#//-It's like. The polar opposite of how it is in Archie

[bowsnbots]

//-You guys ever have a song you've known for 10 years suddenly click and make you wanna rework your entire characterization--

[lore-of-mobius]

Political Themes in Sonic The Hedgehog

So there are people nowadays that complain about "politics" being "forced" in media such as Sonic The Hedgehog, whether or not this is the case. They often go on to say they just want things like Sonic to be an escapist fantasy and to keep politics out. So I wanted to talk about political themes in Sonic The Hedgehog that have existed since the first game, and exist in other Sonic continuities as well.

So starting off while I don't know where to find said interview, the environmentalism is major theme stated to be behind Sonic The Hedgehog 1. Now while some people might say environmentalism shouldn't be regarded as political which I agree with, it has been made political by other people. With many of the people who complain about politics in media often complaining about environmentalism viewing it in media as inherently political. This is why I am including it. Continuing said themes can be seen in how in Sonic 1 after Eggman is defeated the Chaos Emeralds create more nature in an instant, and in the 8-bit version the Emeralds get rid of all the pollution done by Eggman.

This is further seen in Chemical Plant Zone and Eggman's bases being cold, mechanical, and the absolute polar opposite of Green Hill Zone. This is further seen in the comparison made by ALtheBoi between Angel Island and the Death Egg being polar opposites in their video How Sonic 3 Tells a Story.

This is further seen in Sonic CD with Eggman's greatest and most prized creation Metal Sonic. Or how the Encyclo-speed-dia puts it, "Eggman's answer to nature's perfect hero." In addition, the good future depicts the Little Planet as a solarpunk paradise, while the bad future depicts it as a polluted mechanical city with no nature in sight.

Eggman and Sonic's rivalry is depicted as freedom and nature vs oppression and pollution, as many of the blue blur's descriptions make this clear. Sonic Adventure "With a strong love of freedom, the only thing Sonic hates is oppression." Sonic Heroes "He's basically easygoing, but when he gets fired up over an injustice, his anger explodes with surprising consequences. Always at the receiving end of this aggression is arch-enemy Dr. Eggman, whose fiendish plots to take over the world are constantly being foiled by Sonic." Sonic Riders Zero Gravity "Sonic is a big fan of freedom and has no tolerance for evildoers." Olympic Games 2016 "He despises anything that is unfair and will get into trouble to help anyone in need." Sonic Superstars "Sonic the Hedgehog runs at mach speeds and is quick to engage those that threaten his friends, his freedom, or the natural world around him."

On top of this the existence of the Guardian Unit Of Nations and what they represent alongside their crookedness makes it where there are politics in the Sonic world. The same goes for the existence of Princess Elise and Blaze the Cat adding in monarchies.

The same goes for Queen Alena and Princess Sally as they do the same for Sonic Underground and Satam. Speaking of which Sonic Satam is the more blunt of Sonic continuities with it's political themes with the tyrant Julian Robotnik and his polluted reign of terror over Mobius, which of course bleeds into the Archie comics.

[pinkanonwrites]

Ugh! Archie's Knightformers au is so freaking good! I'm glad I came over to check out your blog, your writing and musing is amazing!

Curious how do you think minimus/ultra magnus gets along with the fairies, og fairies tend to hate man made metals and technology and the magnus armor is a big set of robotic armor. You think well minimus is still trying to be undercover he has to avoid the fae because they swarm and hex him a LOT.

But later as Minimus they're much nicer and far more amused by him because he's so tiny even for a halfling?

The fae like him a lot more when he's out of his armor, that's for sure! Mostly because of the metal and machinery, but also because Minimus has a much lower chance of squishing a beloved flower or pet bug under foot when he's out of that big, bulky suit.

I think he tries to be civil, but he can't help but find them a little irritating. Minimus is a guy who craves order and stability, the polar opposite of the whimsical and tricksterish fairies that inhabit the forests around the province. Even the few rules that the fae do have come across as flippant and unpredicatble to him, which only furthers said frustration. It certainly doesn't help that a third of his job is trying to keep Rodimus on task when Roddy would much rather be out cavorting with the dryads and pixies in the woods. As a whole he finds them to be exhausting, but I could see him forging a bond with a particular (maybe slightly less mischievous than average) fairy.

[riverdale-retread]

Do you think Jarchie is a viable ship?

To answer the question with a question: What does it mean for a ship to be viable? Is unrequited love or sexual desire also 'viable'? If the love is unrequited but sexual activity happens between the lover and the beloved, does that make it viable?

My take is that Jughead is indeed in romantic and sexual love with Archie throughout most of the show, but that it's unrequited, because (sobbing for Jughead) Archie isn't attracted to what Jughead has to offer. They're at cross purposes for what they need and want from the other one.

Remainder under the cut because I couldn't stop talking.

Jughead is obsessed with Archie, but his love is very twisted and dark because it's the love of someone odds with his own longings. The one adult who actually understands what makes Jughead tick is his mother, so her assuming that Jughead has finally hooked up with Archie, then dragged him out of Riverdale to come running to her about it in Season 3 is a major clue to me. Jughead acting like she's being mean to him is another sign of that twisted complicatedness that he has about Archie. Jughead seethes about Archie when he's not actively imagining exactly how those abs flex when he's giving it to Veronica. As an adult, in the alternate universe, Jughead says "I love you" to Archie specifically when he knows he looks less than appetitzing at the fair - stuffed to the gills, crumbs all over his face, generally ridiculous lookin' - because he wants Archie to say, Even like this, I want you, but Archie isn't someone who would.

Archie consistently has an approach to sex, attraction, and touch that's uncomplicated, and almost polar opposite to Jughead - sensual, spontaneous, joyful. Archie moreover enacts noblesse oblige about being physically very beautiful - he just calmly accepts, without braggadocio, that people want to touch him and kiss him and look at him naked. If he wants to kiss a pretty girl - and he's had so many, omg, Valerie, Veronica, Betty, Josie - he just does, after he gets her permission. If a pretty boy wants to kiss him for being his adorable himself (Kevin, more than once), he accepts it with a smile.

If Jughead could have just made the move, the way Archie makes the move on people he likes or even in the This is a joke heeheehaha ... unless you want it for real way that Kevin kisses him in public, Jughead and Archie could have totally been a canon couple (Cold Sprouts' contract notwithstanding). But you see, Jughead isn't someone who can do that. Archie even tries to help him make the move - that's what I see the "East Village truck speech" being - but Jughead rejects the opportunity. There's too much pain there for Jughead, about Archie, in addition to the love and desire - envy, feelings of betrayal, inferiority and superiority, as well as competitiveness, frustration, possessiveness, and entitlement.

What Archie wants is what he had with S7 Reggie - have a fun sexual night together, be really pleased with each other about it, then afterwards watch a beautiful sunrise and reaffirm mutual affection. None of the Jugheads is capable of interacting with him like that, at all.

[ciaossu-imagines]

I started my rewatch of Class of the Titans and it’s so wild to see things I remember so vividly but also not at all. I definitely forgot how witty the dialogue is though. I always have my expectations low for older shows like this (when I rewatched Winx club a few years back I definitely found myself cringing at times) but I think this aged quite well and even made me chuckle a few times.

One thing I also forgot was the fact that Neil is the descendant of Narcissus lol. For some reason in my mind, I remembered him being related to Aphrodite but I guess it’s because she’s his mentor. That being said, I forgot how lovable the whole cast is. Their friendship and dynamics with each other, even just from the first three episodes, is really great!

Can I ask what are some of your favourite platonic relationships in the show?

- R

Oh my gosh! That makes me really excited to hear! I can definitely see why you set your expectations low for some of the older shows, the ones at least I grew up in because they can be so corny in their dialogue. I mean, I am the hugest Ronin Warriors fan and am currently rewatching that, among some other shows, for probably the thousandth time, but some of the dialogue is so corny that it's hilarious because of bad dubbing but I still love it, maybe even because of that. That being said, I always felt the writing for Class of the Titans was definitely solid. They might have lacked, a little, in my humble opinion, in some of the world-building and story-building, mostly in the second season, but overall, I feel the show is just solid and stands the test of time.

I can so see why, if you haven't watched it in a really long time, you'd forget that Neil was descending from Narcissus because, other than the ego (which Aphrodite also had), nothing was really made of Neil and Narcissus' familial bond. Though I will say, I love Aphrodite and Neil's mentor-student bond and think they are just so adorable and chill. There's no real care about this great big battle against Cronus really with them, they just want to talk and gossip and do skincare and feel more like friends than anything. And yes to the dynamic between the whole group of them. They all have their roles to play, it doesn't feel, at least in the first season, that anyone is more important than anyone else or given more attention than anyone else, and it's just lovely.

I admit to having a real soft spot for the friendship between Odie and Herry. They're just polar opposites, when you sit down and think about it, in terms of interests and temperaments but they just fall into an easy friendship and balance each other out nicely. Plus, they really do have in common, hinted at here and there in episodes, that neither of them really had friends before the group came together, and you can tell how much each of them values their friendship, not just with the other boy, but also with people overall.

Also, while it did become a romantic relationship, I loved the even just platonic bond that Archie and Atlanta had right away. Even when it was clear that Archie started to have a crush on her, there was never any hints that he saw their friendship as a second-place prize or anything…they truly and honestly cared about each other and took a lot of time to really build a good, solid friendship with each other before either even considered seriously taking it further and it's clear their actual friendship matters the most to both of them.

