prudence being unlikable- which I didn’t really notice, considering she reacted to some people way better than I would’ve, even at 19 (which probably says a lot more about me than it does about Prue, but oh well). Still, Prudence obviously isn’t the most prudent of people- and again, she’s fourteen. Look me in eye and tell me you weren’t an arsehole at that age (unless you’re fourteen now, in which case, I assure you that you’ll look back on yourself someday and go ‘wtf was I thinking’). Bringing up Toby’s dyslexia in an argument was low, though.

There were people who thought the Kings’ almost-Amish lifestyle was exaggerated and unrealistic, but I assure you, it may very well be real. There are 8 billion people on the world- it’s fair to assume that several of them are complete weirdos.

Grace was a sweet character, and I adored her with every fiber of my being. As were her friends Iggy and Figgy. Honestly, I would’ve loved a book about Iggy, Figgy and Piggy’s (mis)adventures too.

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Riverdale 5x11-5x14

So I might have fallen behind a bit with Riverdale and have only now just caught up with the new episodes post break. I decided writing reviews for each episode was going to take too much time and to be honest I don’t have too much to say so I’m just going to do a quick run down of what I thought of the episodes and then go back to single episode reviews from 5x15 onwards. Overall I’m not overly impressed with the episodes, I feel like the season started out really good but as its gone on its just kind of lost its way and I don’t know if that is covid related and all the breaks but I haven’t enjoyed the episodes as much post like episode 8, though I liked ep 10 better than episode 9. But anyway lets get into the reviews. As always these are just my own opinions and there will be spoilers.  

5x11

So the episode starts off with Veronica and Archie deciding to put a pause on their relationship until her and Chad are officially divorced which I personally think they should have done from the start because the way they got back together was way to fast, I mean she told Chad she wanted a divorce, kissed Archie and was sleeping with him, then she goes back to new york and sleeps with chad all in the space of like 2 episodes. Though I think given their scene at the end when Veronica is pushing a little for him to change his mind I don’t think she is as much on board with their pause as Archie. I will be honest I’m not really enjoying the way they’ve written Veronica this season I actually think they’ve made her kind of unlikable at times and she sometimes comes across a bit selfish I also feel like they don’t really know what to do with her character anymore. But I am glad Veronica and Archie have decided to take the break however I also think it might be a bit ominous for Varchie that they’ve done this now which I’ll get into more in a separate post. 

Ok this might be a little mean of me but I was kind of happy when Archie called out Veronica when she came to him for help about her blue opal. About how she went to new york despite him asking her not to and about how she then came back without a divorce and having slept with her husband and not even telling him why she can’t divorce him just yet. But Archie is still Archie so naturally he does help her anyway. 

Speaking of Veronica’s blue opal I did find it kind of hilarious that she seemed to care more about that then she did her father’s life. But you know fair. 

Archie isn’t the only one Veronica asks for help though she also gets assistance from Reggie and we learn more about how he ended up working for Hiram, turns out his father is still running for the worst dad of eternity award and got into debt that Reggie is now working off. I did like the Veggie scenes though and I am really glad that reggie is getting more screen time. 

This episode was an episode for the return of the side characters, Dodger and Darla are back and causing problems as per usual. Also there was that guy, Doc, Jughead was saved by who we heard about once in a story Jughead told about how as a kid he watched a guy being beat by some rich guys. To be honest I wasn’t all that interested in Jughead’s storyline this episode. I mean is that something that actually happens? Rich guys just randomly beating up homeless people like they did with Juggie and  Doc. I’m not saying it doesn’t I just thought it was a bit nonsensical for these guys just to come out of a club and start beating up a guy just because. Still bless Doc for coming to the rescue and taking care of Jughead, I did like Doc and I wouldn’t mind seeing him again. But another thing that didn’t make sense to me is that Jughead didn’t recognise Doc. Like he was old enough to remember this traumatic experience of watching a guy get beat and feeling guilty about not helping but doesn’t recognise the guy until he gives Juggie his name. Yet Doc was able to recognise Jughead even though the last time he saw him was a child? Overall I am not sure what the point of Jughead’s storyline was this episode other than to maybe show how messed up he is at the moment with the blackouts and hallucinations, I suppose it was also so he could reach the realisation that he needed to go back to new york and work out what happened to him when he lost those days. He does leave a really sweet voicemail for tabitha before he goes though and promises to finish their dance. 

The best part of this episode though was the storyline with Tabitha and Betty, also Jessica, and their search for Jughead. I really liked the interaction between Betty and Tabitha and I like that they are becoming friends. Tabitha was obviously really worried about Jughead. But Betty, wow, she couldn’t be less bothered about Jughead could she. I mean after hearing the voicemail he left for her I can understand why Betty is reluctant to get involved with anything to do with Jughead because that voicemail was yikes. I mean Betty did cheat and that clearly hurt Jughead so I am not saying that Betty is entirely blameless but I would expect the voicemail was still a shock as it had been five years since she had cheated and we know from the most recent episode (ep 14) that she and Juggie were amicable with each other and would talk on the phone so this probably came out of nowhere for her. However Betty is Betty and so she still helps. Which ultimately leads to Jessica showing up and I know we are suppose to hate Jessica but, like, I love Jessica. I was thoroughly entertained by her antics and thought she was actually kind of funny. She’s another character where I wouldn’t mind if she just randomly pops up and causes some trouble now and again. In the end as suspected Jessica is actually there for ulterior motives and wants Jughead’s manuscript. I actually really felt for her when she explained that she wanted it because she was afraid Jughead had written something that would look bad to her family and friends. It’s the same as how the serpents were upset about how he wrote them in the outcasts and how he threatens Betty saying once people read his books they’ll all know what kind of person she really is. I’ve spoken about it before but Jughead often uses his friends and others peoples stories in his writing and I am glad that the writers of the show are now showing the effect that has on the people who are the subjects of his writing. That being said I am worried that might not be the true reason Jessica took the manuscript and its possible she might actually try to publish it herself. Also it was kind of funny seeing Betty and Tabitha on the shrooms but, not ok Jessica, don’t drug people. 

Archie was rounding up all the convicts this episode and to be honest I don’t really have much to say about this other than I thought it was really smart to use this as a way of getting money out of Hiram so they can repair the school that Hiram had trashed. 

Meanwhile Penelope has started a ministry which means she gets early release from prison. Also I absolutely loved the expressions of cheryl and nana rose when Penelope told them about the ministry. I am glad that Cheryl at first was very wary of her mothers plans as oppose to just immediately going along with it, but alas she does get roped in to it when she opens a chest and finds Jason’s burned skeleton inside. I mean can we please please just let that poor guy rest in piece. Please. At this point poor Jason has been stuffed in a freezer, dumped in a river, buried and exhumed twice, set on fire in a viking burial and now he is stuffed in a trunk. Also I am a bit confused. Was Cheryl snooping in her mother’s room and discovered Jason’s remains there or was it her room and she was the one that had recovered him? But anywhere Cheryl seems to have a revelation when she sees the bird and ends up embracing the ministry life. 

5x12 

So episode twelve is kind of like the breakfast club episode where it is out of the timeline and kind of like a standalone episode but still has information about the plot of the season. This episode is the backstory of Hiram but we also get some great Reggie development in this episode. I didn’t hate the episode as much as I thought I was going to when I found out there was going to be a hiram backstory episode, but I also don’t think it was very accurate in terms of what we already knew from previous episodes. I think there were a lot of continuity errors. But those aside it was a ok episode. We learn that Hiram and his dad were shoe polishers and that Hiram clearly hated the way they were treated because they were poor and wanted more from life. We also learn that it was his father who first began searching for palladium after learning about it from a business man in new york and that’s why they decided to move to Riverdale. Hiram’s motives are to finish what his father started. Hiram catches the attention of a drug dealer guy and starts running drugs and gets money and new shoes and a car. His parents are obvious suspicious and aren’t happy about him getting caught up with those guys so his dad goes to tell the mob leader that he will fire his son or he’ll go to the cops which leads to him being killed by the mob leader. Hiram then kills the mob leader’s men and pretty much drives him out of town and then he takes over. Hiram clearly loved his dad but they had issues. Hiram would get very angry about the way others would treat them but his dad would often shrug it off. But I do think losing his dad had a big impact on Hiram and it was interesting to learn more about his past. 

The other kind of plot in this episode was with Reggie and his dad which was obviously suppose to mirror Hiram and his dad. Only in this scenario Hiram is the criminal and Reggie is young Hiram. Reggie manages to pay off his dad debt but wants to still work for Hiram meanwhile his dad wants Reggie to quit working for Hiram. He even like Hiram’s father did in the past visits Hiram and asks him to let Reggie go. What’s interesting is that Hiram does, I am assuming its because in that moment Reggie’s father reminded him of his own father and he kind of forces Reggie into making the decision he himself wished he had made. But first he gets Reggie’s and Hermosa’s help in finding and killing the mob boss finally avenging his father’s death. Hiram also tells Reggie to go back to his father and forgive him and here is my problem with this. I get that its because Hiram regrets all the disagreements and the falling out he had with his own father and there’s Reggie and he reminds Hiram of his younger self and Reggie’s situation reminds him of his past but Hiram’s dad was a decent person and was a good father who always wanted the best for his son. Reggie’s dad on the other hand used to regularly abuse and beat his son. Yes he does show concern for Reggie in this episode but that doesn’t erase the years of abuse he inflicted on his son. It’s not the same and I honestly don’t think his father deserves Reggie’s forgiveness. That being said I suppose if Reggie is forgiving his dad not for his dad’s sake  but for himself because he thinks that will help him heal and move on that I can be ok with that. 

Come the end of the episode I don’t think I hate Hiram any less but still his backstory was interesting and I am glad that Reggie isn’t working with him anymore.    

5x13

Out of all of these four episodes this one was the one I liked the most. So in this section I am going to divide it by plotline/characters. 

