#My right brain: YEAH! and my name's Archie! :D

[fisticuffs-bee]

chai and sonic are the same type of guy? tell me more :D

oh my god it took me so long to find my old notes i scribbled down ages ago at my old job

right off the bat i need to explain that i am an archie sonic fan so this is largely based on that (mostly in the context of characters)

also! hfr spoilers will be implied to anyone that cares about that

a lot of things would be changed around and mixed and muddled up here, which is exactly how i like my wips. needlessly complicated.

sonic takes the place of chai, for reasons mentioned before. carefree dude who pretty easily goes with the flow, but can still be a bit selfish and immature at times.

but this is where things get more complex than necessary. i decided that it would make the most sense if uncle chuck (that is his proper name to me) took the place of roxanne. after all, he's the one who originally made the roboticizer; it was robotnik that bent the original vision of the machine to his evil whims later.

so now instead of a secondary main character having that deep familial motivation, it's just on sonic. but it's ok i got this.

sally takes the place of peppermint, she's often the brains behind lots of things the freedom fighters do in the comics. im paraphrasing, but it was once put something like "sonic is the force of destruction, but sally is the one who tells him what to destroy" by an antagonist (robotnik, i think) and... it's not exactly wrong.

and here's where things get messy again! tails is also there, but doesn't fill a role from the game. i made one up for him. he made t-pup, who takes the place of 808. the summary of his role is "brilliant kid who wants to help, but isn't allowed to do anything too dangerous, so he finds a way to compromise on that".

moving on, rotor takes place of macaron. big guy who can punch real hard but is also a real friendly dude and is good with machines? yep yeah got it covered.

ok so. nicole... i haven't figured out entirely for this. she takes place of CNMN, but wasn't made by rotor. he just snagged up what he could of her project before new management took over and dug its claws into what she's supposed to be. she's also gonna be gay with sally because it's one of the funniest things ever that The Subtext was in fact entirely on purpose

bunnie korsica. i'm not sure if i would have something more similar to her canon backstory or what happens with korsica happen to her, but the end result either way would be that she starts out with no robotic limbs, and then gets the robotic limbs later. and i'm giving her her cowboy hat back i miss it so much (also i'm so sorry miss bunnie i couldn't figure out where to put your husband in this)

obviously, robotnik (which i keep saying bc im not calling him eggman for this) would take the place of kale. but he's not the final boss (:

THE FINAL BOSS WOULD BE SHARD. I AM PUSHING MY SHARD AGENDA. I LOVE THAT GUY I MISS HIM SO BAD. plus i just like the idea of the final boss being sonic and (a) metal sonic. obviously i'm not blowing him up at the end. anyway here's what i have written down: SPECTRA is housed in an A.I. with a robotic body (shard), who was originally made to be an assistant to charles (uncle chuck). SPECTRA overwrites the original programming, making the former assistant cold in personality and only take orders from robotnik. dismantling SPECTRA allows the original programming to return to the forefront.

from there it's not as thought out. i thought about giving surge rekka's spot, starline mimosa's, but i'm not really sure what to do with zanzo or roquefort. hell, i wrote "orbot and he gets a gundam or something" half as a joke for roquefort on my old piece of paper here. thanks for letting me talk about this it rattles around in my brain sometimes.

[makoto-naegi555]

the bloody bloody despair arc: chapter 8

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31737307/chapters/80467357 https://drive.google.com/file/d/19dSWapOdGFDia_kftPmpLbdeUL94HJH5/view?usp=sharing

Gp: it is time…. ok so let’s start

0:13

Don’t do it! You aren’t entitled to tell her anything and she isn’t entitled to know just go on with your day!

0:28

Hook line and sinker

0:45

Good news Mitarai you got jabaited.

Face palm

Oh the hubris of man.

1:33

Mukuro no!

But I mean she is mentally sound ….was mentally sound you know its like you know shes like a dads old car just kept together by so much duct tape so much….

But I mean compared to Junko shes a perfectly healthy individual.

Soulbound: they all need therapy.

2:20

Gp: YOU WHAT YOU LIAR YOU HACK YOU FROAD I LET YOU IN MY HEART AND YOU BETRAY ME LIKE THAT

Soulbound: your passionate

Gp: ITS BRAINWASHING HES A SCAM

Soulbound: I do agree brainwashing is unethical and the fact he did it is not cool.

Gp: if you need brainwashing to make your animation good your animations not good YOU DIRTY LIAR Pixar, Ghibli, James Baxter! There animations are to cry for, and they don’t brainwash people!

Soulbound: at least I hope they don’t.

Gp: so you! You you you! Forcing people to like your anime! Of all the unethicality’s! you iddddiiooooootttt oh well let me give you your just deserts if you think brainwashing people isn’t anything to worry about how about you get a taste of your own medicine ay!? Ay?!

Soulbound: oh no

2:27

Gp: YOU’VE DOOMED US ALL!!!

2:33

But Then Junko got an idea. An awful idea. Junko enoshima had a wonderful, awful idea.

Soulbound: You're a mean one, miss Junko You really are a heel. You're as cuddly as a cactus You're as charming as an eel Miss Junko, you're a bad banana with the greasy black peel.

Gp dancing in the background

Gp: but in all serious MITARAI YOU IDIOT YOU DOOMED US ALL

2:34

NOOOOO MUKUROOO! STOP IT RJ NOT NICE NOT NICE NOT NICE!

Soulbound: mukuro dosent get paid enough for this… -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Mukuro: I don’t get paid at all. -----------------------------------------------------------------------

2:45

Gp: THAT IS A LOAD OF TORUS POO if you believe that mitari I will lose all faith in you!

Soulbound: you had faith in him?

Gp: well not anymore with the path he takes

2:50

Oh theme song! Man so short I didn’t know we could talk too much.

4:30

IT’S A REAL-LIFE BEAR IN DANGARONPA so that’s what they look like nice.

5:33

OH MY GOD BAGEL BOOTY

6:33

My word

7:07

And that’s how mikan died.

Soulbound: she didn’t die?

Gp: she died on the inside but we all know shes doomed poor baby

7:15

And now its these guys again

8:11

Poly

8:54

Oh dear rj you killed him didn’t you?

9:05

My word

And once again Junko had a wonderfully awful idea.

Soulbound: You're a monster, Miss Junko, your heart's an empty hole Your brain is full of spiders, you've got garlic in your soul, Miss Junko. I wouldn't touch you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half-foot pole!

Gp dancing

9:36

Gp: it’s kinda annoying how fake she is though, if your gonna be evil rj at least be upfront about it! your faker then a capitalist companies carrying policy!

Soulbound confused about the mushrooms.

9:48

Soulbound: there real!? I thought they were a metaphor!

Gp: a metaphor for what?

Soulbound: SADNESS of course!

9:55

Gp: DOOOOMMEEDD DOOOMMEEDD

10:11

Soulbound: WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!!!