Also, I love Neil, I really do. All the different ways he interacts with each of the others, how he kind of binds them together in a way…I adore his bonds with everyone and if you want an honest headcanon, I think he's in the group with Herry and Odie, who never really had a true friend before meeting the others and I think they all mean a whole awful lot to him.

[tsuki-sennin]

Desire Grand Prix was brought to you by Niram-P and the following sponsors.

-Blue Fox Instant Udon

-Pink Buffalo Jelly Beans

-Kurama Foundation

And contributions from viewers like you... thank you~!

Laser Raiser. Lazy Laser. Raiser Laser.

I can't get over the new device's name, Goddamn.

Anyways yeah, Episodes 22 and 23! I'll be watching those today.

Spoilers, I guess...

-Well now, Keiwa. If it wasn't Sae-san, then it would be you. If I was you, I'd be keeping a close eye on Neon-chan.

-"Are you ready, Keiwa-kun?"

-Wonder how you're looking in the polls?

-"Go sabotage."

-Forevermore.

-Goddamn, that's stake raising.

-Desaster Arc is almost over, bitches~!

-Buffa's in the game! Forgot to tell you guys that, but you'll be fine, right?

-Chirami, I don't wanna know how you made that squishy sound.

-"Christ, are you really selling my life as some stupid bad boy character? Is there someone I can sue? Can I call that green buffalo Rider from another Rider death game?"

-"You can win big~! Or go home ten thousand lives shorter~!"

-You're one sick son of a bitch, Chirami.

-Naptime.

-Jamatoless behavior.

-"World peace, finally :D"

-"Nooo... we're losing viewership by the Jamillion!"

-Sup Archie?

-"Don't rush me, bitch boy!"

-"Ohhhh noooooo, that sounds like not my problem!"

-Ohhhhhhh

-Daichi's the cause of the game.

-Where Jamato?

-Game Master's turn!

-GLARE2!

-Login!

-Hen! Sin!

-I HAVE FULL CONTROL OVER

-GLARE2!

-Time to fight!

-Tsumuri, what're you doin'?

-Go!

-Hide and seek~!

-That's a neat idea.

-"Good luck, everyone~! Keep the viewers and the sponsors happy~!"

-Oh?

"Right, I'm gonna clock out early, Chirami ain't paying me enough for this."

-LANDMINE!

-Guys who go "AAAAAAAAH" and girls who go "Nyeaaaaaaaah!"

-This is so funny to me.

-Sabotage!

-And now he's in the cage.

-Wherein he belongs.

-Draw on the man's face.

-"Wow man, the audience hates you."

-"Please stop reminding me."

-And with that, you've convinced literally nobody.

-"Sorryyyyy..."

-Can't exactly lie to what's essentially a professional con man.

-Guess nobody in this restaurant really cares?

-You're not exactly being discrete yourself, Neon!

-Guessing that guy's Na-Go's sponsor.

-Ah yep, there he is.

-Everybody's got eyes on Neon Kurama. Not always for good reasons.

-You're kinda creepy, dude.

-Here comes the fanboy. Ziin~!

-I don't really like that name all that much, but I guess I can't really change that, can I?

-Guess Beroba's got a good idea. Crush all Riders, let the Jamato run unopposed, make all of humanity suffer. Everybody wins with that arrangement, it'd seem.

-Anyways, welcome back to the silly!

-Worm~!

-He runnin'!

-Ooooooh, pressure plates.

-Bonk!

-This is neat to me, I don't know why.

-It's a similar suit and power set, but it's like a polar opposite fighting style to Girori's.

-Can't jump.

-Oh we're losin'.

-"You're too soft, Tycoon. Your bleeding heart might just be hemorrhaging at this point."

-Neon-chan!

-Ohhhhh, girl's playing dirty.

-Hey, hey, hey!

-There they be.

-Ohhhhh, Beroba's a rider too.

-...did she get giant?

-The seeds of distrust have been sown.

-"How impressive... I suppose having a housecat hunt as she please would eventually turn her feral."

-Think you're laying it on a little thick there, honey.

-The Dezastar... it's you, Neon-chan.

-Ace is just that goddamn good.

-Damn.

-Nevermind that, the Game Master's been kicked.

-Game Master Beroba.

-Goddess of Creation.

-...I get it now.

-Haxxored.

-There he is.

-Ziin.

-"You're ruining my quality TV time, Beroba. I'll stomp you into the dirt."

-Laser Raise Riser!

-Ziin Set!

-Laser On!

-That's a cool goddamn jingle.

-Ziin! His actor, Fuku Suzuki, he played Shotaro Ishinomori himself in Super Hero Senki. He's pretty good for a guy so young.

-Now he gets to be a Kamen Rider.

-These two random teenagers, a frog man mafia boss, and whoever that sweater dude is. Our sponsors, ladies and germs.

-"I want to be moved."

-Guess even Chirami's fully aware that Beroba's bad news now.

-"Kamen Rider...!"

-Nadgey, what did you think you were gonna do?

-Guy's got lasers.

-She wins this round, but it definitely ain't over.

-"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Beroba-kun."

-Niram-P, hello.

-Game Master. Producer.

-"Bleeeeeh!"

-She just noped the fuck out of there.

-Soooooo, Goddess... where'd you come from?

-Well, we're fucked.

-You get a second to breathe, Neon.

-Sousei no Megami!

-Ohhh!

-Secretary Jumpscare.

-"You got hacked and hijacked, you goddamn moron. I'll deal with you later."

-The Goddess is the DGP.

-Guess you're all angels.

-"No comment."

-"Soooo... wanna tell us why you know where the Jamato come from?"

-Man... Michinaga's getting a lot angrier by the second.

-You're a darkhearted man, Mr. Producer.

-I guess Chirami's really not liked by the upper management.

-Unfullfilled forever more.

-"Pwease get my Driver back, pweeeeease~!"

-For the sake of Real Fiction.

-"I'm going to use you to grant my wish."

-Hello, Kekera!

-"Get the Driver back, boy!"

-Woooow, free Boost once more!

-Be sure to use it this time.

-"Kamen Rider!" That's you!

-An entire goddamn flower garden.

-Ohhhhhhh

-He's a simp.

-Kyuun.

-Free buckle~!

-Lots of people root for Na-Go-san.

-Tsumuri's so DONE with these people's shit.

-Ziin, hello.

-"You're my dude."

-Oooooooh, he's jumpin' right in.

-I can't imagine how elated Suzuki-san is to be here.

-Jajajajajaja.

-Jajaja?

-Ja?

-"Duuuuude, I'm fighting with Geats!"

-Ziin Setto!

-He does the snape!

-Set Fever!

-Double Beat!

-...Back Beat?

-I see Ziin plays support.

-I have to admit, this is really cool.

-"Your destined enemy. He's here."

-Buffa just wants the game to end for good.

-OOooooooh, Jamato Zombie!

-That's siiiiick.

-Revolve On!

-Radical.

-Good job, Neon!

-We are... Kamen Riders!

-Ohhhhhh

-Nadgey's back.

-Man, they're really going at it.

-Beroba, hello!

-Never make that noise around me again.

-"World's over anyway, nerd!"

-Ohhh, he's down.

-The Desire Grand Prix is a game lightyears ahead of the curb.

-Geats from the ancient past... Ziin from the far future.

-3.5D!

-"Oh well... DGP's reaching the finale. Oh well..."

-Ohhh, Tsumuri...

-OHHHHH

-Kamen Rider Beroba.

-IS FUCKING MASSIVE WHAT THE FUCK

-Breaking Mammoth sized!

-"NOOOOOOOOOOO MY BABIES!"

-Oh...

-Oh... this is over.

-OH SHIT KEKERA REVEAL

-Goddamn

-Geats has me hooked.

[thankskenpenders]

So what are your thoughts on Zeti Hunt?

I'll hide this under a read more since the last issue only came out a few days ago

Sooo I don't think it was a BAD arc, like I said there were a lot of moments I liked in there. I think the way the Deadly Six highlighted Sonic and friends' philosophies by being their polar opposite was really interesting, and it was genuinely kind of menacing to see them and Starline intruding on the Restoration base we'd seen in Evan's previous arc, and of course the stuff with Starline and Belle in the last issue was fantastic. (Side note: I've said this before, but it's still so satisfying as an Archie reader to see two lead writers actually working together.) I was also totally open for a Zeti-focused arc after how much work Bad Guys did to sell Zavok as a character. I do like Ian's take on him! And Sonic standing up for his beliefs in the last issue felt like a great epilogue of sorts to the Metal Virus arc. And of course the art was still solid throughout

It's just that, while many moments were great, as a whole I don't think it pulled off its sales pitch of being this last big showdown (for now) between Sonic and the Deadly Six. That mostly comes down to the third issue being underwhelming to me from a writing standpoint. We had two issues setting up this rampage the Zeti were on and their big impending fight with Sonic, and then they just kinda... fight in a hallway for one issue? (Reggie tried their best to spice up that hallway with nice teal lighting, but Ian really did just write basically an entire issue in one featureless room.) And then the devices Tails made to conveniently incapacitate them all work like a charm and they win and they send them home. They don't even need the full four issues, the last issue is spent mostly on Belle instead. (Not that I think every IDW arc NEEDS to be four full issues, but it felt like everything was resolved really quickly and neatly here.)