Archie 

So the episode starts out really intensely with Archie having a nightmare about his time at war and Eric losing his leg which honestly looks horrendous and I am not at all surprised that both Archie and Eric are now suffering from PTSD. It gets a bit dangerous too when Eric pulls a gun on Archie whilst having a flashback. Uncle Frank tries to help them by getting them a dog. As someone who actually has a therapy dog myself I know this is something that does actually help. But we do learn that sadly Vegas passed away whilst Archie was deployed. Also the dog Frank got is one that was used in dog fighting and ends up biting Eric. Archie’s reaction to finding out that there is dog fighting ring in Riverdale is to track them down and beat them up. I do think Archie was really struggling this episode, he was trying to get help for Eric but it is obvious that he himself also needs help. I actually really related to Archie and Eric struggling to get help for their mental health because it is something I have gone through myself and it can be really frustrating and can make you feel kind of helpless and I actually think they did a good job of showing that, which considering its Riverdale I was pleasantly surprised by. We also learn some more about Archie’s time in the war when he tells Frank the story about Bingo. At first he tells us that Bingo was a stray dog that their unit adopted who got caught in no man’s land. It is actually a rather harrowing scene where you see Archie and Eric in the trenches and Eric is badly hurt and you can hear this dog yelping in the background. It’s even more harrowing when you learn that actually Bingo wasn’t a dog but one of the soldiers in their unit. I feel like Archie changed it to being a dog to deal with the trauma of it all but when Eric tells Frank the truth and he then asks Archie about it Archie really has to confront what actually happened and that loss and grief of losing his friend in such a brutal way. Its obvious that Archie also feels responsible because he was put in that awful position of having to choose between saving Eric or saving Bingo he feels like because of the choice he made Bingo died. Despite what Frank said about not being able to save everyone I think he thought he could save them both and its really eating him up that he ‘let’ Bingo die. I also think that’s why he is so focussed on saving the town because he thinks it’s a way of making amends for not being able to save his men. I do think it was really sweet that Frank and Eric organised  the dog rehoming thing to help Archie get some of his hopeful spirit back and show him that there are still some good people out there. They also decide to name their new dog Bingo in honour of their friend which is also kind of sweet. But I do still think Archie has a long way to go in his recovery as by the end of the episode we see him have a nightmare and then a hallucination of bingo but he does at least admit to the therapist that calls him that whilst he was calling on behalf of his friend he too needs help. I mean I am glad that he is going to try to get some help but I am still worried for Archie given what happens in ep 14 which I’ll talk about more in the section for that episode. Also we got that little Barchie crumb of the light shining through his window, a lit window in the dark.  

Betty and Tabitha 

So Betty and Tabitha have been working together to try and find the truck killer and whilst trying to get information out of a trucker Glen pops up and we find out that he has been arresting the girls working the lonely highway. I mean there is a killer out there and these girls are their victims, they are struggling to make ends meet and have been forced into this kind of work and Glen instead of focussing on catching the killer is arresting them, yup I agree with Betty, girl should’ve stabbed him harder. We also learn that Betty apparently quit the FBI and did I miss that because I don’t remember her quitting? I remember Glen took over the case and moved it out of Riverdale but I don’t remember her quitting altogether. But anyway Glen then takes her badge and gun which I guess is fair if she has quit and isn’t an agent anymore but at least Betty is actually trying to catch the killer unlike Glen who is clearly not. Watch it turn out to be him that is the truck killer, go on Riverdale I dare you. Despite being warned off by Glen Betty and Tabitha are still determined to put a stop to the murders and so decide to hold a coyote ugly night. I actually thought this was a really clever way of getting information and creating a database. In order to get entry to the venue all truckers have to show their ID and give their licence registration.  am a big supporter of characters acting smart so I did like that plan. Also I love the coyote ugly movie (don’t judge me) so extra win there. I also like that the plan did incorporate alot of the characters. One thing I have been enjoying this season is that they are mixing up who is interacting with who. You had Alice working the bar, the girls dancing to keep the truckers entertained whilst Reggie and Kev searched the vans. Though I do have a question when they find the blood in the back of the truck and Betty says her and Reggie and Kevin are with the FBI where did they get those FBI jackets from? Are they just easy to come by like part of a Halloween costume or something? There is another thing that I thought was funny and that was that Betty makes it clear that no one is to go off alone with a trucker and yet at the end of the episode she does exactly that and it just so happens to be the killer who comes at her with a chainsaw of all things which was a little ott in my opinion but this is Riverdale so I suppose what was I suspecting. But at least Betty manages to capture him and she does the sensible thing and turns him over to the proper authorities, or no wait what was I thinking of course she doesn’t this is Riverdale so she’s just going to question him herself. Come one you all know it wouldn’t be as entertaining if she just handed him over to the FBI. 

Veronica and Reggie

I really liked the storyline of Veggie working together in season 3 so I was really happy to see them working together again and I really enjoyed their scenes. I just think they work really well as a team. They also come up with a really great idea for getting investors whilst also getting one up on old Hiram. Obviously Reggie knows alot about what is going on with Soldale and knows that houses will never be built there. So they phone Hiram’s investors and tell them this little rumour that Soldale is a bad investment and convinces them to invest with them instead. This was actually another smart move by the characters so again I support it. And anything that ruins Hiram’s day is a win to me. 

Cheryl and Kevin

Kevin after a little encouragement from Cheryl after she finds him cruising again decides to talk it out with Fangs but unfortunately for him and the viewers we fins out that Kangs ahs moved on...with Moose? I mean I feel for Kev its also upsetting to find out your ex has moved on I imagine it is even worse when your ex has moved on with your other ex. Kevin then also has a bit of a inner crisis when he receives a teacher of the year award and realises that this is not at all where he was expecting his life to be. He had dreamed of being in new york, writing and directing instead he is still in Riverdale and he’s still cruising and unlucky in love. Cheryl’s solution to all of Kevin’s problems is to invite him to join her cult, sorry ministry. At first Kevin is reluctant and not really interested but is finally brought around with the temptation of a musical number. So yup Kevin has joined Cheryl as a believer. Now I am going to surprise myself here and say I am actually interested to see where they take this and where this story with Cheryl and Kevin goes because from the promo pics and what not it looks like they are going to be taking over as leaders of the ministry. I don’t think this is at all a healthy copying mechanism for either of them though and I hope they do get actual real help soonish.   

5x14

This was a weird episode and was kind of told in the style of the night gallery show episodes where Cheryl invites Minerva over and shows her three paintings and then tells her the story behind each. So again I am going to split this part in the three storylines we get told. 

Archie

The first one is a painting of Archie as a miner, the portrait itself hilariously did remind me of the cover of a bad romance novel but the story itself wasn’t too bad actually I think out of the three I found his the most interesting. It does give us some more information about the shows plot for this season, pardon about one of this seasons plots. Cheryl has finally discovered that their is palladium under her maple groves and has the genius idea of digging it up before Hiram does. Like seriously why didn’t anyone think of this earlier? I mean it also ties into that long forgotten plot from the beginning of the series that Cheryl is indebt after spending seven years renovating her home. I am assuming she wants the palladium to cover those debts. So naturally she hires Archie and his construction crew to mine it for her because everyone knows that construction and mining are basically the same thing right? Though I did think it was really funny when Cheryl pointed out that Archie so far has been teacher, coach, fireman and bounty hunter. At least the show is aware of its own ridiculousness. So Archie and the boys decide to mine for the Palladium but whilst down there Archie has more hallucinations about Bingo. We also see Archie in therapy and we find out that Eric is also getting help and this actually does seem to be helping Eric which is good. Whilst initially it looks like things are improving for Archie he then gets a really bad reaction when down in the mines and becomes very paranoid which results in him storming into the therapists office and behaving very erratically accusing her of drugging him and working against her which clearly frightens her. When everyone else in the mines also then starts hallucinating Frank realises that there is carbon monoxide down there and that is what is causing the visions and for everyone to start acting aggressively. Surprisingly this is actually an accurate representation of what can happen with high exposure to carbon monoxide and we do love us some accuracy. However it does lead to one of the most frustrating scenes in the episode when Archie goes back to the therapist and begs her not to cut him lose explaining about the carbon monoxide and about how he is now seeing not just Bingo but all the men he lost. The therapist tells Archie that she is afraid to be around him and that if he is having hallucinations to that level that she doesn’t think he is safe to be around anyone. Like what kind of therapist is this. This is not what a therapist would do. If she was afraid to be alone with him then refer him to another therapist and if you are worried he’s a danger to others than admit him to a psychiatric hospital where he can safely get help. This therapist just kind of washed her hands of it and said not my problem. But this has left me feeling really worried about Archie and I do feel like he might end up going really dark and spiralling.

I do think that the gas could actually be leaking into the town from the mines though. I was thinking about it when watching the episodes  but alot of the characters are having hallucinations and visions of some kind and at first it seems like it is related to that characters trauma but now I am starting to wonder if it is actually because of the gas. It could also explain the Mothmen hallucinations too. Speaking of the Mothmen they got a mention in this episode that made me happy. When taking a lunch break Fangs tells the story about how some of the truckers used to be miners and they tell stories about humanoid cannibalistic creatures that lived underground. Why does this make me happy you may ask well because I have been predicted since the beginning of the season that at some point all the the storylines will converge and I am hoping that come the end of the season we will get a big team up with all the characters. Previously we have had Betty’s storyline with the highway killer being linked to Jughead’s storyline of the mothmen and now we’ve just had the link between Archie’s storyline and Betty and Jughead’s. Which means I am one step closer to my big team up.    

Jughead

So Jughead’s storyline was my least favourite out the three. We have finally learned the truth, the big mystery of what happened to Jughead that caused him to lose three days of his life. He was in a hole. Yup that’s it he just fell in a hole, got rabies and then hallucinated a rat king. Underwhelming is the best way I can describe what I thought of that. There were so many great theories out there on what could have happened that caused Jughead to have this trauma so bad that he literally mentally blocked it out and what we got instead was just that he got upset that Betty, who he broke up with five years ago, didn’t come to his book launch so he got drunk and fell into the sewers. I kind of feel like with them bringing back the voicemail, with him saying betty was the one that lead him out of the dark, that they are kind of making it all Betty’s fault, like she is the reason for his trauma and all his problems and if she just pays him some attention it’ll all be magically fixed and almost like its her responsibility to save him and I am not sure I like that. Don’t get me wrong I am not saying that your girlfriend cheating on you with your best friend wouldn’t do a number on you, but it is all about Betty when Archie betrayed him too. Like where is Jughead being cut up about the fact that Archie who was like a brother to him kissed his girlfriend? I don’t know maybe its just me but I am finding it a little one sided. I also think it shows how unhealthy his relationship with betty has become. I think if it gets to the point where you can’t function without a person then that’s not good and that’s not healthy and again maybe it is just me but I don’t see that as romantic which I am not sure if they are trying to play it off that way or not. I did feel really bad for Juggie though when he talks about how even though he disappeared into the dark for three days no one missed him and that he felt really alone. I do think maybe that’s more where his trauma comes from and I kind of wish the writers had developed that more rather than having it again be solely about Betty. Like if we had seen him reaching out to several people and inviting them to his book launch, like a text to his dad, a phone call to his sister or mum, reaching out to Archie or Veronica and then all of them making excuses about how they are busy and can’t come. Then have him invite betty and her say yes at first and you see him relieved because he has someone coming. Then have her cancel and him spiral. I just think it would have had a bigger impact. Instead, and maybe this is a bit harsh, but it came off as him just being some drunk who can’t get over his ex ad kind of like with Veronica I kind of feel like the writers are making the characters unlikeable. And to make it clear my problem here is with the writing not the actual characters themselves but to me they’ve at times made veronica seem unlikeable like when she sleeps with Chad, Jughead with the voicemail to Betty, Betty with her not seeming to care at all about Jughead, Archie with him sleeping with Betty and then after stopping that getting right with Veronica the next day. I don’t know if its just that they are trying to keep the core four separate for some reason? But it just seems a bit off, I know I said I wanted more varying interactions between the characters but I didn’t mean at the expense of the core four relationships. But maybe they are trying to show how it can take time to reconnect with old friends when you’ve been away from each other for a long time? 