Gp: ou yeah she does that sometimes

Soulbound: SHE LOOKS LIKE LIKE- I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT SHE LOOKS LIKE BUTS IT LOOKS WRONG

Gp: oh chill buddy shes just using her super smart brain skills no Biggy

Soulbound: THAT’S WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!?

Gp: yeah why did you think it was an automatic process or something?

Soulbound: YES

Gp: well you thought wrong its like a switch on off on off do doot do

Then gp slaps both sides of his face to wiggle his eyes as if they were playing ping pong

Its weird but cool like shes on drugs which is fair I think her mom owned a drug cartel.

10:25

No mukuro you’re fine!

10:50

That…. That was something but now its time for the moment we’ve all been waiting for

11:08

I FORBID IT YOUNG LADY!

Soulbound: she can’t hear you.

Angry gp noises

11:58

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH its gonna happen I need to prepare myself.

12:07

Good news! you are all going to heaven Bad news! RIGHT NOW!

13:44

Soulbound: why don’t they just use the weapons to kill her?

Gp: well you see, there’s a little thing called fear, stress and pressure it makes you stupid and not see any other way besides the ones told to you happens all the time in horror movies …..

14:14 (just play the scene and hear the song)

[GP] Well…  pulls out guitar. here’s the first killing I have a good song for this...

Will I lose my dignity? Will someone care Will I wake tomorrow From this nightmare?

Group #1 Will I lose my dignity Will someone care Will I wake tomorrow From this nightmare?

Group #2 Will I lose my dignity Will someone care Will I wake tomorrow From this nightmare?

Group #3 Will I lose my dignity Will someone care Will I wake tomorrow From this nightmare?

Group #4 Will I lose my dignity Will someone care Will I wake tomorrow From this nightmare?

Gp: oh the depravity…

But you know I don’t think I’d call that despair either like whoop de do you threatened people and put them in a room of stress blackmailing them causing them to panic and kill eachother who would have ever guessed that would happen literally everyone like it’s a scientific provation so what do you get from it? unless you were secretly hoping they were better than that and that they would just shoot you in the head then and there hahahah…. Maybe

19:33

AND NOW WE’RE ALL DOOMED

20:01

Oh yeah the other guys reaction to it well let’s just say the committee didn’t want people to catch wind of this but why tell you when I can show you.

Soulbound: did we ever get their names.

Gp: … no actually I think not …. ok ok let’s go in order left to right

Ok first guy archie gator then haru gilla old dude with the hair is Jio Futoago and last guy is Callisto de viper.

Got it? Good!

[GP] And now, an explanation of the Corrupt Bargain, which took place in the back halls of hopes peak while no one was watching.

[HUSK] Do, do, do, do, do Do, do, do, do, do Do, do, do, do, do, do, do Archie gator says:

[GATOR] We need to find a scheme to Keep the power in the Hands of the chosen few.

[HUSK] Jio Futoago says:

[FUTOAGO] If my dad was in the council I should get to be in it too!

[HUSK] Haru gila says:

[GILA] I’ll make you councilmen. If you keep me as Secretary of State

[HUSK] Callisto de viper says something in Italian That none of us can translate Whoo!

Do, do, do, do, do Do, do, do, do, do, do, do Do, do, do, do, do Do, do, do, do, do, do, do

All you educated people You can talk of liberty But do you really want The Japanese people To learn of this tragedy? Ooh!

Do do do doot (repeated)

Jio Futoago says:

[FUTOAGO] If we cover it all up Then the mastermind will surely cave!

[HUSK] Archie gator says:

[GATOR] You can do what you want If you don’t try to take away my slaves

[HUSK] Haru gila says:

[GILA] You’ll keep the reserve course ‘cause I know How to play realpolitik

[HUSK] Jin kirigiri said something prescient about this But he not important Let’s dance!

[ALL] Do, do, do, do, do Do, do, do, do, do, do, do Do, do, do, do, do Do, do, do, do, do, do, do

[HUSK] You can compromise all you want They’re still drunk and smell like pee! But Do you really want the mastermind To cause the tragedy?

Jio Futoago:

[FUTOAGO] The people are stupid!

[HUSK] Haru gila:

[GILA] They can all go rot!

[HUSK] Archie gator:

[GATOR] They’re lame!

[HUSK] Futoago:

[FUTOAGO] They suck!

[HUSK] Haru gila:

[GILA] The mastermind’s a total twat!

[HUSK] Archie gator:

[GATOR] These guys are idiots but It’s the mastermind who’s a real threat.

[HUSK] I’m sure sora enix would have an opinion But he hasn’t been born yet

Junko is a loser!

[DEPRAVITY] Junko is a loser! Junko is a loser! Junko is a loser!

They all laugh maniacally as they celebrate what they think is their victory.

[JIN] DON’T I GET A SAY IN THIS?!

Gator and Gila sigh, perhaps not caring an ounce on what jin has to say.

Gp: but Junko was in fact not a loser

because this was all part of her plan with them covering it up it gave her free rain to leak it out but with a certain extra… brain washing flair tainting all their souls with darkness becoming slaves to the great hivemind But I think the best way to explain this is… IN SONG!

22:00

[GP] Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh You didn't know that you fell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Now that you're under our spell

Blindsided by the beat Clapping your hands, Stomping your feet You didn't know that you fell Oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh Now you've fallen under our spell Oh-whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh

We've got the music, Makes you move it Got the song that makes you lose it We say "jump", you say "how high?" Put your hands up to the sky We've got the music, Makes you move it Got the song that makes you lose it We say "jump", you say "how high?" Put your hands up to the sky

Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh You didn't know that you fell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Now that you're under our spell

Listen to the sound of my voice Oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh Soon you'll find you don't have a choice Oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh Captured in the web of my song Oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh Soon you'll all be singing along Oh-whoa-oh

We've got the music, Makes you move it Got the song that makes you lose it We say "jump", you say "how high?" Put your hands up to the sky We've got the music, Makes you move it Got the song that makes you lose it We say "jump", you say "how high?" Put your hands up to the sky

Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh You didn't know that you fell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Now that you're under our spell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh You didn't know that you fell Oh-whoa-oh, oh-whoa-oh Now that you're under our Spell... hahahaha MAAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHA!

23:13 Like lambs to the slaughter  and if it all goes the way the creator wants then literally!  Well that’s all for now tune in next time for when things go wronger! 

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

FP//Sucker

Request: Can I request a FP/reader with the song Sucker by the Jonas Brothers, i have no ideas plot wise so whatever you think is best :D

When FP was younger he hated Sundays. Everybody else his age loved them. It meant they could lie in, have dinner cooked for them and spend their entire day with they’re friends. 

But FP hated them. 

For him, it was the worst day of the week to spend with his father, every other day was a nightmare with him too...but Sunday’s were the worst. 

He’d usually spent the previous night drinking himself stupid, which meant he got abusive, which ended with FP either locking himself in his room, or being locked out of his trailer until Sunday morning. And his dad would be even more abusive because he was suffering from a hangover, or he would still be drunk. 