Ian has often compared the style he's going for with the IDW series to shounen manga, and I do appreciate that, but the action here didn't feel like a fun shounen battle where the characters are doing interesting and flashy stuff with their powers. The Deadly Six just weren't very interesting opponents for Sonic here. The exception was Whisper using Tangle's tail to brace herself so she could snipe the Zeti through the whole in the wall, which WAS a fun moment, but then like. The rest of the fight is mostly just her taking pot shots through the hole until she's incapacitated, and then Sonic fights them and it's mostly just a regular melee fight. The stakes don't really get ratcheted up that well, there aren't any big twists, Tangle and Whisper don't even come through the damn door to help, we just get Sonic (and later Tails) fighting the Deadly Six in a hallway for an issue and then they win

On the BumbleKast Ian has half-jokingly described this arc as him cleaning up a mess he'd left for Evan at the end of Metal Virus, with him basically going "oh shit I forgot the Zeti are still out there" and deciding to resolve it in his next arc. And like, Ian is often good about masking the utilitarian "moving the chess pieces around the board" aspect of his writing, but here it felt pretty perfunctory. Sonic has to beat the Deadly Six so they're not in play anymore, so he does, and then that's that, now back to the storylines that actually matter with Belle and Starline to set up Imposter Syndrome

Again, it's not TERRIBLE, I liked 3/4 issues on their own, but I would say as an arc it's below Ian's usual par

[iconic-ponytail]

there's always money in the banana stand

riverdale promptathon week 3: yellow + business

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

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

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

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

Enter: the banana stand.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Betty grins.

I did that.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Do you have a pencil?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Betty Cooper is extremely cute when she stammers.

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

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

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

“Betty, wait.”

She pivots back, eyes down at the ground.

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

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

They shake on it.

[hvneybxns]

Had to asked him yesterday if he had thought that he was going to end up here, or even an hour ago before the drive home had seemed to long the Sinclair would have laughed at you. He was still so tragically in love with Melrose it hurt to think about, and using Bianca hadn't stopped that, now it seemed like his feeble heart was adding Micah straight into the mix and there was nothing he could do to stop it. "I am like, the biggest guy in all the land, you should have known that food was the way to my heart." And if Archie didn't think it could get any more embarrassing than the texts that he had sent he had clearly not taken a second to think through just how he would act when the male was in front of him given how taken he seemed to be with the other tonight. If his twin could see him now, there was a good chance that she would murder him just for being such an embarrassment, at the very least his polar opposite would disown him for the word that wouldn't stop tumbling from his mouth. "Right beer let's go." Slowly, so that he stayed upright, Archie made his way through to the kitchen where he retreived a couple of beers for the two of them before he returned, joining Micah on the sofa, for to close for comfort and with far less grace than he ususally moved with despite his side. "Of course not, I was at an event, a launch, an ambassador thing, but I'd rather be here than anywhere else right now."

He  had  always  been  there  for  the  Sinclair  twins.  Their  friendship  had  blossomed  from  a  young  age,  pushed  together  by  their  mothers  to  become  friends  as  early  as  they  possibly  could.  So  not  speaking  to  Archie  had  felt  like  the  world  was  crumbling  down  around  him  and  all  he  could  do  was  give  the  other  time  and  space  to  stop  hating  him.  At  least,  Micah  was  sure  that  he  did  –  not  that  Archie  would  ever  say  that  to  him.  “Because  I  brought  you  pizza?  Damn,  if  I  knew  it  was  that  easy  I  would  have  done  it  ages  ago,”  Micah  bantered  back,  his  own  grin  taking  over  his  face.  It  had  felt  like  a  lifetime  since  he  was  able  to  easily  smile  and  that  guilt  was  eating  him  up  inside.  Pushing  his  own  demons  down,  Micah  raised  an  eyebrow  as  his  hand  moved  to  steady  Archie’s  arm,  making  sure  that  the  equilibrium  was  not  off  as  he  mentioned  a  beer.  When  was  the  last  time  he  had  any  alcohol  at  all?  Micah  couldn’t  remember  having  sworn  off  of  getting  drunk  in  public  since  it  was  discovered  how  much  of  a  lightweight  he  truly  was.  “Alright,  alright,  let’s  have  a  beer.  Why  not.”  He  mumbled  as  he  allowed  his  hand  to  drop  from  the  other  man’s  forearm  and  slid  down  on  the  couch  himself.  “You  haven’t  been  drinking  alone  all  night,  right?  That’d  be  sad  and  that’s  coming  from  me.”

[ninjacat1515]

Could you tell us more about Archie's dad? I would like to know more about him(if you want tho)

I haven't put much thought into him, and this ask has prompted me to flesh him out more!- He was a Villager who fell in love with Eimear, both in their early 20's. They had a secret romance for a while and eventually Matias and Fiadh caught onto the fact Eimear was dating a Villager. They knew something had been amiss, and while initially put off by it, they came to accept Daniel with time and seeing how happy he made Eimear and how well he treated her.

He also faced some backlash from his Village, as he was in love with an Illager- and the daughter of a notorious Pillager warlord-- but Eimear was like the polar opposite of her parents.

She would bring them Netherite armor and weapons and teach them battle tactics, wanting them to feel safe. Daniel was overjoyed at the changing relationship between Illagers and Villagers.

When they had Archie, things calmed down even more and Daniel was such a proud father.

One night though, Heroes launched a surprise attack on the Illager town and Griefers had found out about it, deciding to have fun and take advantage of the situation.

This led to the Village being destroyed as the Griefers raided it; with Eimear and Daniel fleeing for the safety of the Illager town.

The Heroes mistook Eimear for an enemy Illager, thinking she was kidnapping someone- after all seeing and Illager with a Villager was unheard of, and they killed her.

Daniel was devastated, and it broke him. When the Griefers and Heroes clashed, he was killed in the crossfire of bolts and arrows.

[crusherthedoctor]

Hey crusher, I haven’t read your fanfic with Trudy in it, but I wanted to ask how did you make sonic and trudy’s relationship work, since sonic isn’t that big on romance?

inb4 someone says “he didn't lol”

Since tackling a ship is always very risky, especially when it's an OC/canon ship, I've abided by a few pointers in order to execute Sonudis to the best of my ability:

- Beyond the Stars is not Archie. Beyond the Stars is a traditional adventure that simply happens to include an OC/canon ship. It is not a glorified soap opera starring Sonic characters, like Archie often was prior to the reboot.

- The “official” flavor. Sonic falling for anyone would obviously never actually happen in the games (which is for the better, cause you can imagine the fandom meltdowns on all sides). And on the off chance that it did happen, it would probably be with Amy, because it's pretty much contractually obligated to be Amy. But what if he fell for someone, and what if it was... *chokes on words*... a newcomer? We've seen this cliche in many fics, yes, but if it were ever tackled “officially”, how would it be done? How would it actually work? How would Sonic actually react?

- Neither Sonic or Trudy had to be modified. Trudy was never designed to be the “perfect lady” for Sonic, it just so happened that she had traits that Sonic would find an appeal in, despite me never having started Beyond the Stars with the intention of making Sonudis a thing. This is how @benignmilitancy got into Sonudis in the first place... and why she dragged me down into the abyss with her. D:

- Sonic is Sonic. Sonic is often warped into something he's not with a lot of ships, usually by turning him into a submissive simp, or forcing him to sacrifice something that goes against what makes him who he is. This is why Sonally tends to fall flat, since the writing made it so that Sonic had to sacrifice his own freedom for Sally's sake, which is something Sonic would simply never do. And although Sonamy admittedly tends to be a little better in that regard (since Amy isn't as demanding with Sonic's freedom), it too is no stranger to falling into that trap regardless. So I made sure to avoid that pitfall by keeping Sonic true to himself, with the end result instead being based partly on the realisation that he DOESN’T have to give up his needs in order for it to work. This also means that he doesn't need to be actively lovey-dovey with Trudy, he can just carry on being his natural self, since being himself is why Trudy fell for him in the first place. :3

- The right amount of similar. Trudy may outwardly seem like the polar opposite of Sonic (gentle voice, slow and steady, lives in a fancy castle), but she has key personality traits that match up a lot more, such as having an adventurous streak and a similar playful side. This means that although she's not an outright carbon copy of Sonic's personality, ergo she can still give Sonic a second opinion on something (and vice-versa), she has enough in common with him that it's understandable as to how there could be a believable connection between them.

- Build up. Trudy is an OC, which means this is the first time they've met. Sonic isn't going to fall for Trudy right away, and Trudy isn't going to develop her own feelings for Sonic right away. But of course, you don't want to drag it out either. The pacing needs to be balanced just right.

- Logical reasons for appeal. Though Sonic may not be hooking up with anyone anytime soon, we do know there are some characteristics that canonically appeal to him. For just one example, it's been said that he may be willing to take Amy's feelings for him more seriously if she were a little more mature. Trudy, as it happens, is fairly mature (though not without the aforementioned playful side).

- Everyone else remains in-character too. If Amy acknowledges or comments on it, then of course she will initially be disappointed to know that her lifelong crush is interested in someone else, but she gradually learns to come to terms with it, and at no point does she act like a murderous yandere to Sonic, or a vindictive bitch to Trudy. Likewise, if Eggman acknowledges or comments on it, he's not going to ship them ala Boom Eggman shipping Boom Sonamy. No, he's going to laugh at it, mock the shit out of it, use it to his advantage, etc.

- There's a difference between taking the execution of Sonudis seriously, and taking Sonudis itself seriously. In other words, it's just harmless fun for me and a few others, and I treat it accordingly, but I am serious about trying to make it work in respect to Sonic's established character. If one doesn't like it, that's absolutely fine, but if nothing else, I want to be able to say that I put all my effort into making it a step above “Sonic goes full mindless simp for Shadow's identical sister who is faster then Sonic, stronger than Knuckles, smarter than Tails and Eggman conbined, etc”.