Anyway back to Jughead the other thing that was a little bit annoying for me was that the timeline was a little confusing. When Jughead is telling the story it seems like it all happened in like a year but its not its spread out over the seven years he was gone. We know that the voicemail was 2 years ago so putting it at five years into the time jump and that was the night he fell into the sinkhole. But in the story it seems like its only a few days later that Archie called when actually it would have been two years after Juggie fell in a deep dark hole. But then I suppose a confusing timeline is peak Riverdale so. But yeah I did find it made his story a bit confusing which was frustrating. 

However Jughead does seem a bit more optimistic come the end of his story and I think hopefully things are going to start getting better for him I hope he does get some support from his friends though like Tabitha and Archie, I also hope he clears the air with Betty. Just so he isn’t feeling so isolated and alone.  

Betty

So the last story is Betty trying to find out where Polly is from the trucker serial killer that she has chained up in her shop class at high school. Again not much to say about this. I thought it was smart to use Alice as a way to emotionally manipulate the killer and to make Polly seem human to him so he’ll tell them where she is. This does backfire however and we end up with that ridiculous scene where Alice tells Betty then as her mother she is giving her permission to kill him. Alice honey I’m not sure but my mum said it was ok is going to hold up too well in a court of law. Betty decided instead to see if she can scare him into telling her the truth. So she threatens him with some pretty dark stuff, saying she will cut off his feet, then his legs and the knees then the groin. Then his wrists and that he might have a heart attack at that point, but that she reckons he is stronger than that and that she has some tricks up her sleeve. Which is really dark betty really dark. Then when she is collecting a chainsaw she ahs a flashback and we find out that this is what TBK said to her which somehow makes it even scarier and worse, I really need Betty to talk to someone about this asap because just like I am with Archie, I am worried about where she is heading. We never find out whether she was actually going to go through with cutting up the trucker because when she gets back he has bitten off his own tongue and swallowed it so he would choke. Betty does figure out though that they are dealing with a family of killers who are hunting their victims.   

Phew ok so that is all of the episodes that I missed. I know I complained alot in this review so apologies for that. To end on a positive note I am very excited for the next episode as we are going to be getting the pussycats back so I am hoping for a good episode.    

[frvnklbottom]

                                                            INTRODUCING FRANK LONGBOTTOM…

son. husband. soon to be father.

FRANK LONGBOTTOM is AN ORDER MEMBER in the war, even though HIS official job is as AN AUROR. the TWENTY-FOUR year old PUREBLOOD is known to be COMPASSIONATE and DEDICATED but also SHORT-TEMPERED and IMPULSIVE. some might label them as THE FERVOUR.

character inspo: william magnusson ( skam ), jake peralta ( brooklyn-nine-nine ), ben wyatt ( parks and recreation ), archie andrews ( riverdale ), steve harrington ( stranger things )

                                                                                                                   BACKGROUND

franklin augusta longbottom was born to franklin sr. & augusta longbottom ( née macmillan ) on the 26th of june 1955, in a time where the longbottoms were still a major part of pureblood society. 

frank grew up surrounded by parties and purists, perfect little children and strict parents who had drilled certain beliefs into those frank called friend. the longbottom’s had been a prominent name in this society for generations, and augusta and frank sr. had always been far too quiet to say anything to the contrary. 

behind closed doors, however, they would pull frank aside and remind him that that wasn’t the way to think. they would teach him about the importance of acceptance and recognising that some people are going to be different than you and that that’s okay.

occasionally frank would try and talk about this with his pureblood friends, but they never wanted to listen --- they’d been taught something completely different and that was what they believed. that was that.

as frank grew up and tensions started to rise, it became clear to frank sr. and augusta that they couldn’t just let this slide anymore --- there were sides to this debate now drawn with a clear line and they knew now what they believed. and so just after frank had turned eleven, two months before he was set to go to hogwarts, the longbottom’s announced their allegiance with the muggleborns and split themselves from pureblood society.

at first, frank was devastated. he was too young to really understand how serious things were getting, and all he could see was his parents pulling him away from his childhood friends and telling him not to even talk to them anymore. he protested for weeks before they finally sat him down and explained to him the gravitas of the situation.

knowing that he was about to start at hogwarts with all those he had just turned his back on, frank decided it would be best to just completely ignore them rather than acknowledge that they were now on different sides. this was helped when the sorting hat landed him in gryffindor, the complete opposite to where most of his ex-friends ended up in slytherin.

to put it simply, frank had the time of his life at hogwarts. 

with a great understanding of magic and magical society as he was taught in his younger years, other students flocked to him and he soon became one of the most popular kids in his grade. 

it wasn’t just that he was intelligent, either --- he was fun. he knew how to let loose and how to bend rules so that he could really enjoy his time at hogwarts to the fullest. he was definitely known to get into trouble sometimes, occasionally taking this rulebending too far and ending up in the middle of the black lake or watching as the slytherin change rooms beneath the quidditch pitch went up in flames ( an accident, he swears ) and despite the numerous detentions he received over the years, he still ended up with the head boy badge pinned to his chest in his final year.

it was also during his hogwarts years that he met alice fortescue --- and from the moment he lay eyes on her, he knew she was the woman he was going to end up with. after a lot of fluffing around ( frank dating other girls, ignoring his feelings as they deepened and deepened ) they finally confessed their love in sixth year and they’ve been together ever since. 

i love love.

frank is also credited for being the president of the what would marlene do club in his last few years. he took his job very seriously.

after graduating with o’s and e’s in nearly every class, frank immediately signed on to join the auror program.

he always knew that he wanted to be an auror. as soon as his parents tugged him away from the purists and opened his eyes to the fracture in magical society between purebloods and muggleborns, he knew that he wanted to help the cause ( for the right side, that is ). he didn’t out about the ootp until a year after his graduating and obviously he joined immediately, but without that knowledge he assumed that being an auror was the best possible way to help people.

from the moment he started training, it was clear that he was set to be one of the best auror’s the program had ever seen. he topped all of his classes during the training program and was moved quickly to work with one of the top aurors ( alastor moody ) once he was fully trained. now fully certified, he is already working amongst the high-ranking officials at just twenty-four years of age and is set to receive a promotion to senior auror very soon.

                                                                                                                                      MISCELLANEOUS

parents & childhood

apart from the rocky periods in which they were involved in pureblood society, frank’s childhood was relatively normal. he was spoiled rotten, absolutely adored by his parents, and felt an especially tight bond with his father. frank sr. would often go out and try to teach frank quidditch in their spacious back garden, but frank would always flop --- he was never set to be a quidditch player ( but he’d be damned if he wasn’t the best damn cheerleader in the stands ).

although he is now retired, frank sr. used to work as an employee at the ministry for the department of international magical cooperation. this often meant he was travelling a lot, but this never created a sever between the family. frank sr. would always make up for it, anyway, by bringing back little trinkets from all the places he visited. frank now has a collection sitting on his nightstand in his and alice’s home.

growing up, augusta was fairly soft on frank --- after all, he was truly the apple of her eye, her only son and the most perfect one she could ask for. it was when he started at hogwarts that she started to get a bit strict on him. she only ever wanted what was best for him, and when it kept coming back to her that he had once again landed in detention, she sent howlers lecturing him on the importance of school. she would never reach the sort of strict harshness that she did with neville, though --- that sort of treatment came out of a reaction of grief from losing her son.

frank’s full name is franklin augusta longbottom --- but he will kill you if you call him franklin, and only few know that his middle name is augusta. as a kid he was incredibly embarrassed of his name, and while he now appreciates the sentiment he still is a bit resentful. i mean augusta ?  really ?

his wardrobe consists of tattered leather jackets and lots of flannels. honestly, he really thinks he’s about the Coolest kid on the Block, but his dad friend side trumps this bad-boy persona for sure. he at least tries to dress the part and he’s been known to look intimidating to those who don’t actually know him.

he could not be more excited about becoming a dad. he’s been waiting on alice’s hand and foot, all but clearing a path for her if they ever leave the house, and he’s been so excited about preparing the house for the baby. he tells everyone about it too --- ‘ hi, my name’s frank, my wife is pregnant, how are you ? ’

an awful, awful smoker. smokes like a steam train. it started when he was just seventeen and he hasn’t been able to stop since. plenty of people have tried everything to get him to quit, but the only thing that has really motivated him is alice’s pregnancy. he doesn’t want to put the baby at risk by bringing that into the house, so he’s trying his best right now to quit but... it’s definitely not been easy.

                                                                                                                       PERSONALITY

he is one of the most loyal people you will ever meet. he would protect his friends and family until the ends of the earth, and he is definitely known to be the dad friend of the group. he wants his friends to be happy but most of all he wants them to be safe, and he’s been known to lecture people on occasion if he thinks they’re stepping out of line.

definitely dads marlene mckinnon the most.

that fun-loving, slightly troublesome streak he had as a student never really went away. even as an auror, he’s been known to bend rules on occasion if he believes it will help the greater cause. he knows how to have fun, and is definitely the type of person that just lights up the room when he walks in. he knows how to make people happy, how to make them smile, and is nearly universally loved.

growing up surrounded by the kind that he was, however, has certainly had some lasting effects. the most obvious of these is his short-temper --- if someone does him wrong, even just slightly, he blows up immediately with a rather harsh temper. this has come in handy on occasion in his job, as criminals sort of know him for this and are a bit scared of him, but it has also come in between many of his friends in the past. he’s trying his best to cool it, especially with a child on the way, but it’s hard. ouch.

very very very impulsive. a lot of ‘do before you think’. some think this is why he’s such a brilliant auror, others think it’s reckless and endangering. he’s never really tried to cool this one because he’s one of the few who thinks it’s a good thing, but it’s definitely put him in harms way more than once.

                                                                                                                    WANTED PLOTS

ex-friends: purebloods who he grew up with, who he was best friends with before he left it all behind and pretended they didn’t even exist. this could go a lot of different ways ( maybe they’re friends now and got over it, maybe they’re enemies, perhaps they’ve seen each other on opposite sides of the battlefield ) i just love angst. 

ex-girlfriend(s): again, could go a lot of different ways, but i do love a good exes plot.

smoking buddy: maybe they were friends before, maybe they only ever meet to smoke, either way i’d love to see someone that frank can just kick back with, have a smoke and maybe even talk through some issues with. more recently frank has probably been ditching them as he’s trying his best to quit, but they would be one of the few who know that he hasn’t completely quit yet.

friends: all of them. please. thanks.

[trashforprincipalhoney]

Have been in a tailspin of excitement ever since reading this article where Skeet fancasts Neve Campbell as Gladys Jones.

