#Idk who is this Riverdale-ish character I keep seeing in stuff

[rendellstreet]

Might we hear a little about your interpretation of Varian and what you plan to put out for fanworks? I've kinda seen how he's characterized by a relatively active section of the fandom not just while tts was running on air but very recently as well, and it's all... oddly very similar. Like so many people seem to agree and the fanbase is huge for him.

I am curious to know because I don't interact with the TTS fandom or Varian fans at large so what is a consistent theme going on

I don't know if you call it an interpretation, but I just need a break from all the angst and throwing characters under the bus for said angst like how many times do we need to reiterate how Rapunzel is apparently the bane of his existence and blah blah blah?

To me, he's a lot more chipper and excitable. Loves to info-dump on interests and stuff he's good at. Does break every now and then to apologize for info-dumping too much. Bit anxious. He's autistic your honor. Very social and inquisitive. Like for me personally, if he was in season 2, he would have a journal like Rapunzel and just fill it with all kinds of nature and scientific notes as they travel to the Dark Kingdom.

[leavemealonetoread]

mind sharing your riverdale top 5 ships and top 5 characters?

Ok this was hard! Sorry for the delay, anonymous friend. Also, I haven't seen season 4 though I'm aware of spoilers. So:

Ships, in no particular order:

Jughead x Sweet Pea - unsure if this is just a rarepair or what people used to call a crackship, idk. Anyway after they got off on the wrong foot in early s2, I was hoping to see them get closer, at least become better friends, but this show forgets about my son Sweet Pea!!! I also enjoyed their clashes over Serpent stuff and was hoping to see more of them (+ Toni) making decisions together

FP x Alice early on in the show, when it was hinted that they had a history and season 1 kept using FP's appearances to surprise us (first he's Jughead's dad, now he's a figure from Alice's past? Alice???). I loved the mystery there! Everyone in this town has secrets!

Reggie × Veronica in season 3, I was rooting for them even though I knew the show wouldn't make it long term because Reggie isn't a ~core four~

Toni x Jughead because I liked their dynamic when they first met, and because if Serpent leadership HAS to be a monarchy, wtf? Toni is right there? Yes it's weird that Jughead the new kid got named leader at the end of the season, but someone young and brand new won't be stubborn when co-leader Toni wants to get rid of ingrained traditions like that silly dance. 2x11 also shows that Jughead can screw up but listen to Toni's criticism eventually

Betty x Veronica because Veronica was SO COMMITTED to Betty immediately. In episode 1, I kind of hoped when Betty moved on from Archie she might be into Veronica. She was so hurt and angry when Archie and Veronica kissed! Veronica was so desperate to fix their friendship which was 5 minutes old! This could have been such a great slow-ish burn!

(Speaking of slow burns, is it just me or should Toni and Cheryl have gotten more time to have that? S2 had 22 episodes, they could have spent a few more scenes on the getting-together part. Right?)

Honorable mention to Sweet Pea & Josie because I thought they were cute and hoped their fling would stick, but I respect a girl who knows her priorities + a boy who knows his emotional needs and sets boundaries. Also to Joaquín & Kevin because they were cute and my heart broke for Joaquín during his conversation with FP (another FP surprise, at least for me, because I didn't suspect Joaquín of being a spy when he seemed so genuinely into Kevin). Finally, Betty & Jughead because I found their getting-together arc in s1 sweet even though I kind of? Wasn't expecting it? I thought you guys were bros? Oh well. The show spent a lot of time on them and I ended up caring a lot.

Characters:

Toni: loved her immediately and was kind of disappointed that she and Jughead weren't able to restart the Red & Black because the teacher got arrested then their school got shut down. That would have been great for college applications lol but I also would have liked to see the paper come back as season 2 unfolded (how would their stories compare with Blue & Gold articles?).

Her being into true crime is something that I wish had come up more, instead of a thing she and Jughead bonded over for 5 minutes while it was relevant to the Black Hood plot and then???? Then what?

This show makes me worry about Toni so much! In s3 when she was living with Cheryl and they argued? And Cheryl threatened to kick her out? No!

Sweet Pea: a couple of times in s2 it was implied he was a hothead who always wanted to fight, but these are kids. Most of them are ready to fight someone. And I wouldn't have minded in season 2. Sweet Pea can stab a Northsider, as a treat.

Anyway, he was interesting as one of the main teen Serpents, bc he had enough influence to confidently say things like, "you're not getting the Serpent vote." Despite how inconvenient his anger was for the lead characters, he was looking out for his friends and tbh, he was right. (He was also kind of right about Jughead using them for information but holding himself separately. Jughead wasn't obligated to hang out with and like everyone, but he made friends quickly w Toni and this was her main friend group; he was going to be required to meet them sooner or later.)

Despite being the first person to WANT to fight, he mostly listens when his friends try to stop him. His friend-telepathy with Fangs is the best.

I LOVED his conversation with Josie, when he said he liked her and couldn't be casual with her anymore. That's so healthy and honest! I love him

I'm sad he disappeared, but at least I can't complain about how people treat him.

Jughead: his narration is occasionally a but much for me but that's the show, right? I loved his little aside/daydream in 1x04 about how maybe the town would rebuild the old drive-in in 100 years and wonder about them. And his narration about there being only 3 teens sitting in the booth at Pop's, the first time the main 4 all sit together.

I ID'ed so hard with him being technically part of a larger friend group even though he really only considers 2 of them his friends, also that bit early on in s1 where he's sitting in the bleachers w his laptop, alone in a crowd and unimpressed? Lol

He seems like a kid who holds a lot back to protect himself, but he keeps forgiving his dad and he was initially happy that his mom and JB came back to Riverdale. Like, he's so cynical but he just wants to belong somewhere and be accepted!

Anyway once he decides you're his people this kid does shit like: Have meals with Alice. Help set up baby showers and school dances. Get blackmailed into delivering a mysterious box for a shady lawyer. Meet with a rival gang so they can beat him to death