[myoldiaries]

Who are your favourite mutuals? What are their names and explain them in a few words.

@readyforit ABBY IS THE BEST i love her edits sm and her vague textposts plus she has impeccable taste in music!! 

@wisteriagrow Aamna is the embodiment of the word SOFT. i love her graphics sm and her themes >>>> she is snowflakes, daisies and the softest shade of pink there is.

@petrlosingwendy CHLOE IS SUCH A SWEETHEART she is so talented god and i have known her for quite some time now and what can i say i love my alpaca girl 

@theman we have the same names but we are POLAR OPPOSITES and that’s such a wild and cool concept to me. I love this girlie she is so eccentric with very pretty vibes and she is the amount of chill i aspire to be.

@bettyi el!!! makes me feel so comforted and is good at the advice, she is like the mom friend of us bufoons (me including the people above) she is just so funny and friendly and i love her chaotic side alot too everyone needs a fren like her 

@afterweglow NAT IS AMAZING she is like an angel and i just love her sm. she makes such pretty graphics and i just am a big fan how she is so encouraging and uplifting

@mylover when jerr followed me i was like THIS BIG BLOG FOLLOWED ME WHAT DO I DO asghjkll her graphics are just so pretty and really inspired me to edit too. and plus she is such a down to earth person and her aura is all pink and sparkles iluvher

@redutation even guisy’s blog feels like a warm hug and im not kidding when i say this, all her edits are so gorgeously cottagecore centric- WOW this era is such a win for this bb who is sunshine embodied btw i love her 

@recklesspath  i gasped when she followed me cause um i went to her edits and i was like THIS GIRL IS MAD TALENTED, i have been obsessed with her editing style ever since.it’s so unique and suits her personality sm. ella if you’re reading this ily

@tthelakes SAM MY HONEY!!! i love her, she is so sweet to me it warms my heart. check out her blog for gifs with amazing quality! and content i love 

@tylorswift GIFFING QUEEN!!! archi is so positive, talented and kind, all of it absolutely enamours me. she is one of the best people i have met on here and honestly talking to her sets me at ease

@hermionegrangcr last but not the least JEN!! i love her and im so happy i get to be mutuals with her. she is SO smart and sophisticated and determined it’s aspiring, im obsessed with her unique editing style and moreover how well spoken she is!! 

[anotherficwriter]

The Serpent’s Secret Lover

Alright y’all! Here it is!!! This is the first smut I’ve posted on this page so let me know what you think! 

Summary: The Northside Princess and the Serpent prince have a small secret: they’ve been dating for months. When the prince’s insecurities get the best of him, can his princess ease his worries? 

Warnings: SMUT, lightly mentioned daddy kink (LIGHTLY like barley there), oral (f receiving), unprotected sex, pet names, LOTS OF FLUFF and soft Sweets!!

“Do you know what time you’ll be back, hun?” You hear your mom’s voice as you descended down the stairs. “I want to know if I’m setting your place for dinner or not.” 

“Uh… I’m not sure. I might sleep over Betty’s tonight after we get back from the movie but I’ll keep you updated,” the lie comes easily to you as you have told it so many times before. It was always Betty or Veronica’s house because you knew your mom wouldn’t call to check up on you while you were there. She trusted you so much that you almost felt bad for lying to her so much but you knew that if she knew where you were actually going, you would never be allowed to visit, let alone spend the night. 

“Sounds good! Want a ride to the theatre? Or are you meeting at Pop’s?” 

“Pop’s probably. But don’t worry about it, I can walk! I’ll text you when I know my plans,” with some quick goodbyes you were out the door and headed in the direction for Pop’s. Passing your neighbors houses, waving to them and asking how they were doing as they watered their plants at sundown or walked their dogs around the neighborhood. A few streets down you could guess that Betty and Archie were in their homes probably doing homework or working on the next town mystery and you’re sure that if you asked they would be down to go see a movie or grab a shake at Pop’s and if they did then you wouldn’t have to lie and you could cancel your original plans. Your phone dings and lights up with a text message as your guilty conscious threatens to take hold. 

From: Daddy Sweets 😘🍆 💦

Omw baby 

See you in 10 

You roll your eyes at the newest name change that Sweet Pea gave to himself in your phone. Every time that you spend the night, you wake up the next morning and there’s a new contact name and a new contact picture that gets more explicit every week. You type a quick reply and hope that he is already on his motorcycle and not able to read it because you couldn’t handle the embarrassment that would come with it. 

To: Daddy Sweets 😘🍆 💦

Okay, daddy  😘 Can’t wait!!

Much to your chagrin, he answers almost immediately that you know he’s shocked and probably a little worked up. 

From: Daddy Sweets 😘🍆 💦

oh baby I’m gonna rock your fucking world

You quickly put your phone in the pocket of your cardigan and duck your head to hide the blush on your cheeks and neck from the rest of your neighbors on your street but your mind is already swimming with the possibilities of what your boyfriend might do to you when he gets you home and with those thoughts you put your headphones in and pick up your pace towards Pop’s. 

---

When you see the neon sign of Pop’s approaching you slow your pace until you’re stopped just around the corner. You can’t risk going in because any number of your friends or neighbors or general acquaintances could be in there and if they saw you then they might see who you leave with and who knows who they might tell and who those people would then tell and it was all too big of a risk. The once a week that you slept over Sweet’s house, you met at the corner by Pop’s where he’d pick you up on his motorcycle and drive away as quickly as possible to Sunnyside Trailer Park. 

You could hear the faint rumble of a motorcycle over your headphones and you quickly pulled them out of your ears and into your pocket with your phone. What you failed to notice was the car pulling up on the other side of the street that contained your friends. 

Betty, Archie, Veronica, and Jughead all drove up together in Betty’s mom’s car and noticed you at the same time. Right as they were about to roll the windows down and ask if you wanted to join them at Pop’s they saw a motorcycle pull up next to you and you walk closer to it. When the driver took off their helmet to hand it to you there were audible gasps from the friends in the car. 

“Is Sweet Pea kidnapping Y/N?” Betty was the first one to speak up and although she was partially joking, she had no idea what to make of the scene unfolding in front of them. 

As you grasped the helmet from Sweets, he leaned down ever so smoothly and you knew what he was asking for. Very quickly you rose up your toes to give him a chaste kiss on the lips before putting his helmet on and hopping on the back of the bike before securely wrapping your arms around his waist. And with that, he drove off. 

The four friends gaped as they watched the two of you speed off down the street in the direction of the Southside. Veronica was the first one to say anything. 

“Are they… a thing? Like did they just kiss or am I hallucinating?” Her tone was riddled with confusion and the faces of the other three had the same feeling etched across them. 

“No way! The two of them are polar opposites. I didn’t  think they could be within the same room with each other without the forces of good and evil  using the space between them as a battlefield for their unholy war. Besides, I see Sweet Pea on a daily basis. He’s never said anything about anyone. Why would they hide it?” Jughead’s tone sounded sure but his facial expressions said otherwise. He hoped that he knew his own men well enough that he’d be able to tell when one of them was shacking up with someone so far out of their realm of possibility but maybe he was wrong.

“Probably for this exact reason! You’re right, Jug, they are two complete opposite ends of the spectrum and we have no idea what the true nature of their relationship is but here we are, judging them,” Veronica was surprised to find herself to be the one speaking words of calmness into the air but she was sure that there was something about the whole situation that these four didn’t know. “Maybe they’re friends? Or she’s his tutor for a class they share?” She knew these answers were wrong but she didn’t want to degrade her friend by automatically assuming she was the booty call of some Serpent but she also wasn’t sure she was ready to admit that they might be something more...romantic. 

“Tutors don’t kiss. Friends don’t kiss,” Archie finally offered his two cents. 

“Well, there’s nothing we can do to figure it out right now,” Betty offered. “Why don’t we continue with our regularly scheduled programming of getting some dinner and try not to think about what our friend might be doing right now.” 

With some nods from the rest of the group, the four got out of their car and walked into Pop’s trying to shake away their confusion. But they all knew that they needed to know the truth about what was really going on with the Northside Princess and the Serpent Prince.

----

Sweet Pea cut the engine to the bike as it stopped in front of his home and put his foot out to keep balance. Once he was safely off the bike he held out his hand and elbow for you to grab and you clambered off the motorcycle as gracefully as you could. You were pretty sure that no matter how many times you had gotten on and off this bke that you would never be fully comfortable. 

“You’re going to have to get used to it eventually, you know. I don’t plan on getting a car anytime soon,” the smirk on Sweet Pea’s face was enough to make you roll your eyes and hit him playfully on the chest. 

“Of course I had to pick the biker. I couldn’t go for someone with four wheels and a heater! I really should reevaluate my priorities.” 

“Oh, yeah? And what are you prioritizing by being with me, huh?” 

“Oh.. ya know,” you had started this interaction with the utmost confidence but as you glanced over your boyfriend's god-like physique and chiseled face you could not, for the life of you, remember what you were trying to say.

“I don’t actually, princess. Enlighten me. Is it your undeniable love for me? Maybe it's the chance to try something new and exciting? Or maybe,” he leaned down close to whisper into your ear, “it’s because you know I can fuck you until I have you cumming around my cock over and over and no other person could, huh? Is that it, princess?” His voice was hoarse as he pressed his body against yours and you felt the warmth of him through your clothes. Your head was reeling and you felt drunk off lust that it almost made you forget you were standing outside in front of the trailer where anyone could see you. You almost didn’t notice that he subtly asked if you were in love with him. Almost. 