But I wasn’t born yesterday. I don’t put all my eggs in one basket. I like options. So I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of 1990s/early 2000s pop culture and found MY TOP 10 PICKS FOR GLADYS JONES! AND RANKED THEM!

Now to be clear, my top 10 is not based at all on acting ability or anything silly like that. It’s mainly based on whether they played an ICONIC role in teen drama back in the day. Oh, and if I could find a picture of them with dark hair. 

10. KATIE HOLMES

Is she ICONIC enough? Way before the whole TomKat FIASCO, she was Joey Potter. She always will be Joey Potter. Joey Potter is iconic, don’t @ me.

Cast Connections? Zilch.

Is she available? Hell no. It doesn’t matter if she hasn’t been in a hit since Batman, the woman is still in the A-list and wouldn’t be seen dead on The CW. I’d say the only hope of her being on the show is if 11 year old Suri Cruise is obsessed with Riverdale and wants to meet Cole or KJ or whoever.

Also she’s only recently escaped the cult of Scientology too, wouldn’t want to subject her to this crazy ass fandom, would give her flashbacks. Lol jk, but nt rlly.

I only included her because of my love for Dawson’s Creek, they wouldn’t be able to get her. Unrealistic pick.

9. SHERILYN FENN.

Is she ICONIC enough? Not really, I feel like most people reading this will be asking Sherilyn who? But she was in Twin Peaks back in the day with Madchen.

Cast Connections? Madchen obviously!

Is she available? She isn’t a series regular on anything and gets guest roles on all kinds of shows. I’m sure she’d be down!

8. RACHAEL LEIGH COOK.

Is she ICONIC enough? She’s. All. That. Insert clapping emojis.

Cast Connection?  None immediately spring to mind. Apart from the fact that she was Josie McCoy in the Josie & The Pussycats movie from 2001. AN UNDERRATED GEM.

Is she available?  She wrapped up her last main role in a series in 2015 and has been doing TV films ever since. And she knows there ain’t no shame in a CW paycheck, her husband has been Elijah Mikaelson for the past 7 years.

7. KIM RHODES.

Is she ICONIC enough? To the Zack and Cody generation, I’d say yes. But they seem to cast the parents to appeal to the parents of that generation. So iconic.. but to the wrong demographic.

Cast Connections? Cole and her go way back.

Is she available? I think it’s guaranteed that the Supernatural spin-off will get picked up for next season, so she’ll probably be busy with that. Although on the off chance that it doesn’t go ahead (I seriously doubt it though) I’d say the chances of Kim being cast would go up. The CW has a habit of recycling actors who appeared in failed pilots or series.

6.  SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR.

Is she ICONIC enough? How dare you ask? This is Buffy freaking Summers. Buffy the motherfucking Vampire Slayer. Icon. Legend. Queen.

Searched for a picture of her with dark hair just so I could include her.

Cast connections? If you pay close attention, you’ll have noticed that Madchen and SMG and Madchens daughter are all up in each others instagram feeds. I think they are legit friends. Or at least friends of friends.

Is she available? Her last series regular role was in 2014 and she was involved in the Cruel Intentions pilot that didn’t get picked up last year. She’s rebranded and is selling cookbooks and cooking supplies now, so I don’t know if she wants to act. COME BACK TO UR TEEN DRAMA ROOTS SARAH MICHELLE.

5. SHANNEN DOHERTY.

Is she ICONIC enough? Heathers, 90210, Charmed. ALL HAIL THE QUEEN OF PRE-2000S TEEN DRAMA.

Cast Connections? Google Brenda and Dylan.

Is she available? I know she’s been having health issues the past few years. But she’s apparently filmed a small role in the TV adaptation of Heathers coming out next year. Still feel like it’d be a longshot though.

4. SELMA BLAIR.

Is she ICONIC enough? Maybe? Cruel Intentions was big, right?

Cast Connections? None spring to mind.

Is she available? Lowkey that Heathers TV show is trying to pull a Riverdale by casting all the throwback actors, because she apparently has a big role in that.

I think it’s just me, but I think Selma Blair looks the most like Cole.

3. ALLY SHEEDY.

Is she ICONIC enough? The Breakfast Club ain’t just a radio show you know. Ally Sheedy played the OG “i’m weird i’m a weirdo” in the form of Allison Reynolds AKA ‘the basketcase’.

Cast Connection? Molly Ringwald obvi.

Is she available? Still working as an actress and doing roles here and there. So yeah, seems like she could be available.

2. FARUIZA BALK.

Is she ICONIC enough? I googled her because of her starring in The Craft with Skeet, I know that’s a big thing but I’ve never seen it. But then saw on her wikipedia that she played Dorothy in Return to Oz and Mildred Hubble in The Worst Witch, ICONIC ROLES BOTH. Return to Oz is my jam, that film honestly fueled so many nightmares during my childhood but I love it now. Anyone who plays Dorothy Gale is ICONIC.

Cast Connections? The Craft with Skeet. But I’m sure her and Cole can bond over their stolen childhoods.

Is she available? Her last TV gig was an arc on Ray Donovan in 2015. She’s recently wrapped a horror movie. I’d say she’s available. CAST, CAST NOW.

1. NEVE CAMPBELL.

Is she ICONIC enough? She is Sidney Prescott. From Scream. BITCH, SHE’S ICONIC. Jughead Jones being the son of Sidney Prescott and Billy Loomis. I’m dusting off my typewriter now for the crossover fan fiction.

Cast Connections? During my Skeet obsession over the summer I watched some of his convention appearances on Youtube, and he’s been doing panels with Neve for the 20th anniversary of Scream. And they seem like good friends and have a good rapport and everything and I’m not crying you are.

Is she available? She’s currently filming a blockbuster with The Rock in Vancouver. So she’s ok with working in Vancouver!!!!! But her last gig on TV was House of Cards, so she may not be down to do a show on The CW. Once you get that streaming service dollar it’s hard to come back.

Neve Campbell is far and away my number one choice for the role.

If they cast Neve or Faruiza and don’t immediately shift the focus of the show onto the FP/Gladys/Alice dynamic. I will throw the entire writing staff off a cliff.

[troubletrxye]

Riverdale Season 2, Ep.1

Warning!!! Major spoiler alert!!! I have a lot of thoughts and they could actually potentially be interesting to you so maybe you should read them!!! (Read the whole thing)

Okay so as all of you probably maybe know, the riverdale season 2 premier was last night, and I tried to watch all of it when it was actually airing but I had chemistry homework. And let me just say, I am extremely shaken up. I’m confused, I’m amazed, I’m scared, I’m all the emotions. And naturally, I have some questions for y’all. First: WHERE IS BETTY COOPERS FAMILY???? Where is Polly, her mom, HER DAD? Where? I don’t see them?! Also why is Cheryl such a phsyco? Like baby I love you so so much, and you’ve gone through so much, but can you chill a second? For just a millisecond? Another question I have is whomst the fuck is trying to ruin Archie’s life??? As any good conspiracy theorist would, I already have some theories. alright so my initial thought after season 1 when all I knew was that Archie’s dad got shot, was Hiram lodge. I mean Fred Andrew kinda seemed to have a bad history romance chemistry ugly messy relationship with Hermione Lodge and Hiram obviously wouldn’t be very happy about that so I was like, bam, motive. But thennnn, after watching this very confusing and upsetting season premiere with a super awful jump scare at the end, (by the way, I watched this on my phone in the dark at 4:00 in the morning.) (bad idea if you’re afraid of everything like I am.) like I said, I have some theories. Alright, theory number one: its a little far fetched, but it’s a possibility. Okay so, it’s still Hiram like I suspected. But Hermione is involved. He knows about Archie and Veronica through Hermione, and neither of them want a Lodge/Andrews connection, soooo they try to kill off Archie’s loved ones in an attempt to alienate the Andrews family from Riverdale, eliminating any relationship (Archie/ronnie), and covering up a deeper darker secret somewhere in there. (Cause nobody would kill JUST to end their teenage daughter’s relationship.) theory 2: this one is the one everyone is saying. I personally think it’s a bit TOO obvious, and there’s no real motive behind it. But, Betty cooper’s father. Green eyes were under the ski cap, and guess who else in the town has green eyes? Hal cooper! But.... adding onto this theory but also straying from it, what if Mr C has a TWIN?! I mean, he’s a blossom for goodness sakes they are known for having twins! But still, no motive. Theory 3: kinda unlikely, they probably couldn’t base an entire season off of this, but mrs. Grundy’s (or whatever her name is) ex husband. He could have caught wind of Archie and grundys little fling and gotten mad at Archie, attempting to kill his father, and then, out of pure anger and evil, killing his ex wife. Theory 4: chic cooper. If you’re wondering who this is, it’s Betty’s mysterious and dark long lost brother, a government agent with a twisted childhood. He has green eyes which is really the only thing tying him to the murder. Theory 5(my personal favorite): Clifford blossom. So stick with me here, Clifford blossom is a drug smuggling liar and cheat, going insane over the amount of secrets hes keeping, and to make attests worse, he’s about to go down for the murder of his son. He figures out a way to fake his own death, pays off people to help him, and slips out of riverdale in an attempt to start fresh on the run. And get this, he blames the demise of his perfect life on one mr Archie Andrews. He blames Archie and the gang for destroying everything he ‘loves’ with the video. And now he plans to destroy everyone Archie loves one by one as revenge. But yeah. That’s all the theories I’ve heard and thought about so far other than the obvious ones like the serpents or the sheriff. although the sheriff ones are pretty far fetched, they would be super cliche and petty which would be an interesting plot twist. But I digress. Alrighty, think these over and come back at me with any more theories of questions you have. Love you!

x.o.x.o.

claire.

[gentille45-blog]

Pandemic homeschooling overwhelms parents.

On Sunday, March 15, around 6 pm, Maimounata Ouedraogo just came home from work and was about to cook dinner. She received a text message from her children's school, addressing parents to watch the News. She turns on the T.V right away, and Bill de Blasio announced that the nation's largest public-school system would close on Monday, March 16, until April 20, if not much longer. On Monday, the 16th, Maimounata received an email from her kids' teachers, with instructions and guidelines on how to teach her kids from home. This marks the beginning of a new journey for Maimounata: Homeschooling.

Just like Maimounata, many other parents feel like they are left out of the loop, with no other option than to teach their children during this hard moment of the pandemic. But Parents are obviously not teachers and may have limited knowledge. Some parents work two jobs; some are students, and others don't even have the right resources to teach their kids from home. This creates frustration and stress to parents and to kids as well.

As parents adjust to this new way of living, college students are faced with even more challenges when it comes to learning for themselves and homeschooling their kids. Simply because they spend more time helping their kids and, in the end, lack time for their own education. "My life has completely changed." Said Tanya Rodriguez, a 28 years old woman and a mother of three children. She is a nursing student at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale. Tanya feels pushed into a new role, supervising her children's lectures and making sure it gets done well while trying to make her second year into the nursing program successful.