Basically Sundays were the worst.

Until he met you.

Now, FP loved Sundays. Especially Sunday mornings. He gets to wake up with the love of his life lying in his arms sleeping peacefully while the mid-morning sun streams in through the curtains. And even though he’s in the same trailer as when he was a boy, there’s an entirely new atmosphere. It’s happy and light, something it hasn’t been in a very long time and all of that is because of you. 

Today is no different. Jughead is sleeping at Archie’s (Betty’s) and he won’t be back until at least the late afternoon, meaning he had all day to just be with you and enjoy your company.

10:14am, the sunlight streaming through the curtains in his room eventually pulls him from his sleep (well that and the sound of his neighbours shouting at each other) but he’s happy to be awake because it means he gets to see your pretty face.

He turns over in bed and a sleepy smile makes its way onto his face as he watches you sleep. The sheets have fallen down your body exposing your back to the cool December air, and the sunlight is falling over you making you look so soft and gentle. He pulls the duvet over you before shuffling closer, pushing a piece of hair from your face. 

You stir slightly before opening an eye. FP’s already staring at you, a soft look on his face and you send him a warm but sleepy smile before opening your eyes fully. 

“Morning.” You mumble, your voice is groggy and filled with sleep but FP finds it adorable. He’s never going to get sick of waking up to you and that thought makes a dopey grin take over his appearance. ��Whats got you smiling like an idiot?” You ask and he chuckles before pulling you into his chest. You sigh contently as his arms wrap around your body and you snuggle further into his chest. 

“You.” He replies making you smile.

“What about me?”

“You make me smile like an idiot.” He says and you giggle. 

“Well, I’m glad I have that affect on you.” 

“You’re always going to have that affect on me.” 

“Awwww.” You tease and a blush spreads over his cheeks. He’s so glad you can’t see him right now otherwise he would never hear the end of how you made him, a forty something year old man, blush.   

“You’re my favourite person you know?” He asks as his fingers brush through your hair. 

“I know. You tell me everyday.” You reply and he nods. 

“Good. You deserve to know.” 

“But you do know that you have children. Shouldn’t they be your favourite people?” You ask sarcastically and you can feel him rolling his eyes. 

“I know. But they’re my favourite children. You’re my favourite person.”

“Oh, right.” You reply like he’s just said the most obvious thing in the world. “The next time I see Jughead I’m going to tell him.” 

“Its fine. He already knows.” He shrugs and the two of you chuckle. 

“Did you tell him?” You ask. 

“No.” He shakes his head and your eyebrows furrow. “You did.” 

“When?” 

“Remember when we went to the Wyrm and you got so drunk.” 

“Errrr.” You think about it for a minute before shaking your head. 

“Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me.” He replies. “You were so drunk.” He laughs. “You stumbled out of the bar, while leaning on me, and then you ran, well stumbled away from me down a dark street. I thought were were in some shitty horror movie but I followed you anyway. And when I found you, you were stood on top of some random car doing the Macarena.” He’s laughing hysterically now and you’ve crossed your arms, moving out of his grip. “It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. Anyway. So I managed to get you back to mine, after half an hour of persuading you to get off the car and talking you out of getting a tattoo of a brain with my name in it because, and I quote ‘you’re just in my brain all the time’.” He imitates your voice and you look at him annoyed. 

“I don’t sound like that.” 

“I don’t sound like that.” He mocks and you shove his chest making his chuckle. 

“I hate you.” 

“And I love you.” He replies and you shake your head, but there’s a soft smile playing on your lips that doesn’t show any sign of going away. “So I got you home and put you in bed. I literally left you for a minute to get you some water and pain killers and I came back and you were in Jughead’s room, sitting on the end of his bed like some weird goblin-” 

“Hey!” 

“A cute goblin.” He corrects himself, pressing a kiss to your nose and you roll your eyes but let him off anyway. “You wake him up and just go ‘you know that I’m your dads favourite person right?’ and he just sighs and says ‘yeah, I know. please leave’. And then I eventually dragged you back to bed and you fell asleep on top of the covers.” 

“Oh. Well, at least he knows.” You shrug and he nods. 

“Come here.” He says before grabbing you and pulling you close to him. 

“Is it me or is it really warm in here?” You ask, throwing the blanket off you and moving so you can look at him. Your fingers trace over his jaw before falling to his chest. 

“Its you.” He replies. 

“What?” You reply confused and he rolls his eyes like you’ve just said the stupidest thing in the world. 

“When you’re around, I feel heat in December. If you get what I mean.” He winks at you and rolls the two of you over so he’s hovering over you. 

“Oh really?” You raise an eyebrow and he nods slowly before capturing your lips with his. 

“You’re one of the best things thats ever happened to me. You know that right?” 

“I do.” You nod and kiss him again. 

“You’ve literally changed my entire life. I’m a sucker for you.” 

“Awww.” You smile and pinch his cheek. “I’m a sucker for you too.” You reply. “Now how about I suck something for you?” You ask, your eyes flickering down making him gulp. 

“Yeah, okay.” He nods. 

Sunday mornings really are the best.

[bebraveridethedragon]

I’ve Got No Fucking Clue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Warnings: There are no warnings for this chapter.

Chapter 3

All of the Avengers, plus Thor although he might be considered an Avenger now, were standing in a room with a monitor in it. They watched as Fury threatened Loki.

“In case it's unclear. You try to escape. You so much as scratch that glass.” Fury pressed a button that opened up the space beneath Loki’s glass cage.

“Thirty thousand feet, straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?!” Fury asked. “Ant,” Fury points at Loki, “boot.” He points at the button.

“It’s an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me.” Loki smirks.

“Built for things a lot stronger than you.” Fury says.

“Oh trust me I know.” Loki’s smirk turns towards the camera. In the observation room Douxie and Bruce tense up. Archie starts growling at the screen, at Loki or Fury, Douxie doesn’t know.

“The mindless beast and the last master wizard on Midgard. How desperate are you, that you call upon such lost beasts to defend you?” Loki asks, no longer looking at the camera.

“How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace and you kill ‘cause it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did.” Fury responds.

“Ooh. It burns you to come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what real power is. You would’ve come closer to power if you had used the wizard, his magic is extremely powerful.” Loki taunts.

“We thought about it once, I’m glad we didn’t, he’s a good kid. Let me know if Real Power wants a magazine.” With that Fury walks out of the room.

“Not a kid.” Douxie mumbles as the screen turns black.

“He really grows on you, doesn’t he?” Bruce asked sarcastically.

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Archie answers with even more sarcasm.

“Shit! I forgot you could talk.” Tony startles.

“Loki’s gonna drag this out. So, Thor, what’s his play?” Steve asked.

“He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth. In return, I suspect, for the Tesseract.” Thor uncrosses his arms.

“An army? From outer space?” Steve looks incredulous.

“Wouldn’t be the first one I’ve seen, although the last one was fighting for us not against us.” Douxie says.