“Sweets, we’re outside. People. Could get caught,” you were basically panting and he was drinking up every single second of it, knowing how much of an effect he had on your body. 

“Does that bother you, doll? Do you not want people to see how wet I can make you with just my words? Afraid one of your Northside friends are going to find their way over to the wrong side of the tracks and see their princess trapped in the hands of some horny Serpent?” His words were riddled with undertones of cockiness and sex and he was looking at you like you were the only thing that existed in this world. 

Before you could muster up the strength or willpower to do anything, Sweets had picked up your hand from your side and used it to pull you towards the door of his trailer and inside of it. 

“Eventually, you’re going to let me tell your friends about us and then I can do what I want with you, where I want and whenever I want. My shy, shy girl, so scared of how the big, bad biker makes you feel.” 

Something was different about this interaction. Out of all the times he had made you feel this level of desire or brought you to this trailer, he was sounding slightly… defensive? You had tried to ignore it when he was talking to you outside but know, even though he was hiding it through his heightened levels of lust for you, you could hear it ever-present in his words. Insecurity. 

The second the word entered your mind, it was gone as Sweet Pea had started placing sloppy kisses on your neck and collarbone making you let out a moan and fling your hands to tangle into his hair. As your hands moved down from his hair to the collar of his leather jacket to his chest, you could feel his heart thumping forcefully as his breathing was more shallow and rushed. He had one of his hands on your stomach pushed up under your shirt and one pressed against the back of your neck, holding you to him. 

“Take off your clothes,” this was not a question. It was a demand. Sweet Pea was never one to take things slow, normally. But with you he was the most patient and tender-hearted. He knew how much it meant to you to make your time together mean something so he always made it as romantic as he knew how to. Lewd words and rough sex was a part of that but this commanding tone was new and different. And you liked it. The part of your brain not clouded by your want for him wondered if this demanding demeanor had anything to do with the potential insecurities you had begun to uncover earlier but you didn’t have too much time to think about it before he started speaking again. 

“Take. Off. Your. Clothes. Don’t make me repeat myself, little one.” 

Your hands fumbled with the bottom of your shirt as you took it off after disrobing of your cardigan in a rush. When you look back towards Sweet Pea, his jacket was already off and he was ripping his flannel vest off his body and beginning to fumble with his belt. He looked at you with a hungry expressions, taking in the sight of you in your bra and jeans and he was positive he could lose it right then and there. He took another step closer to you and dropped to his knees. A shocked gasp left your mouth from seeing him in such a vulnerable position and you could feel your nerves setting aflame. The way he looked up at you as he palmed your thighs with his hands made you feel so vulnerable and so empowered all at once. Out there, he was the big, bad biker but here… here he was yours. He would do anything you asked of him. You both knew it and neither of you cared.

Sweet Pea’s hands tugged at the top of your jeans, pulling them to your ankles. Before you could kick them off he had his head in between your thighs, placing light kisses to your inner thighs, pelvic bone, and outer lips. Your hands went back to his hair where they tugged and lightly scratched at his scalp in need. He looked up at you through his lashes as he continued peppering you with kisses almost as if to say “Keep trying to rush me, watch what happens.” 

You were attempting to keep your cool and not try to rush him through his process but when you looked down and saw him reach a hand down to press against the growing bulge in his boxers, you snapped. Pushing his head away from your thighs and kicking off your jeans completely, you knelt on the ground in front of him. Immediately, you moved your hand down to his boxers and began to rub his erection through them. Sweet Pea let out a whine of needy pleasure at the feeling and you kept doing it in hopes that he would keep making those noises. His head went limp as he laid it on your shoulder to let you keep touching him. He had never wanted anything more than to feel your hands on him like this. For a minute he allowed himself to forget that he was supposed to be in control of this situation. He let his hips rut against your hand and he didn’t try to stop the moans and desperate whines that came from deep within his being. It wasn’t until he felt a familiar pressure building up in his lower abdomen that he thought he definitely needed to stop you right now. He was going to make you his tonight, in a way he never had before. And he could not do that if you had him coming in his boxers five minutes in. 

“Stop. Now,” he tried so hard to make it sound commanding but it was a plea. A whiny, unassertive beg. The need in his voice went straight to your core and made your hands shake but you didn’t stop. “Please…” it was barely a breath and you knew that he must be teetering on the edge of his orgasm if he was this desperate. Just when Sweets thought he couldn’t possibly contain himself any longer he grabbed your wrist and yanked it up towards him. 

“I said stop! Are you disobeying me?” Now it is your turn to be the whiny one. You let out a small squeak at his outburst and looked anywhere but his eyes. The throbbing vein in his neck. The contracting of his abdominal muscles as he still fought to hold off his orgasm even though you were no longer touching him. You were 100% sure that if you touched him even slightly right now or even said something a little dirty, he would lose it. But he was already back in control and you couldn’t risk him punishing you for making him cum so soon. 

“Answer me, little one. Were you disobeying me and trying to make me cum?” 

“...Yes,” your voice had never been so soft. “I’m sorry.”

“You will be.” 

And with that he placed one hand behind your knees and pulled them out from under you and put the other hand in the middle of your back as he used his body to lay you flat on the floor. A gentle but still controlling movement. He stood up to pull his boxers off and you watched in awe as this gorgeous man stood towering above you, fully nude. God, he was beautiful in the truest sense of the world. He noticed your staring and allowed himself a moment to feel bashful under your intense stare. He wasn’t dumb. He knew that he was attractive. He knew that there were dozens of girls who talk about his looks in the hallways at school but none of that mattered. Knowing that you thought he was worth your time, made him feel like a king. Like a god. 

Sweet Pea kneeled back down besides you and took in the sight of you before him. Your back was slightly arched as you awaited his touch. Your feet were tapping against the air in anticipation, too. He loved knowing that it was him who did this to you. Him, the serpent prince from the wrong side of town getting to take part in the deflowering of the Northside princess over and over again. What an honor, he thought to himself. 

To keep you from waiting any longer, Sweet Pea placed his hands on your covered breasts and trailed them down your stomach until he was laid out on top of you, face hovering above your clothed core as you lifted your head to look at him. This time, he didn’t tease you with kisses over your underwear. Instead, he yanked them off and lowered his head against you. Before you could think to gasp, his fingers were spreading your lips apart as his tongue found its way to your clit. Your hands were clenching and unclenching at your sides and he took his free hand to place one of yours on the top of his head, hoping that you would get the message. As your second hand followed your first, Sweet’s ministrations continued. He was lapping at your clit in small circles and then alternating to sucking it lightly, then harshly. When your hands started to clench tighter onto his hair, he took his free hand and slid his middle finger up and down your slit a few times before partially inserting it into you. He started slow, as always, and pumped half his finger in and out of you for a while until you were comfortable enough for him to fully insert it, the whole time making sure to lick your clit the way he knew you liked it.

“How you feeling, baby, huh? You like that?” He knew you did. But hearing you say it made him  feel validated and worthy. He would do whatever you needed him to do if it meant you’d let him make you feel good. 

“Uh-huh… so goooood,” complete sentences were not your friend and your voice spiked higher on the last word as new levels of pleasure flooded you. 

“What do you think baby? Should I make you cum like this?” You wanted to say yes, obviously. The things this boy could do with his tongue… wow. But you wanted him. More of him.

“No- ahh- no… I want you, Sweets...inside me,” it was the best you could do with the given circumstances but it was good enough to make Sweet Pea growl against you. He loved hearing anything sexual come out of your mouth, especially when it sounded so wrecked and needy. 

“Yeah? Think you deserve that after what you pulled earlier? Think you deserve my cock after trying to make me cum in my boxers earlier?” 

“Yess, please!! Please, please, please,” you begged. 

Sweet Pea couldn’t tease you, or himself, any longer. Hearing the way you begged for him and feeling how hard he already was pressing against your legs, he needed to feel you wrapped around him just as much as you needed him inside of you. He crawled his way up your body and placed one hand on the floor beside your head to steady himself and used the other one to line himself up with your entrance. He dragged the tip of his cock up and down your slit making you wriggle your body against him and once he was satisfied with how worked up you both were, he pushed himself inside of you halfway and stilled. He kept one hand to steady himself and brought the other one up to your face to cradle it. 

“How’s that, princess? You like the feeling of my cock filling you up? What is this, five times now? And you feel better and better every time,” he meant that. He knew you needed to hear something a little more calming as your body still tried to get used to the feeling of having something this big, or anything for that matter, inside of it. No matter how badly he wanted to thrust into you and pound you until you were both dizzy, he knew you needed time to adjust. He stilled for a few moments before drawing himself out and pushing back in half way. When he felt the clenching of your muscles ease, he slowly slid himself all the way in and let out a moan he’d been holding since he first pushed into you. 

Although it didn’t hurt nearly as much as the first time, it still was slightly uncomfortable for the first few minutes and you appreciated how gentle and patient he actually was with you. You weren't stupid. You saw the strain in his face as he held himself back from wrecking you and you saw how his abs clenched as he fought the urge to release all of his pent up lust and aggression but he never let it take over him. He kept control and you loved that. 

When he finally picked up the pace a little bit, he dropped himself down onto his elbows and lowered his head onto your shoulders as he had done earlier. He let out muffled grunts and moans as he pushed himself in and out of you and you wrapped your arms around him to pull him closer to you. Your moans were flowing freely out of your mouth and right into his ear which he used as encouragement. He’d love to have those play in his mind all day, everyday. He began to move faster against you and you could see his muscles begin to strain as he started getting closer to his release. He grabbed one of your arms from around him and pushed your hand down to where your bodied connected. 