It is frustrating and exhausting for many parents who are trying to find out the best way to get things done correctly and work through all of the problems at the same time. "I have an exam on antibiotics and antimicrobial in the next two hours, which I haven't even studied," Tanya lamented, and this is because she spends most of her time helping her kids with their schoolwork. At the end of the day, she has no time for herself or she is too tired to study for her exams. "it is not that I didn't help them in the past with their school assignment, but the work has now tripled, and it is stressing me out" she explained.

 Several other parents are in the same situation as Tanya, taking on homeschooling, daycare, and parents' responsibilities while trying to make it work for their own education.

For parents in this situation, effective time management could make a difference in helping reorganize their schedule and balancing between the two tasks as well as finding a way to work productively with their kids while working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Institute for Women's policy research, more than one in five college students are parents of children under 18. The majority of these parents face difficulties in meeting some basic needs and lack significant time for caregiving even under normal circumstances. Now, the problem is even worse for them. As they have to cope with the closing of colleges and universities, keep their families healthy and secure on top of maintaining their studies remotely while taking ownership of their children's' education due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"My life has become hell," said Aminata Ilias, a mother of two and a student at Bronx Community College. Her husband went to Senegal, in February to visit his family and has now been blocked to return due to the pandemic. Aminata works in a homecare facility and now has to face all the challenges by herself. "because of my busy schedule, my husband is the one who used to help the kids with their assignment," she explains. She now feels her life will never be the same with his absence, "especially with the closure of schools."

Amina said in mid-March, she wanted to drop all her classes because it was too much for her, working full time, teaching her kids from home, and being a full-time student. However, it will be a waste of time and money as she thought. Therefore, she decided to adjust with this huge load. "but if this will continue till fall, I will definitively take a break from college and focus on my mental wellbeing and my kids' education," she stated.

For Aminata, helping the kids with the homework alone was already enough stress. Now, having an obligation to assist them with each of their classes and schoolwork is like "being a personal teacher for my kids," she said.

Sometimes, she leaves her assignments and tries to crumble all on her off days. "and instead of resting when I am home, I spend time reading, writing, taking quizzes. Oh my god! It is too hard," she cries.

For other parents, the lack of resources makes the challenge of learning from home even harder. "Parenting is already enough work," says Maimounata Ouedraogo, an African mother who lives in the Bronx. Maimounata is a college student with three school-age kids and has only one laptop to manage for distance learning.  She complained that she requested an iPad from her kids' school but have not received anything after weeks now.  "sometimes, I don't want to be selfish and prioritize my education," she cries, but with one laptop, it is not easy to manage. She is now falling behind in her education because she did not attend many of her classes and missed work assigned.

When it first started in March, the Department of Education (DOE) said 300,000 students do not have access to technology to participate in remote learning, according to Silive.com. And Mayor de Blasio has promised, these students would have a device by the end of April. But this still means thousands of students will not be able to connect with their school and continue learning immediately as they have to wait this long to get the material. Some parents like Aminata have only one device they have to share among multiple kids, and in most cases, the parents share the device as well if they work online.

"I had no other option than to buy two mini iPad for my younger once," said Rachid Adinda, a father of a fourth and second grader. Rachid said, after a week of waiting for the school to ship the devices to them but received nothing, he was worried and did not want his kids to fall behind or miss classes; therefore he bought them iPads so that "each of them can use their devices independently" he added.

In that case, parents who cannot afford to get their kids' iPads or laptops will have to wait long to get the devices from school. And some parents may live with the fear that their children's education is at risk because they feel unprepared and have limited knowledge of how to manage the educational demands of their children at home without perfect resources.

The sudden change has been an issue for working parents as they have to make changes to their daily schedules. Although homeschooling is not something new in American History, and in fact, there was an estimate of 2.5 million homeschooling students from grade K-12 in the United States in 2019, and about 91,499 students were homeschooled in New York alone in 2018, the circumstances are now different. More students have been home amid the COVID-19 outbreak as the school transitioned into remote learning.  This means many parents who've never been trained for homeschooling are now forced to do so in a short period of time. The sudden and unexpected changes in school districts have reshaped the lifestyle of many Americans.

"I had to change my entire schedule at work and home," said Aminata, so that she could be able to spend more time with her kids and help them with their assignments. Changing family daily schedule can be stressful, especially when it is unexpected. and for working parents like Aminata, it has been a double burden as they suddenly find themselves working and learning alongside their children. "It is hard to keep it balanced," she argued.

According to New York Times, the closure will change the lives and routine of 1.1 million children, 75,000 teachers and well over 1 million parents in New York., this presents challenges for everyone from educators, parents to students, in general, forcing them to adopt a new role and be responsible.

Ms. Precious Boateng, a single mother of two, who works two jobs in Manhattan to take care of her family, said it is tough to cope with the new normal life. "I can't quit my jobs and

stay home with my kid, because how are we going to survive if I do?" she asked. She explains that her older son usually watches and helps his younger brother, who is just 5. But she still must keep track of their work and check-in with teachers to make sure all the assignments are completed on time.

.

On the other hand, children are also affected by the current situation— Kids have always believed home to be a place of relaxation and school to be the place to work, read, and write. Therefore, it has been a hard time for them as well with the transition. Maimounata Ouedraogo said her kids think they are on vacation, and when she calls them to study, they are upset and want to cry. "even last week, my eight-year-old said, I am a bad teacher" Said Maimounata with laughs.

Sources:

https://www.nheri.org/research-facts-on-homeschooling/

https://www.silive.com/coronavirus/2020/03/300k-nyc-students-lack-tech-for-online-learning-heres-the-plan-to-distribute-devices.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/15/nyregion/nyc-schools-closed.html

https://iwpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/COVID19-Student-Parents-Fact-Sheet.pdf

[popentertainment-interviews]

Marisol Nichols

Confessions of a Riverdale Mom

by Rachel Disipio

The Archie comics became a huge franchise back in the mid-twentieth century. However, when mentioning them to a teenage girl now, you will probably hear about the suspense, drama and mystery of the hit CW TV Show Riverdale.

The first season of Riverdale focused on the unsolved murder of Jason Blossom, the son of the most prominent family in town. A new mother/daughter duo arrived in the town of Riverdale and began to turn heads. Why did Hermione and Veronica Lodge ever leave their luxurious lifestyle in New York City and head back to the small town where Hermione grew up?

Among the characters – who are all originally from the comics – Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Jughead Jones and Veronica Lodge take interest in this unsolved murder. They make it their mission to find out who committed the heinous crime, with the help of friends and family, including Hermione, who is played by Marisol Nichols.

With the start of the second season right around the corner, we chatted to Nichols to get the lowdown about all the cliffhangers and unanswered questions we were left with during the first season. The new season of Riverdale premieres on October 11th at 8:00 pm EST.

The Archie comics reached so many generations of people. How does it feel to be able to share that with this current generation who may not have been exposed to the comics growing up?

It’s pretty amazing. It makes me really proud. It’s so interesting how there is whole new generation being turned on to something that our parents – and maybe even our grandparents – loved. It’s been updated. It’s cool to see teenagers go “Archie, you’re so hot!!!” Sometimes I wonder if the same thing happened to our parents about something that was so relevant to them when they were teenagers.

Riverdale obviously plays the stories a lot darker and more seriously than the original comics. Before signing on for the show, were you familiar with the older comics at all?

A little bit. I wasn’t a comic book kid. [I didn’t] collect them, or read a ton, but I definitely read them here or there. Obviously, they were a much cleaner, wholesome version, that reflected the times. Right now, I think our show is really reflecting the times and pop culture, just like the comics did years ago.

In the show, you play a strong female role while your husband, Hiram, is in jail. Since he is to be released very soon, do you believe Hermione will still exhibit those strong characteristics?

Honestly, no. She will change so much. I miss the Hermione that was there for most of the first season, the woman that was like, “Okay, I’m going to do whatever it takes to protect my daughter and work hard to survive.” Once Hiram comes into play, she has to go back to being his partner, for better or for worse. That changes who she’s able to be, compared to when we saw her come to Riverdale on her own.

So far, while Hiram has played a big role in what has happened to you in the series, we have not seen him. Mark Consuelos has been hired to play the role in the second season. How is he fitting into the show, and how combustible have his scenes with you been so far?

He is amazing. He is so great in the show, and is a perfect Hiram. If I do say so myself, we make a really incredible Lodge team. You’ll see. (laughs) It’s just so good, I can’t wait for everyone to watch and go on this journey.

Hermione Lodge struggles a lot through the first season. She is raising her daughter alone (for the time being), is jumping from job to job, and is in a very complicated marriage. Do you think that's what makes her so relatable amongst women?

Absolutely, yeah. What makes her the most relatable is that she is just trying to figure it out as she goes, like anybody else in life. For me, it was really important to show her vulnerabilities and her confusion. Show the audience she is truly doing the best that she can. That for me is relatable for anybody, as opposed to “I’m a super girl and I got this.” Because I don’t know anyone who has got this. We are all figuring it out.

While watching the first season, viewers really got a sense of Hermione and Veronica's relationship. Can we expect to see the mother/daughter duo build a stronger bond this upcoming season?

I really hate to say this, but no. When looking at the first season you would think that, but Hiram coming in puts such a giant wall between them and changes their entire dynamic. I loved the relationship between Hermione and Veronica during the first season, but what you might have noticed especially towards the last episode: what the hell happened to Hermione? She changed, and unfortunately, she had to. Throughout the second season she has to even more, but I still believe that core relationship is underneath it all. She just has to be really, really careful.

Throughout the first season it is made very clear that Hermione, Alice Cooper, Fred Andrews, and FP Jones practically grew up together. Being some of the only adults the show features, how is your relationship with them off-screen?

Really good! We all get along, which is a blessing. Every one of us has been around for a while in the business. This isn’t our first rodeo. There is always that bonding, so it’s really good! Skeet Ulrich [who plays FP Jones] joins us as a series regular this season, and Mark [Consuelos], so it’s just been so fun. We have just been growing the family bigger and bigger!

I hear Molly Ringwald’s role will be expanded in the second season. Will that be complicating Hermione and Fred’s relationship, beyond that hand grenade thrown in last season by Hiram?

Surprisingly, not really. Archie’s mom during the show is a very distant parent. If you remember during the first season her character was so kind. That really shocked me. I remember looking at the script and thinking that there was going to be a whole lot of conflict between the characters, but she turned out fine! Now looking at the relationship during the second season, I think Hiram is enough for Hermione to deal with for the time being.

Throughout the first season viewers got a glimpse inside the teenage years of the parents who grew up in Riverdale. In the second season, do you think the audience will get to learn a little more about how the parents were when they were in high school?