“Ignoring what Douxie said for a minute, this means Loki’s building another portal. That’s what he needs Erik Selvig for.” Bruce says.

“Selvig?” Thor asks.

“He’s an astrophysicist.” Bruce answers.

“He’s a friend.” And oh, Thor must’ve met him when he came to Earth a few years ago.

“Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours.” Nat says, she gets a regretful look on her face. The only ones who notices are Douxie and Archie.

“I want to know why Loki let us take him. He’s not leading an army from here.” Steve says.

“I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats, you could smell crazy on him.” Bruce says.

“Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother.” Thor says.

“He’s killed eighty people in two days.” Nat points out.

“He’s adopted.” Thor defends. Douxie gives out a little snort that cause Nat to look at him. She gives him a soft smile before looking away again.

“Iridium, what did they need the iridium for?” Bruce asks.

“It’s a stabilizing agent,” Tony says walking in, he turns to Coulson, “I’ll fly you there. Keep the love alive.” He turns back to everyone else, “Means the portal won’t collapse in on itself like it did at SHIELD.”

Tony turns to Thor, “No hard feelings, Point Break. You've got a mean swing. Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants.”

Tony turns to the crew on the Helicarrier before speaking again, “Uh, raise the mid-mast, ship the top sails. That man is playing GALAGA! Thought we wouldn't notice. But we did.” Tony put a hand around one of his eyes and looks around.

“How does Fury do this?” Tony questions.

“He turns.” Maria Hill says causing Douxie to snort.

“Well, that sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kick start the cube.” Tony waves his hands around.

“When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?” Maria asked.

“Last night. The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?” Tony asked.

“I read them, I understood most of it but some things were confusing.” Douxie said. Tony looked at him with approval.

“Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?” Steve asked.

“He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier.” Bruce answered.

“Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect.” Tony contradicts.

“Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet.” Douxie says.

Tony smirks, “Finally! People who speak English.”

“Is that what just happened?” Steve asks.

“Yes, although you probably don’t understand it because your old.” Tony says.

“I don’t think age has anything to do with it, I think it has to do with the fact that he was trapped in ice for 70 years.” Douxie says.

“You think an old man could keep up with what we just talked about?” Tony asks.

“I mean I did, and I’m the second oldest person in this room.”

“Your like 19, that’s not old.”

“I’ve been 19 for 900 years.”

“What?!” Multiple people shouted.

“Wizards can choose to stop aging at any time.” Everybody but Nat and Thor looked surprised at this.

“Holy shit that’s so cool.” Nat rolled her eyes at Tony’s antics, even if it was a bit cool.

“Can we get back on topic? We can question the wizard later.” Bruce says.

“Right, it’s good to meet you, Dr. Banner. You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.” Tony shakes Bruce’s hand.

Bruce looks uncomfortable while he mutters a thanks.

“Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him.” Fury says walking in.

“Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon.” Steve says.

“I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys. That’ll be Hisirdoux’s job though.

Douxie nods, ignoring Tony’s snort of amusement when he heard his full name.

“Monkeys? I do not understand.” Thor says.

“I do! I understood that reference.” Steve exclaims. Tony rolls his eyes while Douxie claps his hands sarcastically.

“Shall we play doctor? Harry Potter your coming with us too.” Tony says before he grabs Douxie’s bicep and drags him out with Bruce following.

“Let’s play some.” Bruce says as they walk out.

“I can walk myself thank you.” Douxie says while taking his bicep out of Tony’s grip.

“I know, but we wouldn’t want the old man to throw out his hip while walking.” Tony smirks at him.

“I’m technically still 19, I’ve just stayed 19 for 900 years.” Douxie glared.

“Wait, so you’re physically 19 but mentally you’re 919?” Bruce asks.

“No, he’s physically and mentally 19. Even if he has acquired a lot of knowledge over the past 900 years he still has the maturity of a 19 year old.” Archie says.

“Excuse you, I am very mature.” Douxie tried to defend himself.

“Just last week you were arguing with Seamus and Claire about who had the coolest special magic.” Archie deadpanned.

“I was born with the ability to control fire and to see the future, that’s one more than either of them have by themselves.” Tony and Bruce looked confused as the wizard and familiar argued.

“Who’s Claire and Seamus?” This was Tony that asked.

“And what is special magic?” That was Bruce that asked.

“Claire and Seamus are my apprentices, they’re also like my little siblings. And special magic is magic that you have to be born with. Every wizard is born with regular magic, but there’s also certain magic that you have to be born with to do.

“There’s shadow magic, necromancy, elemental magic, healing magic, and future seeing magic. I was born with the ability to control fire and see the future. Claire can control shadows and even create portals with them. Seamus was born with healing magic.” Douxie said. They had arrived at the lab and were sitting down now.

“Wow, that’s kinda cool.” Tony says. He and Bruce start working on finding the Tesseract. Douxie walks over to the staff and holds his hands above it.

“This is weird.” Douxie states.

“What is?” Bruce asks.

“It doesn’t feel like magic, it feels more like raw energy.” Douxie looks confused. Bruce walks over with a scanner thing in his hands. He holds it out over the staff and moves it around. Tony hasn’t moved from where he’s solving equations.

“The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract. But it's gonna take weeks to process.” Bruce says.

“If we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this around six hundred teraflops.” Tony says.

“All I packed was a toothbrush.” Bruce states. Tony smiles at Bruce and Douxie.

“You two should come by Stark Tower some time. Top 10 floors, all R&D. You’d love it, and we could use magic to make the best inventions ever.” Tony says.

“If I come, I’m bringing a friend. He’s only 16 but he’s a genius when it comes to technology.” Douxie says.

“What’s his name?” Tony asks.

“Krel Tarron.” Douxie tells him.

“Hmm, I’ll have to look him up.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? Has he done something terrible.”

“He’s not from around here.”

“Is he an immigrant?”

“Kind of.”

“I don’t think it’d be a good idea for me to go, the last time I was in New York I kind of broke...Harlem.” Bruce says, ending their conversation.

“Well, I promise a stress free environment. No tension. No surprises.” Tony says right before he pokes Bruce with a mini electrical rod. Right then, Steve walked in, looking pissed.

Bruce yelps in shock when Tony zaps him. Tony looks at him closely.

“Nothing?” Tony asks.

“Hey! Are you nuts?” Steve exclaims.

“You’ve really got a lid on it, haven’t you? What’s your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?” Tony continued to question.

“Is everything a joke to you.” Steve asks Tony.

“Funny things are.” Tony deadpanned.

“Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offense, doctor.” Steve says.

“No, it's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things.” Bruce says.

“You're tiptoeing, big man. You need to strut.” Tony tells Bruce.

“And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark.” Steve says annoyed.

“You think I'm not? Why did Fury call us and why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables.” Tony says.

“You think Fury’s hiding something.”