“Touch yourself. Rub your clit for me, baby,” it was gruff and scratchy as it came out of his mouth and you were shocked. That was new. He had never asked you to do anything like that before and you hadn’t thought you’d ever consider something like that. “Please, baby. I’m so close and I need to feel you cum around me. I need it.” 

Slowly, you dragged your hand from your hip down to your center and dragged it across your folds. Sweet Peas eyes were glued downwards towards your connected bodies as he watched your shaky hand finds its way to your clit. When you made contact, he felt you walls flutter around him and he lowered his head slightly and let out a throaty whine, as did you. 

“That’s it baby, just like that… oh god, yeah. I can feel you tightening around me. You getting close, princess? Huh?” He was panting now, rutting against you as fast as he could manage, taking pleasure in knowing how exciting this all was for you. He knew the second you started contracting around him that he was gone but he held it off as long as he could to get you there. 

“Sweets, ah! I think I’m close,” your voice was higher-pitched now as you neared your orgasm.

“You know what it feels like, baby. I’ve given you enough of them. You think or you know?” How he was managing to form complete thoughts and sentences was beyond him. Some rational part of his brain was functioning just enough to make sure you were okay while the primal part of his brain worked to get you both off.

“I know..oh my.. Sweet’s I’m gonna cum. I’m gonna- ahh!”

“Yes, baby, just like that. Oh god, I can feel you about to. Cum for me, princess, you’re doing so good.” 

He felt it before you did. He felt your walls tighten up and heard your breath hitch. He watched your hand ball into a fist and all of your muscles contract. Then he heard the moan. That telltale moan of a job well-done. When you clamped down around him, his resolve was gone and he felt himself break. He lowered his head and moaned against you as he thrusted into you sloppily and slower, he felt himself pulsing inside of you, as you continued contracting against him. 

“I love you,” he moaned.

It was literally explosive. The level of pleasure that came with the experiences he gave you were almost indescribable. You could live in that moment over and over. He knew exactly when to slow down, what to say, how to kiss to make you writhe beneath him. You heard him moaning into your neck and thought that there was no sound more beautiful than the sound of Sweet Pea moaning. Until you heard the words. They were rushed out and surrounded in the pants and groans of ecstasy but you heard them. You heard the hitch in his throat when he realized what he had done and you heard the pants of his breath as he continued to pulse inside of you. 

It took a few minutes for the two of you to catch your breath and recollect your brains into those of functional human beings again. When you finally did, Sweet Pea used whatever strength he had left to push himself off of you and rolled over to lay down on the floor next to you. He reached up to the end table next to the couch where he kept a box of tissues and flung them down to the ground. As he took some out to clean you up, you looked over at him and opened your mouth to say something. 

“Before you say anything, yes I meant it. Did I want to say it for the first time while rawing you on the floor of my trailer? No. But it happened and I meant it. You don’t need to say it back, and I won’t hold it against you if you don’t but I need you to know,” he maintained eye contact the whole time showing that there was no embarrassment in his words. He was proud to love you. 

“How long have you known?” That was all you could manage to get out. 

“A while. I didn’t know what the feeling was, just that I felt it. I think about you all the time. Every day when we’re separated I think about how much longer until I can see you again. I hear people talk about you in school and I think about how lucky I am that I’m the one you chose to be with. The first time you let me make love to you, I saw this look in your eye and I swear that I could’ve fucking cried. You trusted me not to hurt you and to take care of you during your first time and I had never been trusted like that before. Never been cared for like that before.”

“And all that earlier? About getting me to let you tell my friends about us? And about trying new and exciting things?”

“You know me, princess. I don’t do feelings. I don't do love or patience or beauty. Or I didn’t. Every morning I wake up afraid that you being with me is a phase and that you’re going to realize how much better you are than this. Than me. I guess I’m… insecure? I don’t know. All I know is that when I hear those guys ask you out or talk about you in the locker room, I get angry. Like red hot angry because I think that they make way more sense for you. They come from the right side of town, have the right last names, make the right amount of money. And I don’t and I never will,” it was dark in the room but you were sure that if you rolled over to look at his face, you would see tears streaming down it. You heard some shuffling around from next you and when you finally turned your face to look at him he was sitting up next to you. 

You sat up with him and put your arms around him in a hug. You stayed like that for a few minutes just listening to the sound of his heartbeat. When you finally pulled back you saw him looking down at you. 

“Please say something,” he asked. 

“Sweets, I don’t ever want you to feel like that. Those guys are not any better than you because of their last names, or their money, or what side of town their house is on. You are the man I chose. At the end of the day, that is the best decision I have ever made. You make me happier than I ever thought possible. Everyone calls me the princess but you are the only person who has ever made me feel like one. I love you, Sweet Pea. So much,” it was as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders when the words flowed out of your mouth. If he thought your moans were the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard, he was mistaken. He wanted the sound of you saying you loved him as his ringtone, alarm clock, favorite song, and more. 

“You do?” 

“Yes, of course I do.”

He grabbed your face with his hands and brought your lips to his. The way he touched you made you feel like an expensive antique that he was too afraid to break. So gentle and filled with admiration. 

“If it's okay with you, can we just wait a little while longer to tell everyone? I know you want to but I’m just not ready for all the questions yet. I mean it's been a few months but I just need some more time,” you asked. It wasn’t that you wouldn't love to put an official “claim” on Sweets or that you weren't proud to be his but you knew what would happen once people found out. There would be stares and silent judgments and questions you couldn’t answer or answers you weren’t ready to divulge yet. 

“Yes, baby. We can wait as long as you need. But I can’t promise that I won’t ‘bump into you’ more often now,” the two of you chuckled as he air quoted the phrase. “You just told me you love me, the damn on holding back affection is slowly breaking down.” 

“Deal. Just try not to make it too obvious. The last thing either of us need is our meddling friends, especially your King and Veronica, poking around and asking questions. Trust me, you do not want to wrath of Veronica Lodge hovering over you just yet,” Sweets made a mock scared face as you said the words and pulled you closer to him. “I guess I should tell my mom that I’m spending the night at Betty’s.”

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea. I got a lot more to do to you tonight. I mean with you…” 

“Did you mean that though?” You asked.

“No, no I didn’t,” the smirk made its way back to his face as he pulled you onto his lap and into another searing kiss.

[stclairandco]

⚡ + Archie; 💕 + Marie

[Archie] How would they get your muse angry at them?

rare is it that archibald howard upsets ambrose. there is something about their polar oppositeness that has them so compatible, and of course, archie’s good intentions even when he fumbles. he can’t see archie doing such a thing, but intentionally saying something to hurt ambrose, like his unworthiness or a comparison to byron, would anger him. ( @ixnay-on-the-ipshay )

[Marie] Under which circumstance would your muse fall in love with them?

that’s like asking how can mortal enemies fall in love! thinking back to the night at the theatre, though . . . perhaps some benefit of the doubt on marie’s part might increase ambrose’s affections towards her. he doesn’t know her intimately enough to fall in love. if they could get past their distaste for one another and have an actual conversation without vitriol, it could be possible. and, of course, if marie showed any sort of softness or vulnerability towards him, his soft heart might just do the job for him. ( @mariekenworthy )

[ragequitthatshit]

down in flames : sweet pea x reader (chapter 1)

(gif not mine)

Fandom: Riverdale (season 3)

Pairing: Sweet Pea x Andrews!Reader

Warnings: violence, swearing, underage drinking, mention of attempted rape (in a later chapter which can be skipped), angst, gross fluff 

Summary: On his first day of elementary school, one of the bigger kids had pushed Archie to the floor and skinned his knee. You had promised then and there you would protect your brother from everyone and everything in this world.

Now in high school, your main concern should have been that the boy you liked was sleeping with someone else. Instead, you were researching how to cover up a murder and discovering the use of alcohol as a coping method.

Riverdale wasn't safe for anyone these days.

You knew Archie was scared. You knew he felt guilty. You knew he just wanted this all to be over. You didn’t know he’d plead guilty and take the deal of two years in juvenile detention.

The shock you felt jolt through your body left you reeling, bolting from your chair in a reflex to protect, but there was nothing you could do. Next to you, Sweet Pea clasped your wrist and gently tugged you back into your seat. Clinging to him, you absentmindedly noted that you were digging your nails into his exposed forearm, but you were too busy trying to breathe to stop yourself. 

Archie looked accepting, resigned to his fate, but it was the look on your dad’s face that broke your heart. As Archie was led away in handcuffs, he spared you a tight smile that you couldn’t return, tears dripping from your eyes instead. Leaving Betty to console a distraught Veronica, you rushed to your dad, throwing your arms around his waist and burying your face into his shoulder as he clung on to you just as tightly. 

Much later that night, you found yourself sat in a booth right at the back of Pop’s with Betty, Jughead and Veronica. None of you spoke, merely picking at your food and milkshakes, lost in your own thoughts.

It was a strange feeling, like it wasn’t really happening. This was Archie, who got in trouble in elementary school for fighting bullies on behalf of the smaller kids. Archie who protected his family and his friends with everything in him. Archie who loved pancakes and hated mushrooms and wore odd socks - your little brother. It didn’t matter that there was barely 10 minutes difference in age, you still insisted you were elder. 