I hope so. We are still filming it. We aren’t even halfway through yet, but I really do hope so, because it would really shed some light on where they are now. I’m sure some people could imagine what Alice Cooper [played by Mädchen Amick] was like in high school, and what Hermione was like, so it’s not that far-fetched that we would explore a little bit. Especially with Alice, which is really funny when it all comes out. It’ll be really awesome.

Over the summer Riverdale won seven Teen Choice Awards, including Choice Breakout TV Show and Choice Drama. Were you expecting this show do so well and create so much buzz among young adults?

Isn’t that nuts!? I was never expecting the show to do so well when I signed onto it. I’ve done a lot of shows, so you are never know if it is going to hit or not. When finding out about this show, I did feel like this was something really special. It wasn’t just your average show, where you cross your fingers and throw it against a wall and hope it sticks. I felt like we had something special, but you never know if audiences are going to embrace it or not. Who knows, we could have been competing with The Walking Dead the first season and we would have been gone. It’s timing and it’s a testament to the writing, because it is really, really relatable. When I finally saw the first episode, I was like “Oh my God, this is really amazing. Hopefully people see what I see!”

In what ways is Hermione like you?

The ways Hermione is like me is the way she acted in the first half of season one. I fiercely protect my daughter. [I] try to treat her as much as an adult [as possible], to help her make the right decisions. I like to be honest with her and have that connection so she is able to come to me and be like, “Hey, I messed up,” or whatever it is. That I would say is most like me. Also, the way Hermione was like “I’ll waitress to pay the bills,” or “I’ll do this.” I had my first job when I was twelve years old. I was pumping gas at a gas station, so I’m the type of person to make it right and do whatever you have to do, just like Hermione.

What parts of the character are hardest for you to connect with as an actress?

The ways she is not like me is that I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth. I don’t have a butler. I don’t have that rich and entitled viewpoint Hermione unfortunately has. We see a lot more of her ruthless side and her business sense in season two, because of Hiram. Sometimes I’ll read the dialogue and be like, “Oh God.” She is a lot more covert, and I’m way more overt. She is so hidden and covered. I am the type of girl where what you see is what you get.

How does playing the role of Hermione Lodge differ from roles you've played in the past, such as the part you played as Nadia Yassir in 24, which was the last time we interviewed you?

Oh my God, that’s crazy! You may have noticed I tend to play a lot of strong female roles, because I like that and that’s what I do and show. But with Nadia it was such an interesting role, because she was thrown into this in-charge thing. That was complicated by her ethnicity, where at the time was a pretty big deal. When looking at Hermione, she has the luxury to plan for the long-time goal. That is their biggest difference. She has Hiram by her side. He is calling most of the shots, where with Nadia she just had to figure it out. I always like playing strong female characters, but also when they show their flaws and show that they are human and real. When it comes to Hermione, she does not. Especially when Hiram is around, she does not show any flaws, which I miss. We will see if there are any more opportunities for her to show more vulnerabilities as she grows as a character.

Without giving up any big spoilers, what can we expect from Hermione in the upcoming season?

You can expect a lot more Claire Underwood from House of Cards than we’ve seen. It’s almost like you have to zoom in on her when she is on camera to understand what she is thinking. She has to play two sides, one being the side that Hiram sees, which is his loving wife that has to back him up, and the other side being a mom who wants to help her daughter without her husband knowing. For Hermione it is a lot to balance, but you will see her true motives when you watch closely because it is hidden in there.

Describe the upcoming season in three words.

This is so hard but I’m going to have to go with rollercoaster, Halloween, and the outsiders. It will all make sense, I promise.

Copyright ©2017 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: October 10, 2017.

Photos © 2017. Courtesy of The CW. All rights reserved.

[cosmicmadwoman]

Adam and Eve Chapter Four: A Whole Other Slice of Pie

Summary: Betty and Jughead have a revelation, the gang attends Fred’s funeral and Jughead spends the night with his foster family.

Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Rating: M

Word Count: 5063

PS: thank you so much to all who is reading! it means so much. There is no greater joy than seeing feedback and hearts for my work! Please feel free to message me if you have any comments or ideas I would so love to hear them :) Plus, here is the link to Adam and Eve on AO3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/11360046/chapters/25427913

“Over my dead body is a Blossom sleeping my house! And that’s final!” Alice Cooper bellowed over the begging of her eldest daughter, Polly.

“Mom! Can you not say dead body?”  Polly whined having an inclination to put her fingers in her ears like when she was a little girl. Her mother made her feel so small and insignificant whenever she spoke to her. Not only insignificant, but crazy. Alice Cooper was the gaslighting queen.

Betty popped up from the couch where she was sitting silently while her sister and mother argued, “Actually, all of us but you mom are Blossoms.”

“Elizabeth Cooper if you’re going to give me attitude you’re going up to your room and not coming out, even to see Jughat,” Alice sneered.

“It’s Jughead,” Betty repressed rolling her eyes to not further press her mother.

“Yeah, yeah, him,” Alice scooted her off with a wave of her hand. It felt to Betty that she messed up her boyfriend’s name on purpose just to be belittling. Alice Cooper was also the belittling queen. Betty understood her mother a little more after learning how her father betrayed her as a young woman, ripping her own lifeblood away from her. How could you recover from that? And why did she marry him? In Riverdale, it seemed that the adults had their own way of operating that was ornate and unnecessary. They were always saying, you’ll understand what we do when you’re older. All they do was suffer.

“Just Cheryl, Mom,” Polly pressed.

“You already said that and no, it does not make a difference,” Alice was relentless in her denial and when Alice walked away into the kitchen, Polly knew the conversation was over. She made a loud angry sigh hoping to catch Alice’s attention, but she was over her daughter’s whining as much as she was over everything else.

“She is unbelievable!” Polly dropped herself onto the couch next to Betty, throwing her hands in the air for good measure. Betty was slightly perturbed by Polly’s childish behavior, acting like throwing a tantrum and having a fit would someone how fix all of the rotten things in their lives and in this town. “Cheryl is the aunt of her grandchildren. She could have some sympathy.”

Betty tried not to snort at her sister’s words. Before Sisters of Quiet Mercy, that used to be her. Completely self-centered and selfish. There were countless times Polly had bailed on her to go out with boys and left Betty to cover for her and endure her mother’s wrath alone. Betty still had a piece of resentment left in her for all the times Polly got to lash out and rebel, just to have Betty take the brunt of it because she was the only there. Hopefully when Polly’s kids came she could give all to her kids and protect them like Betty felt Polly didn’t do for her.

“I would say, before poking the beast more, ask Cheryl if she would even stay here,” Betty advised.

“She will,” Polly responded firmly.

The girls both jumped slightly to hearing a fist on the door. Just thinking about the Cheryl Blossom shacking up down the hall from her was enough to fuel nightmares. Betty walked to the door not knowing what to expect, but hoping for Jughead. In reality it had probably only been 30 minutes since they last saw each other, but it seemed like an eternity. He was the only one who understood her anymore. Everyone else felt alien to her.

Instead, she opened the door to find Archie. His fists were tightly clenched like hers have been so many times before. She took his hand gingerly so he would not hurt himself. His eyes and cheeks were raw with tears. Betty feared the worst. She knew Fred Andrews was gone. She saw that same look on her sister’s face when she learned the father of her children was killed. Betty pulled Archie into a hug as he began to wail. Betty cried as well, both of their shirts beginning to show evidence of tear stricken times. Fred was the last good, honest man left in Riverdale. He wasn’t a sellout or a conman, and if Betty knew anything, she knew that was what killed him. The good only suffocate in Riverdale.

Betty felt Polly come up behind them and place a hand on each other their shoulders, her own tears mussing up her light makeup.

“Death is such a terrible thing,” Polly whispered.

Archie stepped back but still held onto Betty’s hands. She tried to curl her fingers over her palm in a certain way so he could feel her fresh wounds. He didn’t notice.

“I told Jughead too,” Archie said quietly. “Veronica is coming over with casserole from her mom so I’ll tell her then.”

“Your mom is here, right? Is she going to make you move to Chicago now?” Betty asked, her green eyes brimming with concern.

“I can’t think about that right now, Betty.”

“Of course. I’m sorry.”

“I should go. I’ll let you know when the funeral is,” Archie seemed to have some trouble letting go of her hands, but he did and closed the door gingerly on his way out.

The house was silent for a moment. Before Polly spoke, “Who is next?”

“Hopefully no one,” Betty murmured. But she knew at this rate there would be no such luck.

Alice came barreling into the room shortly after Archie left demanding to know who was at the door and why.  

“Fred Andrews is dead,” Betty’s voice cracked with tears that threatened to fall, but her stone facade would not crack in front of her mother.

“Wow,” her mother exclaimed with as much emotion as she was capable of. “Better call Hal and tell him.”

Alice went over to her girls have them brief hugs. Betty felt surprisingly comforted by the small gesture. Her mother hand a heart somewhere in there. It most likely due to her husband that it had been so constantly snuffed out. The more Betty learned about her father the more she saw him as a perpetrator and her mother as a survivor. Alice’s hard demeanor was not built on arrogance but disappointment. She gave her daughters a curt smile and retreated to the den, probably to call their father. The Cooper family was amongst the first to know, but before long the town buzzed with the news.

Betty felt a phone vibrate lightly in her pocket. She pulled out as she watched her sister waddle up the stairs. She wondered if she was going to take her advice and call Cheryl. Reaching for her phone she read:

J: You know?

B: Yeah

J: We really need to talk

B: Is everything ok?

J: I’m not sure....

B: Well obviously nothing is ok but you know what I mean

J: I’ll be through your window in two minutes

Betty smirked at her boyfriend’s weird habit of coming through the window. Everyone knew they were together, he could easily go through the front door, but Jughead thought it created this alternate reality where only the two of them knew they were together. The blonde’s ponytail bounced as she bounded up the stairs just as her tall, dark and handsome boy climbed through her pastel pink curtains. He was darkness moving into her light and it was like a fairytale.

He hugged her immediately as he climbed in and she could feel his chest heaving up and down at the workout. The clung to each other for while, his hands messing up her hair as he threaded it through her hair.

“I love you,” Jughead murmured into her hair. “I’ll never get sick of saying that.”

“And I’ll never get sick of hearing it,” Betty giggled in spite of all the things going wrong in their lives.

Jughead pulled back and led her to her bed and they sat down cross legged and facing each other.

“Archie asked me to kill whoever killed Mr. Andrews,” Jughead divulged.

Betty’s eyes widened and her mouth hung open. She was unable to speak and waited for Jughead to continue or give some explanation. This was so unlike Archie, he was ever the optimist, but then again his father was just killed. But to ask Jughead insinuated that Archie thought he could do it.

“He’s my best friend but I don’t know if I could do that to anyone, Betts. Being a Southside Serpent is one thing, but murder is a whole other slice of pie,” Jughead said.

“Only you would use food analogies in a time like this,” Betty observed trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Jughead ignored her though, “Do you think I could?”