“He's a spy. Captain, he's the spy. His secrets have secrets. It's bugging them too, isn't it?” Tony points at Douxie and Bruce.

“Uh...I just wanna finish my work here and...” Stammers Bruce.

“Doctor? Douxie?” Steve asks.

“I’m kinda with Tony on this one, sorry Spangles. He knows everything about me but all I know about him is his name.” Douxie shrugs his shoulders. Steve looks disappointed.

“A warm light for all mankind, Loki's jab at Fury about the cube.” Bruce begins.

“I heard it.” Steve cuts him off.

Bruce points at Tony, “Well, I think that was meant for you. Even if Barton didn't post that all over the news.”

“The Stark Tower? That big ugly,” Tony gives Steve a look, “...building in New York?”

“It’s powered by Stark Reactors, self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what, a year?” Bruce turns towards Tony.

“That's just the prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now.” Tony says with pride.

“So, why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project? I mean, what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?” Douxie asks, catching onto the point Bruce was trying to make.

“I should probably look into that once my decryption programmer finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files.” Tony says to himself.

“I'm sorry, did you say...?” Steve asks.

“Jarvis has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours we'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide. Blueberry?” Tony holds out the bag towards Douxie and Bruce. Both of them take a couple and Douxie hands some to Archie.

“Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around?” Steve says.

“An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not possible.” Tony retorts.

“I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them.” Steve, the good soldier he is, says.

“Following is not really my style.” Tony says.

“Not really mine either.” Douxie states.

“And you're all about style, aren't you?” Steve smiles condescendingly at Tony, completely ignoring Douxie.

“Of the people in this room, which one is; A. wearing a spangly outfit, and B. not of use?” Tony asks annoyed.

“Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?” Steve looks hesitant at Bruce’s question, but quickly shakes it off.

“Just find the cube.” Steve says before leaving.

“Well that was fun.” Douxie says sarcastically.

“That's the guy my dad never shut up about? Wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice.” Tony says.

“The guy's not wrong about Loki. He does have the jump on us.” Bruce points out.

“What he’s got us an ACME dynamite kit. It’s gonna blow up in his face, and I’m gonna be there when it does.” Tony says.

“And I’ll read all about it.” Bruce says back.

“Uh-huh. Or you’ll be suiting up like the rest of us.” Tony tells Bruce. Douxie’s starting to get bored of this conversation so he starts picking at his chipped nail polish.

“Ah, see. I don't get a suit of armor. I'm exposed, like a nerve. It's a nightmare.” Bruce mutters.

“You know, as awesome as this conversation is, I’m getting bored. So I’m going to go repaint my nails and call Claire.” Douxie sticks his tongue out and flashes devils horns before leaving. They wave at him as he leaves before starting their conversation again.

Douxie walks to Nat’s room. She’s just getting ready to leave when he walks in.

“Can I borrow your nail polish, I left mine at home.” Douxie asks. She nods and hands it to him before they both exit the room.

“Where’re you going?” Archie asks.

“To talk to Loki, see if I can get information out of him.” Nat replies. Douxie and Archie nod before they split paths with her.

Walking to his current room, Douxie sits down in the desk chair. He unscrews the bottle and starts to paint his nails. He also gets his phone out and calls Claire before putting it on speaker.

“Douxie! Finally, it’s been two days since you left. What happened to calling?” Claire asks as soon as she picks up.

“Sorry C-Bomb, it’s been a busy few days. We’ve captured the guy that stole the Tesseract but we still don’t know where it is.”

“Who stole it anyways?” Claire asked.

“Loki, Norse god of mischief. He plans to use it to make a portal and summon an army to take over Earth.” Douxie didn’t think he should be telling her this but he didn’t care.

“Shit, your not hurt are you?”

“No Claire, I’m fine. Although this team does not get along very well.”

“I’m fine too, thanks for asking.” Archie says.

“Oh! Sorry Archie I wasn’t aware I was on speaker.” Claire apologizes. Archie just chuckled.

“What are you doing right now?” Claire asks.

“I’m painting my nails, Archie’s trying to take a nap on my pillow I think. What are you doing.” Archie purred in response.

“Homework. Me, Jim, Krel, Seamus, Steve, and Toby are having a study session because we have a test tomorrow. They all say hi by the way.”

“Tell them I say hi too.”

“I did, Toby also needs an answer for his history homework and he can’t find it in his book.”

“What’s the question?”

“Hey Douxie!” Toby says over the phone.

“Hi Tobes, what’s you’re question?” Douxie smiles.

“How did the Black Death start? I can’t remember and I can’t find it in the book.”

“Have you tried googling it?”

“Yes! All it tells me is the number of deaths it caused.”

“Well, people think it was transmitted from rodents to humans by the bite of infected fleas.”

“Oh thanks! Your a life saver.”

“No problem Toby.” Douxie finished painting his last nail before using magic to dry them. He goes into the bathroom, taking his eyeliner pencil with him. He continues to talk to Claire for a few more minutes before they ended the call.

He looked into the mirror and sees bags under his eyes. He sighs before leaning forward and applying the eyeliner.

“How did you forget nail polish but remember eyeliner?” Nat asked. Douxie jumped, luckily not poking his eye or messing up his eyeliner.

“I’ve got no clue.” Douxie says before going back to his eyeliner.

“Hurry up we have a situation.” Nat says.

“What’s going on?” Douxie asks.

“Loki plans to unleash the hulk.”

“Fuzz buckets.” Douxie mutters. He quickly finishes his eyeliner before putting his pencil down and picking Archie up.

Archie yawns before going back to sleep in Douxie’s arms. Nat and Douxie walk out of his room and make their way to the lab.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

This fic is also on AO3 if you want to read it there.

I do not own anything other then the parts you don’t recognize.

[papipopsicle]

AFTERTASTE PART FOUR

Pairing: Archie Andrews X Short!Reader

Genre: fluff, smut

Summary: In which two best friends since childhood test whether friendship and can co-exist without causing conflict. Including my OC's Flick & Cherry, a lesbian couple and best friends of Y/N. Set Pre-Veronica.

Song: Feeling Good by Sofi Tukker

Warnings: Dom!Archie, Oral (fem receiving), swearing (probably)

Words: 3K

MASTERLIST

feedback is always appreciated

!PING!

Y/N giggled as soon as she saw the picture Archie had posted, it had been taken a few hours ago at lunch. She hadn't even realised he had taken one, off guard beaming up at Moose as he told the group how the Andrews boy had face planted the turf during football practice. The caption read ‘when you're having a lousy day, i'll try my best to make you smile like an idiot’ and her face lit up at the kind gesture.

Today had been utter shit; Michelangelo had gotten into a fight with one of the neighbourhood cats and lost very badly, Josie picked a fight for no reason in Maths and called her a ‘brain dead bimbo’ in front of everyone, and to top it off she'd overheard Chuck sharing very private, personal details with his friends like they were nothing.