You were polar opposites in some ways - Archie was reckless where you were methodical, easily manipulated where you had trouble trusting anyone. He could be stupid sometimes, making rash decisions like starting the red circle or chasing after gunmen, but he was good at heart, and there was no way in hell he could ever kill someone. 

And now he was locked up in a place with a bad reputation and you hoped to god that if nothing else, the serpent tattoo would grant him some reprise - he’d need comrades in there even if he wouldn’t have friends. 

You kept opening your mouth to speak, uncomfortable with the silence, but what were you supposed to say? 

Luckily, you were saved by the ring of the bell as the front door was pushed open. In walked a crowd of leather, and you jumped up to greet them. 

Toni was the first to rush forward and hug you, followed by Cheryl and Fangs. They joined the group in the booth as Sweet Pea analysed you with his dark eyes before pulling you into his chest. The familiar smell of leather and smoke was comforting, and you clutched to his jacket for a moment to ground yourself. 

When you stepped back, you quickly wiped at your eyes to rid yourself of any tears and tried to smile up at the boy. He looked concerned, and you knew that your pathetic attempt at fooling him into thinking you were ok wouldn’t work. Still, when he asked if you were alright, you nodded and turned quickly to squash back into the now-crowded booth. Sweet Pea took a seat by your side, leg pressed against yours, and arm draped over the booth behind you. Over the course of the next hour, as the group swapped back and forth between discussing pointless subjects and possible plans to clear Archie’s name or break him out, the warmth of Sweet Pea kept you grounded, and you both pretended not to notice when his phone lit up with Josie’s name several times, instead he turned the device face-down and moved somehow even closer. 

You couldn’t even find it in you to feel guilty.

Despite your dad’s hesitation, you decided to go back to school with the others. It was funny in a sad sort of way that you usually looked for any excuse not to have to go, and then when you had one, you didn’t want it. You just couldn’t stand another day at home. It was so empty and quiet, just you and Vegas, who’d taken to lying on the floor of Archie’s room and whining. 

School wasn’t much better though with all the looks, the whispers. At first it upset you, but a couple of hours in and it was rapidly pissing you the hell off. The second the bell rang for free period, you stormed through the hallways, earphones in and scowling as you threw yourself down into a chair in the corner of the student lounge. Everyone kept their distance, casting glances at your furious scribbling before quickly retreating. Eventually, the bell rang again for lunch and you knew your peace was going to soon be disrupted as people streamed into the room. Mere minutes later, you felt someone looming over you, and quickly grabbed the hand that crept into your peripheral. 

“If you pull out my earphones, I will pull out your lungs.”

Sweet Pea merely laughed and leant against the desk you were hunched over, Fangs by his side flipping through the text book you’d been taking notes from. Knowing it was hopeless, you rolled your eyes to the ceiling before fixing them both with a glare.

“I’m trying to work, what do you two idiots want?”

“For you to pull the stick out of your ass and come sit with us,” Sweet Pea replied with an easy smirk, Fangs snorting in amusement as he passed you your book back. Your glare quickly shot to the shorter boy, who adopted an innocent look and held his hands in the air.

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t say it!”

Huffing, you stood and shoved your belongings back into your bag.

“Drop dead, Fogarty.”

You spun on your heel and headed for the couches to squish into an armchair with Kevin, ignoring the indignant splutter and deep laughter of the boys behind you. Immediately after you sat down, Veronica leant towards you with her usual determined look. 

“So, this football game that Archie’s planning for the juvie boys, what do you think? Want to come and cheer him on with us?” Noting your arched brow of confusion, she elaborated. “Archiekins was saying that the guys in there needed a pep rally more than most, so what better way to raise their spirits than with a good show? The Vixens are practicing the routine tonight ready for Thursday. Join us?”

You wrinkled your nose and gave Veronica a weird look as she waited for your answer.

“Are you asking me to dance like a slut in front of my twin?”

As everyone else laughed, Veronica gave you an unimpressed look at the teasing smile on your face.

“Ok, ok, I’ll take that as a no.”

Grinning, you turned your eyes to Fangs.

“I know someone else who would look great in a mini skirt though.”

Never one to turn down a bet, it wasn’t long before things had escalated and Fangs decided to don one of the cheer uniforms and run around the school in it. His conclusion that he enjoyed the freedom and the breeze that came from a skirt kept you giggling the rest of the day.

Archie was a week into juvie, and already he looked like shit. He was pale and tired, and as a Serpent you had enough experience with fighting to know that he couldn’t sit normally because he was bruised as hell. Concern flooded your face, and you spared the guard a quick look before leaning closer to your brother.

“Arch, who did this?”

Archie looked around them, noting the other prisoners who sat close enough to hear all seemed to be too busy to listen. He turned back around, staring down at his hands instead of you.

“It-” he started, only to quickly close his mouth and shake his head, “it doesn’t matter.”

Glaring at him, you ground out his name in a warning tone. Knowing you weren’t going to drop it, he sighed heavily and leaned in close. 

“Ghoulies,” he mumbled, only meeting your eyes for a second as thunder thrummed in your bones.

“Those fucking sons of bitches!” you spat, hands balling into fists. “What about the Serpents, are they protecting you?”

Archie opened his mouth to reply, but didn’t get a chance as yells rang out, an inmate and their guest throwing punches at one another across the room. The inmates were herded to the far wall as the guards called for the end of visits, ushering you and the other visitors towards the exit. A quick hug and a demand that he stay safe, and you were all but shoved out of the room. You were furious as you began the drive home, hands clenching the steering wheel so tight you stopped being able to fully feel your fingers. 

The Ghoulies had been a problem ever since you’d joined the Serpents, and you had always hated them. Now that they were after your brother? No way were you about to let that slide.

Instead of going home, you’d gone straight to Jughead with an intense need to rant before you exploded. With an agreement that something had to be done, you decided to brainstorm possible ideas the next day after school, and you left the trailer slightly calmer than you had arrived. 

Nothing ever got to be done regarding the juvie situation, as three weeks then went by without anyone being able to see Archie. You and your dad were angry and fearful, unaware of what was happening to him. The Warden’s claims of Archie starting a riot were bullshit, and you all knew it. You were curled up on the sofa watching Game of Thrones reruns as your dad met with his lawyer when your phone buzzed with a call from Veronica.

Intrigued, you quickly answered, and as soon as you heard the name Penny, you were stuffing on your jacket and trainers with the promise you’d be at the speakeasy in 10. Once there, Veronica quickly explained Penny’s offer of protection and the following shipment of Jingle Jangle, as well as her belief that her father was behind it, and her, Cheryl and Toni’s  storming of the drug lab at the Whyte Worm. 

“So you blackmailed your father into backing off, what do you need from me?”

Veronica fixed you with a smile, rounding the bar to hand you a glossy card invitation.

“To come to opening night. Not only do you have to be there as a friend, but also I have a feeling Penny might come sniffing around with threats - we both know she isn’t what you’d call loyal and I wouldn’t put it past her to try and pull something.”

You nodded thoughtfully as you stared at the card in your hand, raising your gaze to meet Veronica with a sly smile.

“I need to speak to her about a Ghoulie infestation anyway. I’ll be there.”

“Excellent! Then there’s just one more thing,” Veronica smiled widely, casting a raised eyebrow at your scuffed trainers and ripped jeans. “Wear a dress.”

That night, La Bonne Nuit was packed out with the younger residents of Riverdale. Josie was singing, drinks were flowing, and everyone was dressed to suit the 20s decor. A black cocktail dress and heels had you fitting in nicely, and you were feeling pretty good as you spent the evening laughing with friends. 

You stayed on alert though, keeping an eye out for Penny or Ghoulies sent to cause trouble. Sweet Pea, Fangs and Jughead were doing the same, keeping a watch on the entryway as they mingled. You were sat in a booth chatting to Betty when you felt eyes on you. A quick glance over the blondes shoulder and you caught Sweet Pea turning back to Fangs to whisper something. They seemed to be having a heated discussion, some stupid disagreement knowing them, but as you carried on talking to Betty you realised that as they talked, the boys swapped between looking at you and looking at Josie. 

You shook off the weirdness, getting lost in anecdotes as more people came to join you, until a hand on your shoulder had you looking up to meet Veronica’s steely gaze. Excusing yourself, with a quick reassurance to Betty that everything was fine, you let Veronica pull you by the hand through the crowd to the bar. There, Reggie looked pissed as he hung up the phone, and you looked at him expectantly.

“Penny’s just pulled up outside and I’m gonna guess she ain’t here for a burger.”

Sighing, you gave Reggie a nod, and beckoned for Veronica to follow you upstairs. On your way, you caught the questioning stare of Sweet Pea, and you cocked your thumb at Reggie in answer. He could explain, you needed to move. Steeling your expression into your ‘I know i’m short but im actually a tough gang member’ face, you pushed past the queue of people still waiting to get into the speakeasy and stalked outside to the car park. 

Illuminated by the light of the diner, Penny leant against her car, her cocky smirk instantly irritating you. Veronica stuck close by your side and, as you’d done several times before, you admired her tenacity. Still, she was out of her element, more used to the organised turn-taking style of mob business rather than the rough and tumble gang fights, so your priority was ensuring she got out of this unscathed. 

“What are you doing here, Penny? I thought I told you that your services were not required, as much as I appreciate the offer.”

Penny snorted at Veronica’s steady words, choosing not to heed the warning and instead pushed off the car and began to stroll towards the two of you. Despite her casual pace and crossed arms, you took a step forward to keep some distance between her and the girl behind you, wary of her intentions. 

Noticing your movement, Penny smiled sickly and stopped in her tracks, narrowed eyes watching you with a dangerous glint.