“Why are you asking me?” Betty paused as Jughead looked at her expectedly. “Is it because you’re afraid that could?”

Something coiled in Jughead’s stomach and he wanted to vomit. He hadn’t realized why he had asked her until now. He was looking for validation that he wasn’t that man, not that kind of guy; he wasn’t Clifford Blossom who killed his son for knowing to much, or his father who treated cleaning up a teenager’s dead body like a construction job. But maybe he was. There was a different between him and Clifford Blossom, it was a slight difference but he clung to it; he couldn’t kill an innocent person, that much he knew. Could Betty love him knowing what darkness he was really capable of? Losing her scared him more than literally anything he could fathom.

He still had not answered her question, but Betty didn’t seem worried about it. A burning sensation boiled up inside him, he needed her right now like it was the last time he could ever touch her. If he loved her he wouldn’t drag her down like this. And God, did he love her so fucking much.

Jughead reached for her sitting up from his cross legged position and delivering a crushing kiss to her elegant mouth. He pushed down onto her until he was laying on top of her on the bed. She kissed him back as best she could, but his hungry, sloppy kisses dominated her mouth leaving her no choice but to let him master the kiss. His hands were frantically wandering her sides and slid up under her shirt to feel her soft skin. Betty preferred not to just be a receiver but a giver as well, and began to buck her hips up to evoke hardness form his length. She could feel his manhood pressing into her through their tight jeans, so she deftly moved her hands to release him and he let out a moan in thanks. The cool air was lapping at her skin now as he pulled the shirt off and tossed it on the ground beside them. Betty pulled at his hunter green tshirt and rolled it off of him to join hers on the floor. Jughead wasted no time removing the bra cup from her right nipple and sucking roughly on the tender peak. Betty had to slap her hand over her mouth to not bring attention to their teenage debauchery. Jughead swirled the pink muscle around the nipple then nibbled gently, causing a delicious pain that he immediately soothed away with his tongue.

Betty reached around her and unclipped her pink bra to give her boyfriend better access and view of her naked breasts. He sighed into her chest before kissing down to her stomach and dipping into her navel as he unbuttoned her jeans and nipped at her underwear line. Betty grabbed Jughead’s head and pulled him up to her mouth for a searing kiss. Betty used the distraction to push his pants and boxers down with her feet and reached for his naked member and squeezed the head. Jughead let out a low groan into Betty’s mouth and she smiled into their wet and passionate kiss. Betty pushed Jughead onto his side as she kissed her way down his lips to his toned chest and eventually reaching the edge of coarse black hairs lining the area around his pulsing heat. Betty kissed the top of the head and did one stroke down with her mouth before Jughead stopped her with his hand in her loose ponytail.

“No,” was all he said.

Betty looked up at him curiously. Was he upset with her? Was she doing something wrong? She had only ever done this once before and it was with him, so she couldn’t say she was a blow job expert. She was disappointed in herself that she couldn’t please him like she so desperately craved to do. She wanted to dominate his pleasure and be the only one to leave him squirming. But instead, she looked up at him and only saw sadness. She moved off from him and awkwardly layed beside him.

“Am I really that repulsive?” Betty asked tentatively. She felt like she was going to cry and it was so embarrassing.

Jughead shot up immediately and kissed her cheek and all over her face whispering “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, I love you.”

Betty shrugged him off with her shoulder and Jughead felt so frustrated with himself. Why did he have to feel like this? Why couldn’t he just enjoy this amazing girl in front of him, practically begging to touch him?

“Then what?” Betty pressed.

“I don’t deserve it,” Jughead said quietly. “I’m not a good person, Betts. I’m scared of myself.”

Betty realized that she got the answer to her previous question. He was afraid of what he could do. She was ashamed in how much it thrilled her. She fantasized about his strong forearm clenching the trigger of a gun, his nostril flared and jaw tight, defending the ones he loved. She imagined making love to him on the couch of his trailer while bullets fly in through the rusty metal, sun shining through the holes but not penetrating the lovers. They are invincible in her fantasy. They could conquer the world. There was something seriously wrong with her.

“I’m not scared of you,” Betty drawled.

“You should be,” Jughead’s voice was gruff and full of unbridled lust as he rolled on top of her.

Betty’s core was so ready for him just by looking at the dark and stormy waters of his blue eyes. The tip of his member was teasing at her entrance and she could see the strain on his face to keep him from plunging into her depths. He was waiting for something.

“I’m not scared of you, Juggie, because I’m just like you,” Betty said to the man laying on top of her.

At her words he broke through and entered her, both groaning in relief, like being connected was their natural state and every moment Jughead wasn’t buried inside her was all wrong. They were molded together in more than just a physical way. There minds were connected-- they became one that day, giving into the darkness in their beings.

Jughead erratic hip movements caused him to reach the hilt in Betty. She screamed out and Jughead clamped his hand over her mouth. She had to bite him to keep her muffled screams from ringing through the house and he could feel himself bleed from her teeth. Betty tasted the coppery tang of his blood in her mouth and came at the eroticsm of being bad. Jughead released into her a few pumps after and they stayed enveloped in one another for a long time after, just listening to each other breathing.

“I don’t remember who I was before you,” Betty began to cry and she didn’t know why.

Jughead rolled off of her and cuddled his hard body against her. She wrapped her arm around him as he nestled into her chest.

“I love you,” was Jughead’s reply as he kissed away her tears.

------

The funeral was the weekend after on a gray December morning. The flakes were landing on the windows of the church, forming beautiful crystalized decorations. The site was warm with red candles, but to Jughead and Betty there was still an ominous chill. The chill of a town that knew a lot more than they were saying not out of spite, but fear. The couple sat upfront with Veronica, Archie, Mary and Nana Andrews. Both of Fred’s parents has passed away when he was young, so Mary’s mother was always a strong mother figure to him. The wrinkly little woman was a complete wreck as Mary held her shaking from in her arms.

Archie held Veronica’s hand unbelievably tight. So much so that her hand matched the red acrylic nails glued to her nails. The minister's words fell on deaf ears as the whole town worried about their own fates. Nothing was predictable like it used to be in Riverdale. Jughead sat idly wondering which Riverdale was better, the Riverdale pre-July 4th where the darkness simmered underneath the the town’s soil like an eternal fire brewing, the flames licking the feets of only the corrupt, or, the post-July 4th Riverdale, where it was revealed the flames were not only smouldering under the soil, but burning within all of the townspeople of Riverdale. He couldn’t choose.

Nana Andrews, Mary and Archie all had nice things to say about Fred, how hardworking he was, how he built his company from the ground with determination and how he was a great husband, son and son-in-law. It all seemed fake to him. Mary left her husband, Archie was getting in more arguments with his dad than ever and Nana Andrews hadn’t visited in months. It felt like a distraction from the reality of death;  the darkness, the nothingness. Death was permanent and memories were temporary. A thought of Betty dying crept into his brain which he quickly swatted away. That wouldn’t happen as long as he was alive. He would have to die first. There was no compromise in that. Maybe that’s why men typically died before their female partners. Women are stronger and can face the world alone like a man can’t.

The procession was unable to go the grave site because the ground was too frozen. It was gruesome and the guests weren’t aware, but Fred’s body was being kept in a freezer at the morgue in the hospital until the ground thawed. The cost of burying in the winter was too high for the meager wages Andrews’ construction made, and Mary knew Fred would want enough money as possible to be saved to keep for Archie’s needs. A few people knew where Fred’s body was kept though, including Sheriff Keller. He had planned to inspect the body properly once the funeral end out of respect for the family. Jughead, Betty and Veronica also knew, as they heard Archie rant a yesterday about how inhumane the placement was. One other person knew too.

The reception was held at Archie’s place and died down quickly. The foursome found themselves in Archie’s room, all sitting around the floor in their black clothing, both Jughead and Archie in a black suit and tie, Veronica is a floor length chiffon number, and Betty in a tight ribbed long sleeved dress that reached her knees. Betty noticed Jughead wore the same suit he wore to Jason’s funeral, the same suit that made her begin to see the raven haired boy in a different light. Now she just wanted to rip him out of it. They had smuggled up a bottle of nice vodka a guest brought for mixed drinks and were passing it amongst them drowning in sadness and liquor. Jughead opted not to drink seeing what it did to his father whilst growing up, but he didn’t stop Archie and the ladies from indulging a bit.

“He’s not here to tell me to stop drinking,” Archie said lamely as he undid his tie and few of the top buttons on his shirt.

Jughead shifted uncomfortably in his spot on the floor. He wish Archie didn’t have to do that. He should feel confident in his and Betty’s relationship after all they’ve been through and done together, but still, he feared the charm of the Andrews’ pectoral muscles and abs. Betty didn’t seem to notice because she layed her head on Jughead’s lap. He could tell she was a little drunk by the glazed look in her eye and the exaggerated PDA she wasn’t fond of normally. Jughead’s heart stirred and he began to stroke her hair that she let fall down in curls today for a change.

“I’m sorry, Archie,” Veronica eventually said, grabbing his hand. There wasn’t really much else to say than that.

“I know,” Archie sighed, “Just you guys being here is nice. Thank you.”

“Of course. You’re our friend,” Betty said in her angelic voice.

“I hate to do this, but I have to leave by 6. My foster family set up dinner for me tonight,” Jughead spoke up.

Betty sat up and eyed him. Her green eyes were vibrating with frustration. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I just--” Jughead began before his girlfriend cut him off.

“I told you I wanted to meet them!”

“I thought it was more important for you to be here with Archie,” Jughead tried to reason.

“I decide what’s important to me, not you,” Betty said with narrowed eyes.

“Should we leave?” Archie motioned to himself and Veronica. The tone of his voice was clearly showing annoyance. This wasn’t a place for a lover’s quarrel. Especially two lovers he didn’t particularly care to see together. Not that he would reveal that to anyone.

“Sorry Archie, I shouldn’t be making this about something else. Would you mind if I went too to meet Jughead’s foster family?”  Betty turned to him with pleading.

He couldn’t help the subtle rage developing in the pit of his stomach. He was so used to coming first for Betty. Veronica was his girlfriend and yes, he could manage without Betty, but he didn’t want to. He shouldn’t have to. Things changed too drastically too quickly when she fell for his friend Jughead and everything has been such a whirlwind Arvhie felt like he didn’t have time to adjust. His father had just died. It wouldn't be selfish of him to tell Betty to stay. Besides, she was drunk and shouldn’t meet the foster parents like that. Really, he was saving her.

“Can you please say, Betty? For me?” Archie’s pleading eyes gave Betty not much of a choice.

Betty gave a side eyed glance towards Jughead, telling him a mixture of I’m sorry, I have to do this, I love you and fuck you for not telling me rolled into one.

“Yes. I’ll stay,” Betty conceded.