She felt miserable and hopeless, wanting nothing more than for this day to be over already. While the boy wasn't there with her when any of these events happened, he knew as soon as he saw her saddened expression that it was his duty to turn her frown upside down. After an hour of cheesy jokes bad enough to make her father proud, Y/N felt a little bit lighter.

Now, the two sixteen year olds were being blackmailed into making dinner for themselves, Y/N's family and of course Fred too. It wasn't uncommon for this to happen though, since Y/S followed in her mother's footsteps when it came to cooking abilities, and they felt bad for always making Y/D cook. So the blonde had rolled up the sleeves of her grey sweatshirt and pulled her hair into a messy bun, while Archie gathered all the ingredients for the perfect steak dinner.

"Okay," Y/N huffed out, putting her arms up and looking over the boy's broad shoulders to see the recipe, "what's the first step, Nigella?"

Two frustrating and hilariously messy hours later, the two teens were serving their masterpieces. Y/N showered while waiting for the steak to cook, her hair now in damp ringlets as she wore a black concert t-shirt and a burgundy pair of gym shorts.

She carefully placed the piping hot plates in her mother and sisters respective places, returning for her own and Archie's as the boy brought out ones for their fathers. Y/D and Fred sat at the heads of the table, with Y/S and Y/M on one side and Archie and Y/N on the other. It had been that way since the very beginning, the teen's chairs always closer than necessary.

The radio played hits from the eighties and nineties in the background; the atmosphere warm and cozy as the group began tucking into their gourmet meals happily. Conversation flowed easily as usual, soft smiles mirrored around the room in the amicable scene.

"How's school been today?" Y/D asked casually as he piled food onto his fork dangerously high, it disappearing into his mouth seconds later.

"Shit." Y/N answered with a shrug and a wry smile as she copied her dad's actions and stuffed her face. Her eyes closed for a moment to fully appreciate the perfection of her cooking, but in that moment she missed the sad look the redhead threw her way. Everyone at the table was aware her high school experience wasn't rose tinted, and she was never able to lie to her family about it.

"McCoy's girl again?" Y/S asked defensively, rolling her eyes in annoyance as she even brought up said name.

"It's no biggie, honestly. She's just holding a grudge against me for something that literally happened over a year ago. She'll have to let go of it sooner or later." The y/h/c girl ended the conversation, continuing to fill her mouth with copious amounts of food. While her parents had moved on to talk about another subject, Archie kept his eye on her and she knew it.

Y/N didn't hate being pitted per se, but she couldn't stand to be watched by loving eyes when the person those eyes belong to wishes to fix her problems for her. Knowing that's what his mind was preoccupied with, the girl turned to Archie sharply and began chewing with her mouth wide open, sticking her tongue out for emphasis.

The redhead gagged and couldn't stop himself from snorting in laughter and Y/N took this as her queue to close her mouth. Not truly phased by the grotesque sight, Archie returned it for just a second, leaving them both giggling. Finishing the mouthful, she bumped shoulders with the boy, keeping her head resting there for a few moments as she spoke with a grin, "You've already done enough, stop making my issues yours. We do everything together anyway, leave me this little slither of sardonic sanity, okay?"

She sat up straight again and sent Fred a wink upon finding his knowing grin slung in their direction. Looking around the table, three other faces have the exact same looks, and Y/N only rolled her eyes, "Can we have just one family dinner without planning our wedding? For all you guys know we could both be gay and just use each other for style advice."

Y/D scoffed, eyeing up his daughter with amusement, "You're not gay."

"What?!" The blonde's cutlery clanged against her plate as she threw her arms up in exasperation, "I could be!"

Y/M cackled her usual laugh and rolled her eyes, chiming in, "Darling, have you seen your wardrobe?"

"Cherry and I share clothes!" Y/N defended herself, only halfheartedly as she knew the conversation was completely false, but still stood her ground.

"Yeah, well, she has a blue-haired girlfriend and you only share dresses when you're going out because you're the same size. I'm pretty sure she'd rather be dead than wear a pair of your heels." Y/S interjected and received her sister's glare with a smug grin.

Archie silently ate his food, but soon his best friend turned to him, "I could be bi, right? Like Elizabeth Olsen and Sebastian Stan both own my life."

"You can be whatever you want to be, Tiger." Taking a sip of his drink, the boy continued, "But, to be fair, have you seen The Bronze? Like if there's someone I'd turn for, it'd be Sebastian Stan."

"See!" Y/N raised her arms in the way Will Smith had when showing the world his beautiful wife, "This is why he's my best friend!"

They high-fived with matching grins and the bubbly atmosphere carried on until Fred left for the night, Archie staying over in lieu of helping with unfinished homework. After washing up, the three teenagers headed up to bed.

But before the elder Y/L/N daughter fully entered her room, she swung back on the doorframe and locked eyes with her younger sister in a deadpan manner, "I haven't slept properly in three days, please have the decency to wait until I'm asleep before you start boning, thanks."

Y/N swivelled in the direction of her room, cheeks dusted pink at the insinuation. She closed her curtains and headed straight for bed, exhausted by everything the day forced upon her shoulders. Finding her phone, she sent a round of goodnight streaks and scrolled through Instagram before the bed dipped and a tuft of red hair came into view.

"It's only just gone ten, you lightweight." He bumped her shoulder with his bare one, soon copying her actions with his own phone but not finding anything nearly as interesting.

"Well, I fancy wasting time on my phone instead of doing anything productive, problem?" The blonde hummed, not turning away from the device holding her attention. A few moments of silence and mindless scrolling passed before Y/N's phone was ripped from her grasp and set down on the bedside table.

"Yeah, I do have a problem with that, Tiger." Archie grinned at her clueless expression, climbing on top of her, either elbow caging her face in his hold. A light pressure appeared between her thighs with a small twitch, forcing a giggle from the girls lips. She hooked her thighs around his waist and linked her feet together, pulling his entire being closer to her own.

"Oh," Y/N forgot all about whatever had been on her phone screen moments ago, hands now brushing through Archie's fiery locks, "and what would that be."

The boy dipped his head without warning, lightly pushing her jaw to the left to expose her soft neck. His tongue slowly ran from her collar bone to the bottom of her ear, kissing small pecks along her jawline until their lips met. Y/N smiled into the kiss, lifting herself up while pulling his torso closer into her own. Her hips moved on their own accord, needing more friction to scratch an itch only his mouth could fix.

Archie broke the kiss, looking down at the petite girl with lustful eyes as his hand found her neck once more, "There's so many better ways for us to waste time than on our phones. But I'm going to need you to stay quiet for me, Tiger. Can you do that for me?"

As the words left his lips, his index finger lifted from her neck and pressed against her own. Y/N couldn't help licking a stripe down the back of it, taking the digit into her mouth and letting it drop with a popping sound. She nodded her head in agreement with an innocent smile and wide expectant eyes.

Archie watched her for a moment in awe, giving her throat a small squeeze before moving down her body. He lifted her ‘All Time Low’ t shirt up, planting wet kisses from her bra line to the waistband of her lycra shorts.