“My, my, Lodge, you sure are a lucky girl,” the blonde began in a mocking tone, “you always seem to have a little Andrews guard dog yapping around your heels.”

Not in the mood for Penny and her games, your fingers reached for the pocket that wasn’t there, then clenched into fists, teeth gritted as you realised your knife was in your jacket pocket, which was still in the cloakroom.

“Listen, bitch, you’re not welcome here, so get the hell out. Veronica and her speakeasy are protected by the Serpents, so go do your dirty business elsewhere.” 

Your sharp tone and pissed off expression seemed to rile up the older woman, and she took a step closer to square up to you.

“Excuse me? You don’t get to tell me what to do, ok little girl? I could 

you with my pinkie. So how about you and the princess here show me some respect before I have one of my guys on the inside slit your brothers throat.”

You barely heard Veronica’s gasp or the bell above the door signalling someone exiting Pop’s over the rushing of blood in your ears. You didn’t feel yourself move, just felt a wave of total fury before your fist collided with Penny’s cheek. The blonde went sprawling onto the tarmac as you glared down at her, pain shooting up your arm and you learn down to grab the lapels of her jacket and tug her up to a half sitting position so you were face to face. 

“Go anywhere near my brother,” you whispered menacingly, “and you’re fucking dead.” 

Roughly releasing your grip, you stood and backed away as Penny pulled herself up from the ground, laughing as she wiped the trickle of blood from her mouth. 

“Oh, you have no 

what you’re messing with, but I promise you now, I’m gonna kill your bro with my bare hands.” 

You lunged forward, barely making it a step before strong arms pulled you back. Despite the vice grip of leather sleeves and tattooed hands, you still tried to fight free and get to Penny, all the emotions that had been building up for weeks begging to be set free. Either side of you, the Serpents appeared, Fangs half in front of you in a protective stance, and Jughead slouching cockily on your right. 

“You’re outnumbered, Penny, take the advice and get the hell out of here,” ordered the Serpent King, staring her down.

Penny didn’t respond at first, letting her eyes drift over the small group. Finally, with a cheery goodbye, and a smirk that spelled trouble directed at you, she stalked back to her car and made a speedy exit. You watched the lights disappear around the corner in silence, muscles going slack as Sweet Pea relaxed his grip on you. 

Everyone stayed quiet, and you took a few staggered breaths to try and release the adrenaline coursing through you. When you felt sufficiently calmer, you eased Sweet Pea’s hand off of your waist, squeezing his fingers quickly to quell the hard frown he was currently staring you down with. You turned to the others with a quick thank you, flexing your fingers experimentally to make sure you hadn’t damaged anything on Penny’s stupid smug face. You knew they were all staring at you, waiting for you to explode in anger from Penny’s words, and you couldn’t blame them. You had a notoriously short temper, and the strange calm you felt surprised even you. With one last look at the dots of blood on the ground, you avoided the gazes of your friends, striding straight past to head back inside and get a seriously strong drink. 

Exchanging concerned glances, the rest shortly followed, and spent the night on edge as they waited for you to snap.

Instead of snapping, you got wasted. 

It seemed to work, as you were no longer angry - you were stumbling around laughing your ass off instead. Despite the initial worry over your choice of distraction, everyone else had shortly started to drink with you in solidarity, which led to the Serpents and their Northside buddies crashing out of the front door of Pop’s and spilling into the car park way past closing time.

Cheryl and Toni were flirting, Sweet Pea, Jughead and Fangs were play fighting, and you had your arms linked with Kevin and Betty as you slurred through Mean Girls quotes in a competition of who knew the film best. At the corner you split ways to head home, leaving you with Jug, Betty and Sweet Pea. The couple quickly cosied up together, whispering, while you dropped back a few paces to link arms with Sweet Pea. Heaving a contented sigh, you lent your head right back to look up at the stars, and if you weren’t hanging on to the boy next to you for support, you’d be on your ass. 

“You know you live in the opposite direction, right?”

Sweet Pea’s eyes quickly darted to you when you spoke, as if he had been deep in thought. Smiling, he steered you around a lamppost.

“You think I’m gonna trust you walking home alone right now?” You turned to him, opening your mouth but he shot a pointed look at the couple in front of you and beat you to it. “And no, they don’t count, they wouldn’t notice if I got naked and started doing the Single Ladies dance.” 

You laughed unabashedly, prompting another grin from the usually sullen Serpent. 

You walked most of the way in silence, bid goodbye to the loved-up couple outside of your house, and now stood on your porch. The night was quiet, the house dark, and luckily you had sobered up enough in the cool night air to keep your voice low. 

“Thanks for walking me home, Sweets. And thanks for having my back earlier. You’re always there when I need you.” 

His face was gentle, lit softly by the porch light as his eyes searched your face.

“And you’re always there for me. We look out for each other - that’s what friends do, right?”

You felt a stab in your gut at the word ‘friends’, and you took a half-step back as you realized how close the two of you were. 

“Well, still, Penny’s gonna be out of my blood now and you didn’t have to risk being pulled into it, so thank you.” 

You gave him a hug, throat going tight at the feeling of his arms around you. Pulling back with a cough, you gave him a smile and murmured goodnight before twisting around to unlock your door. Before you could disappear inside, Sweet Pea grasped your wrist, tugging you gently to look back at him.

“Don’t do that. Don’t brush off my help and think I give a shit that sticking up for you could get me in trouble. I’ll protect you no matter what, even if it kills me, ok?”

You were stunned and speechless, stood gawping at him until it was his turn to mumble a farewell and stride down the pathway. Collecting yourself, you headed inside, and as you shut the door behind you, your eyes met Sweet Pea’s as he stood on the pavement in front of your house, waiting till you were safely inside before he left.

Leaning back against the cool wood of the front door, you slumped down onto the floor of your dark hallway, head in your hands.

“God, I’m so fucking screwed.”

[madphantom]

Goodbye Eddie Goodbye

Chapter 6 - The Cellar

When Winslow awoke, his head throbbed with a pain that was almost unbearable. He sat up quickly, ignoring how his bruised, aching muscles screamed for him to relax. "Hello?", he shouted into the darkness. "Where am I? Is anyone else here?" He took small, cautious steps forwards, as bones and body parts on the stone floor crunched underneath his feet. Winslow squinted his eyes, and focused infront of him. He could see a figure, sat down, clutching something in his hands. A book, maybe?

"Oh, so there is someone here...! God, I'm so glad to have found you here! I don't... I-" His excitement came to a halt once he was stood close enough to make out some of the finer details.

This man was dead. Bones visible through grey skin, fingers white and bloody at the tips. Winslow felt nausea wash over him, as he stumbled backwards to avoid the sight.

He looked around. Found a door. Ran to it. Started banging on it.

"Hello! Let me out! Please! Please!", he begged. "Please!" He felt tears welling in his eyes.

"Please!", he screamed. "Anybody!" He slid down the door, crying. "Anybody..." He scratched the door, trying hopelessly to escape...but he had no chance.

"Please!", Winslow screamed. "Please, I'm here! Let me out!"

He lifted his head and stared at the corpse with the book. He felt like it was watching him. He shivered.

Having nothing better to do Winslow crept up to the corpse and took the book out of it's skeletonized hands.

When he opened the book a photograph slipped out. He picked it up.

The picture showed a young man, almost a teenager, sitting in a sunflower field. He had messy black hair, sparkling dark eyes, a narrow freckled face and a wide, happy smile on it. Winslow looked up at the corpse's face and suddenly realized it was him.

He looked at the front page of the diary.

Diary of Eddie Goodbye, 1973. :)

"Jesus," he whispered and turned the page.

Hi, my name is Eddie Goodbye!

To be honest, I don't have the slightest idea why I'm writing this diary. Maybe to preserve the good times I'm having right now. It's just... everything's working out so well!

Winslow stopped reading for a second. There was something so comforting about this little book full of doodled flowers. It made him forget the musty cellar, the blood, the bugs, the bodies...the fact that the man who'd written it was dead...

We (that's me and my buddies Archie, Jeffrey and Harold) started a band, like, for the fun of it. And guess what? We totally blew up! :D It's so crazy! :D I can't really believe it yet. We just came back from our first tour. It was WILD. The people loved us so much! I'm just so happy! Everything's working out so well right now, it's insane, absolutely insane! This is gonna be my summer!

Winslow smiled and sniffed. Then he turned the page.

My producer, Swan's...a little creepy, to be honest. I don't like him. I really don't. I feel like that's mutual. We're just polar opposites, I guess. I'm sure we can work it out eventually.

I figured readers might wanna know what I look like, so here I am, fam:

(Yes, I look like a baby:D)

Well, I dunno. I'm seventeen at the moment, but I look fifteen. The guys look older than me, haha. Still, we're best friends.

I draw a lot. Yeah, I think whoever is reading this figured that out by now. I regularly get in trouble for doodling on the tables or something. Yep, I really feel like Swan doesn't like me. Hey, at least I'm trying!

Anyway, things are going really well right now. I'll write more later :)

Eddie

Winslow took a deep breath and leaned back. He glanced at the corpse leaning against the cold concrete. Eddie. He seemed like he had been a nice guy. Maybe he could find out more about him if he read on.

A sharp pain suddenly panged through his cheek. Winslow gasped and grabbed it. His fingers found a bug which had bitten him.

"Get off!", he hissed and ripped it off his skin. There was blood on his fingertips. He threw the insect across the room and shuddered.

This was going to be a troubling night.