There was a palpable tension in the room, almost like no one got what they wanted but Archie. He had his two best girls at his side, Jughead felt jaded having Archie picked over him, as always, even though he didn’t ask Betty to come in the first place and Veronica wondered why she wasn’t good enough to console her boyfriend solo. Betty took another swig from the bottle and shook her head with pursed lips.

“Give me some,” Veronica grabbed the bottle from her and took a swig, reacting the same as the blonde.

“Easy, girls,” Archie chuckled.

Both women shot him a look and scooted closer to each other so they could pass the bottle easier between them.

“I should get going,” Jughead said, standing up and brushing himself off.

“Why? It’s only 4:30,” Betty said,

“I just want to be by myself a bit before I have to socialize again, you know me,” Jughead gave a quick kiss on the lips to Betty, which tasted like top-shelf alcohol and he took a quick swipe of his lips with his tongue to taste the elixir of alcohol mixed with pure Betty. She would be the death of him. She smirked knowingly like she knew exactly what she did to him. It took every ounce of power in his body to pull away and not make a show.

“Later, Veronica. Call me if you need anything, Arch,” Jughead waved as he left the cramped bedroom he used to call home.

“He adores you,” Veronica slurred as she hugged Betty desperately, “It’s so lovely.”

“I adore him too!” Betty giggled like it was some big secret, “I’ve never met anyone like him. Like, I’ve known him all of my life, but I feel like just now I’m really starting to get to know him. He’s electrifying.”

“That’s quite the adjective,” Archie grumbled under his breath. Jughead wasn’t even there and he still held Betty’s attention.

“What’s he like in bed?”

“Veronica!” Archie scolded.

“What? I’m sure you’re curious too. When I first met little Holden Caulfield I could not see him getting it on. Could you?” Veronica leaned into Archie purring as she settled into his lap.

“I guess you’re right,” Archie shrugged as he began to toy with a loose string on Veronica’s side zipper.

“Exactly. Share the dirty secrets, Cooper. I want to know every scandalous detail,” Veronica said in her flawless New York style.

“I don’t really have anything to compare it to,” Betty shrugged. “But sex with Jughead is always amazing because of how connected we are.”

“You let Jughead be your first?” Archie questioned.

“I didn’t ‘let’ him. It was a two-way thing. I wanted it too,” Betty suddenly felt uncomfortable with the way Archie questioned her. “Let’s talk about something else.”

The kids drank into the night talking about this and that. Archie broke down crying a few times, to be expected, but Veronica and Betty were there to pat his back and give him kind words. Mary kicked the girls out at 10:30. Smithers came to pick up Ronnie and Betty was expected to walk home to her house next door, but her blood felt like fire and she wanted to go anywhere but home. She sat at her front steps and dialed her favorite number.

“Hey Juggie baby,” Betty tried to whisper sexily into the phone but it sounded more like sad slurring.

She heard the husky laugh of her boyfriend on the other line, “You’re drunk, Elizabeth Cooper.”

“You sound like Alice. Where are you?”

“I’m in bed at my foster family’s house. I promised I would stay a few nights with them so they can make sure I’m being good,” Jughead said.

“Aw,” Betty whined, “But Juggie, I want you to make love to me.”

“Not while you’re drunk. It’s not right.”

“Then let me crawl into bed with you,” Betty offered.

“I share a room with their son.”

“Ugh, why is everything so impossible,” Betty groaned, partly at her inability to be with Jughead and the strappy boots that she couldn’t rebuckle.

“You’re being dramatic.”

“Where do the Carters live?” Betty asked, the question appearing to be innocent.

“The are the first red house on the left once you enter the Southside. I’m sleeping in the back room. Why?”

“See you soon,” Betty laughed as she hung up the phone.

“Betty!’ Jughead yelled into his phone but she was already gone.

“Who was that?” The lump of green blanket on the bed from across the room asked.

“My girlfriend Betty,” was all the information Jughead was going to offer.

Jughead was used to sharing a room. He shared one with Jellybean for 10 years. She even used to sing in her sleep and Jughead would wake up with little songs she made about fairies and princesses stuck in his head. But that was different, she was blood, and this kid he had just meet once before today. Natasha and Rick Carter, his foster parents, fostered many kids and had one of their own. Rick Jr, or RJ, was a kid his age that he would have to share a room with. The other two rooms were in the house was for his parents and the other had all the foster girls they were taking care of at the moment; Lily, 10, Brittany, 8, and Ginger was 4. RJ said he has shared his room with plenty of kids and it wasn’t an intrusion. He was raised on ‘me casa you casa’ as he called it. Still, it was really weird. He’s grateful there are people in the world that are so welcoming and he felt bad for taking them for granted.

RJ turned on his side and looked over at Jughead. Was he expecting some kind of late night bro chat? RJ didn’t seem like a bro, just another regular kid from the Southside. He had his dad’s hand-me-down clothes and not much to his name. He had blonde hair in a short crew cut and a scar that cut through his eyebrow.

“She go to Riverdale High?” RJ asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Jughead answered.

“Sucks you have to switch schools,” RJ said.

“I can handle it.”

“I’m not popular or anything, but I can help not get the shit kicked out of you,” RJ offered sincerely. It didn’t sound like an insult, but more like a fact of Southside High.

“Thanks, man,” Jughead nodded.

Just then, the rickety and unsecure window of the boys’ bedroom opened, letting in a storm of cold air, little snowflakes and Betty. Luckily Jughead’s bed was perched against the wall next to the window because Betty flopped onto his bed head first. She giggled uncontrollably and slid her cold body under the covers.

“I’m guessing this is Betty?” RJ asked.

“Yes, this is Betty,” Jughead responded. He turned his attention to his shivering girlfriend, “You can’t stay, as much as I would like you to. I don't want to get in trouble my first night here.”

“I’ll be out by dawn,” Betty said, already drifting to sleep against the warmth of Jughead.

“She can stay. I can cover for you if I have to,” RJ offered.

Jughead gave him an appreciative smile, “Thanks man. You’re awesome.”

RJ smiled brightly and snuggled back into bed. He seemed to Jughead like one of those guys who just wanted to fit in and have people like him.

“You made it here on foot pretty fast,”  Jughead said to Betty.

“I’m drunk. I couldn’t feel my legs.”

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... Riverdale (S01E04) Chapter 4: The Last Picture Show Airdate: February 16, 2017 (The CW) Ratings: 1.139 Million :: 0.44 18-49 Demo Share Score: 8.5/10 **********SPOILERS BELOW********** Ever since I laid my eyes on a certain Italian Director's work and saw how shading and colors could impact a single storyline so deeply, I became a bit obsessed. Yes I'm talking about Dario Argento and specifically the first film I saw of his, 'Suspiria'. He is a master of color palette play, and to see a show like 'Riverdale' take on such an iconic color scheme itself, is equally as exciting. As apprehensive of the series as I was at first, it seems that with every episode, I grow more and more attached and assured that 'Riverdale' will be the show that we need it to be. The first three episode built on its murder mystery, what seems to be the series' centralized story arc. I watched as slowly but surely the character's of 'Riverdale' started to pop like its unique blue and gold color palette that enhances that focal red color you see peppered throughout the scenes so well. At one point I accused a few characters of falling back into archetypes, while others fleshed out into 3-Dimensional human beings with a timeless, classic look... But here in Chapter 4, a very character who I accused of being an archetype, Cheryl, admitted it in her own words. She was proud of her straight forward, almost basic nature... It's like a defense mechanism. She's not complicated and that's how she likes it, hearing her admit this in her own way made me grin from ear to ear. It's affirmation that creators of the show know exactly how certain people and certain things are coming off to its audience, which helps me trust in its overall direction. The perfect town, with the perfect parents, and their perfect kids prove that even in near-perfection there is always another side of the tracks... The wrong side of the tracks. In 'Riverdale' that's represented by the Southside Serpents, a biker gang led by one Skeet Ulrich, who's character name we aren't sure of yet, but we do know one huge piece of his identity... He's Jughead's father. Jughead has been our gracious narrator through the series, and therefore we get a big part of the story through his point of view. We learn that the drive-in is extremely important to ol' Juggie... His passionate speech at the booth in Pops where he claims that Quentin Tarantino is 'The King Of Underground Cinema' is a nice thought, and meant well, but we all know that John Waters, Todd Solondz, & David Lynch are 'The Real Kings Of Underground Cinema... But yeah, sure kid, everybody knows his name so we'll go with that, tho if everyone knows his name then he's not really underground is he? That's all besides the point tho, Skeet Ulrich is seen by Cheryl lurking around diner dumpsters arguing with Veronica's mom... Cheryl being the upstanding citizen that she is, takes a pic for proof sending Veronica into sleuth mode. After a bit of lying, Hermione finally comes clean after being caught in the act of passing off money to Serpent Skeet. Apparently even in prison, Veronica's Dad is making moves and one of them is to buy up the drive-in lot to level for a perfect plot of land to build on. He payed The Serpents to hang around and solicitate on the grounds to drop down the value of the land, making it more affordable. Tho if Hermione is constantly having to pay them, even while her husband is locked up, Im not sure it was completely worth it. In the end, the big shocker is dropped when Serpent Skeet asks Jughead where he's going to go.... So not only is Leader of The Southside Serpents Jughead's father, that drive-in theater was where Jughead was living! The qualms that anyone had with this episode had to be erased with that double twist, truly a jaw-dropping moment and pivotal point of the series. How can this not rev you up? It was laid out and placed just like the town of Riverdale itself, near perfect. Now while all of this is going on, Betty is doing a bit of sleuthing herself after she figures out that Archie and and Ms Grundy have more than just a teacher-student relationship. Betty is pulling off some crazy stunts, like breaking into Grundy's car, finding an ID proving that Grundy is not who she says she is, and even finding a gun... And she must have 'got it from her momma', because I don't know why anyone in their right mind would take that gun home and put it in their dresser drawer, especially if they were a teenager with an unbalanced investigative journalist mother with questionable integrity. Of course Alice finds the gun, ravages through Alice's diary (keep all your secrets on your iPhone guys, locked tight, fingerprint and codes) and uses the damning knowledge & evidence to send Grundy packing... Not because she dislikes Grundy, or has a huge problem with the unethical predatory behavior that Grundy is obviously notorious for, but because she hates Archie and that in itself shows how loose of a cannon Alice Cooper is. I love Betty and I love that she's so loyal to Archie, but there's a bit of a crazy streak inside of her that she inherited that from her mother, which we saw in full force last week when she avenged that whole 'Sticky Maple' situation with a little bit of an extra touch. Yeah, it's true, Grundy off easy... Alice just wanted to hurt Archie and Fred just wanted to console his son, who he has just realized was music teacher predator bait... But expect her to be popping up sometime in the future... And if it makes you feel any better, Ezra from PLL pretty much trumps Grundy in the 'To Catch a Predator' boat. At least they pulled the trigger on this one quickly. Now we can move on to bigger, better, and fresher storylines. Something tells me that Riverdale has plenty in store for us all.