“You okay?” The boys soft voice sounded through the room, any dominance dropped from his tone but ready to be picked up if he got the right answer. Y/N sat up, planting each hand on either side of his face and pressed her lips to his nose lightly.

She grinned down at him, “I’m sure.” Her excited tone couldn’t be missed, and without hesitation she hooked her fingers into the shorts and pulled them away from her velvety skin, flinging them to the floor carelessly. Archie felt another grin filled kiss skim his forehead, a small hand carding through his hair as the girl relaxed back into the plush bedding.

Y/N closed her eyes in content as hot breath traced her thighs, up and down in a slow rhythm, leaving goosebumps of anticipation in its wake. Her hips rutted upwards needing some kind of contact, but Archie’s firm hand pushed her back into the mattress and held her in place. He settled with his legs hanging off the edge of the double bed, pushing her legs to rest open. The girl resisted the urge to squeeze her legs together, desire overcoming her body but submission overpowering her mind.

Archie’s lips left trails down her silky thighs, plotting temporary marks by nipping and sucking at the delicate skin. He enjoyed feeling her squirm under his touch, showing how much she needed his touch. This was more than just helping each other get off, there was a raw urgency and need within them for only one another. He licked around the edge of her pink thong, another unintentional jut from her hips pushing him closer to her heat as a whine escaped her lips.

The redhead’s hand moved from her stomach to her neck while he forced her to look down at him, “No noise, kitten. Okay?” He warned and Y/N’s bottom lip curled under her teeth as she sent him another nod. With that, her underwear, if it could be even called that, was pulled from her body and joined her shorts on the cool wooden floor moments later.

Archie carried on teasing the girl, licking down her inner thighs and getting dangerously close to what her body was pleading for, but he enjoyed watching her struggle to stay silent and it was far too easy to bring her to the edge by barely doing anything.

“Please.” Y/N’s voice begged with a shaky moan she’d tried so hard to keep in. The boy smirked up at her before giving her exactly what she wanted, feeling her fingers tighten in his hair as he latched onto her clit. But as soon as the pleasure started, it ceased once more.

“You want me to carry on, little girl?” Archie asked in a low tone, watching his best friend panting in want from the smallest of actions. “Want me to make you feel good?”

“Yes, please, Arch. Please.” The girl nodded again, never needing a release so badly in her life before.

Archie’s tongue lapped small circles around the bundle of nerves, pausing again to elicit a small noise of bliss, “I need you to stay quiet for me though, Tiger. Don’t want Y/S finding out what a slut her little sister is.”

In any other circumstance, Y/N would slap someone for calling her something like that, and Archie would never let the word slip from his lips. But in this moment, with his tongue skilfully taunting her clit and a finger dipping inside her wet pussy, it sent a wave of pleasure and praise through her entire body.

He was her drug, one touch and Y/N was completely intoxicated, whatever he wanted is what she wanted and there wasn’t a single thing she would say no to.

It didn’t take long for Y/N to reach the edge of release, with Archie’s fingers pulsing inside her while switching from licking at her clit and sucking on it with his tongue swirling her into a trance of ecstasy. He wanted to play with her more, keep her tilting on the edge until she couldn’t handle it any longer.

But Y/N had a difficult day, he could tease her any time he wanted, for now he just wanted to give her one reason for this day to be good. With that, he tactfully curled his fingers bringing them in and out of her hot core, not stopping his mouth from all but assaulting her over stimulated clit. Her hips buckled once again and this time Archie didn’t stop her, then they began rutting back and forth riding his face until her body couldn’t take any more

“Oh god.” Y/N whined in a hushed tone, her body convulsing in euphoria she finally toppled over the edge of her climax. Archie pressed a final kiss to her clit, resting his head on her spread thighs for a few moments as they both caught their breath.

The girl giggled as Archie appeared back at her side, pressing her lips to his not caring about the taste of her lingering in the air.

“You okay?” He whispered, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her under the duvet with him. Her head rest in the crook of his neck, leg over is stomach and hand lightly tracing patterns over his muscular chest.

“More than okay, pretty boy.” Y/N hummed into the dark room with a bright smile adoring her features. “Arch?”

He mumbled an agreeable response, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Archie’s hand found her thigh and he gave it a small squeeze, keeping his hand there to hold her close.

“Can we play a game?” The girl sounded apprehensive yet excited with her words.

She felt him nod, “What kind of game do you want to play, Tiger?”

Y/N couldn’t help but smirk at her idea as the words left her lips, “I’m proposing a little bet.

Clearly were both attracted to each other, and it ends there, yes? Nothing romantic, just two horny best friends who need an outlet. So, why don't we have a little fun with this? We tease the other to breaking point, bring them to their fucking knees begging for it, and the first one to cave, loses. Nothings off limits, but you can't kiss the other, otherwise you lose."

At this, Archie lifted his head wearing a matching smirk, though it couldn’t be seen as the street lamp sending orange hues into the bedroom only lit up their silhouettes, "What does the winner get?"

"Whatever the fuck they want.” Y/N’s hand made its way to the boy’s neck and she tilted her head upwards to whisper into his ear, “And, when I win the first thing I'm going to have you do is eat me out again."

The boy chuckled dryly and shook his head, "Tiger, I'll be doing that when I win anyway."

Y/N giggled, tempted to throw the bet immediately if the consequence was his head between her legs once more. “Game on, Andrews.”

Archie couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of this situation, though he had to admit he couldn’t wait to see what his best friend would do to try and make him lose.

“Okay little girl, it’s time to sleep I think.” His voice felt more authoritative this time, and Y/N loved that about him, he wasn’t afraid to tell her what to do.

“Goodnight, Arch.” The girl said with a smile in her tone, anxious to see what Archie would do to her over the coming weeks. She felt his head shake once more, knowing a grin was etched into his lips. Y/N rolled onto her side, the boy’s arm tightly wrapped around her still as she drifted off into a fairytale land where this was all real. Not just two friends messing around.

PART FIVE

[village-skeptic]

RULES: tag ten followers you want to know better!

Thanks to @sullypants, @theatreofexpression and @stillhidden for tagging me! (Honestly, three lengends/faves/stars. <3)

TAGGING: @stirringsofconsciousness, @alicecooperrehab, @ballroompink, @tallulalusa, @pantsaretherealheroes, @a-true-janian-reply ....and anyone else who wants to do this, I can’t remember who all has already!

NAME: On here, village-skeptic. (Incidentally, I must say - I’ve realized post-facto that this is not a naturally nickname-able handle, and it warms my heart immeasurably every time I see someone give it a go.)

STAR SIGN: Libra

HEIGHT: 5′3″ - as I know I’ve said on here before, short enough that I swim in standard pants and yet too tall for many petite cuts. D:

PUT YOUR ITUNES/SPOTIFY ON SHUFFLE. WHAT ARE THE FIRST 4 SONGS THAT POPPED UP?

I was listening to my/my husband’s Pandora station built on Dar Williams as I unpacked my closet yesterday, and so here are four that stuck with me from that experience:  Joan Baez, “Diamonds and Rust” - I just sat down on the bed and listened when this came on. THAT LAST VERSE, in particular. Brandi Carlile, “Turpentine” - Headcanon: this song was a not-insignificant percentage of Betty’s “moving on after Archie” soundtrack, played both with and without headphones. Picture, if you would like, Alice walking past Betty’s room with a laundry basket, hearing gentle guitar and sniffles for the fourth time that week, and giving a heavy, pointed, venomous sigh.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Maps” - Positively hypnotic in its repetition. Dar Williams - “Iowa (Traveling III)” - Dar’s storytelling is just my favorite, and this one does so much to establish character, setting, conflict - in like three very singable minutes!

GRAB THE BOOK NEAREST YOU AND TURN TO PAGE 23. WHAT’S LINE 17?

“The comparative affluence of American workers during the last decades of the nineteenth century stemmed considerably from the great decline in the cost of food, which freed more income for the purchase of luxuries.” - Andrew R. Heinze, Adapting to Abundance: Jewish Immigrants, Mass Consumption, and the Search for American Identity (1990). (This is an interesting claim, tbh, and more has been written about this since 1990...)

EVER HAD A POEM OR SONG WRITTEN ABOUT YOU?

I found a book full of my ex-boyfriend’s poetry (some of which was about me) when I was home earlier this summer; and then ALSO found the lyrics that an older online friend wrote (and set to music!) about the circumstances of my first, very adolescent breakup. 

(This makes my teenage years sound far more glamorous than they were, btw!)

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU PLAYED AIR GUITAR?

I’m not a major air guitar person, but I definitely drum on the steering wheel when I’m alone!

WHO IS YOUR CELEBRITY CRUSH?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is honestly my celebrity crush of record, but as I recently invented a tag to say - every time I watch Luke Perry at a panel, I’m reminded of how much I apparently like Luke Perry now. 

WHAT’S A SOUND YOU HATE + SOUND YOU LOVE?

HATE: Insects buzzing against the walls or window screens honestly just amps my anxiety up really high. 

LOVE: Rain against the windowpanes; ocean waves; the noise of a stream or river. I’m in a water mood right now!

DO YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS?

Not particularly in the supernatural sense. The ones that we carry with us in our minds? 100%.  

HOW ABOUT ALIENS?

I’m agnostic on this question, I think. 

DO YOU DRIVE?

Yes, and thankfully much less in recent weeks than I have had to over the past year.

IF SO, HAVE YOU EVER CRASHED?

No, but I did manage to scrape my car along a light post a few months back. Cosmetic damage only, thankfully!

WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ?

I finally got around to reading Elena Ferrante, My Brilliant Friend, and need to track down the sequels!

DO YOU LIKE THE SMELL OF GASOLINE?

Mostly it just makes me wonder what’s gone awry that I’m smelling gasoline. 

WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU SAW?

In theaters? The air conditioning was out over Memorial Day weekend, and so we went and saw Book Club on the strength of its cast - at what turned out to be a “reduced tickets for seniors” showing. We were the youngest people in the theater, which meant that watching the audience watch the movie was ALSO fun.

WHAT’S THE WORST INJURY YOU’VE EVER HAD?

Either stitches near my eyebrow as the result of a fall when I was younger, or when I sprained the absolute hell out of my ankle about a year ago. Knock on wood, I have been relatively injury-free!

DO YOU HAVE ANY OBSESSIONS RIGHT NOW?

Absolutely! My brain keeps tossing up Riverdale-related stuff, resulting in things like this mid-century modern architecture Bughead moodboard. We just moved, and so I’m semi-consumed at present with trying to work out solutions and arrangements in this new space - mostly closet-related, so I think I probably ought to cop to the fact that I have TOO MANY SKIRTS, and probably too much clothing in general. And I just binge-watched GLOW the other day and I’m already thinking about rewatching it. 

DO YOU TEND TO HOLD GRUDGES AGAINST PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONE YOU WRONG?

I would be lying if I said no, so - yes! 

If you ask me to tell you a story about something where I think I got a raw deal, I *will* relive the emotions in the telling - but then I’ll be completely back to baseline again a short while later. ;-)

IN A RELATIONSHIP?

Very (and very happily) married. But also in many other important non-romantic relationships in my life besides that one! 

[anactualcaseofthetruth]

Call Me A Safe Bet, I’m Betting I’m Not - Chapter 10

(AO3 Link- Chapter Ten)

Even though scientists are still quite baffled after multiple millennia of medical and technological advances of exactly how the soulmarks work, there has been enough research and study that we now know when and how to expect them… There has yet to be one soulmate coupling occur before the female has experienced a menstrual cycle and the male to begin producing sperm. In short, soulmarks have never appeared before entering puberty…

There are many, many more cases in which two people have insisted they are soulmates only to not mark with one another. All in all, only about 3% of couplings are correct in predicting they are soulmates before marks form.”

***

Betty Cooper is four years old when she meets Jughead Jones. She knows he is her soulmate, he’s not so sure.

Chapter Ten

“Most people mark with their soulmates before the age of 24. The median age is approximately 19 years old, with the outliers being 14 and 32, respectively.

There are exceptions, as in those meet but don’t touch appropriately in order to mark… it’s been found that most people know of their soulmate by the age of 16.” From Is Age Just a Number?, 2017

*

It’s not until after five that Betty, Veronica, and Kevin trudge into the garage that Archie and Fred turned into a soundproof hang out so that Archie can write and belt out love ballads without disturbing the entire neighborhood. It also serves as a place for the boys to play video games and not annoy Fred.

“Finally, Jesus, what took you guys so long?” Archie asks, but his eyes never leave the TV.

“Don’t look at me, I was just the ride,” Kevin states with hands up before taking his usual seat in the ancient recliner.

“HBIC Cheryl wasn’t happy with the routine, so we spent two hours reworking the entire thing,” Betty answers, unceremoniously dropping her gym bag on the floor.  She’s changed into baggy sweats and an old cut-off shirt that she’d stolen from Jughead long ago and chopped up for her own comfort—it bares her shoulders and he can see parts of her black sports bra peeking out, but her soul mark is, of course, well-hidden.

“I’m regretting joining,” Veronica comments before plopping down onto the old fold-out with little to no grace and very un-Veronica Lodge-like.

“Can you pause or something?” Betty questions while nudging Jughead in the knee as he sits on the floor cross-legged with a pillow.

“I just died, what’s up?” he answers, but rather than respond verbally Betty just falls to her knees, one on either of his hips and situates herself in his lap with her legs crossed around his back.

She makes sure her head is on the shoulder opposite the TV so she’s not in his way. “You can get back to playing now,” she murmurs with a contented sigh.

Jughead chuckles beneath her and simply kisses her neck before she feels him connect his hands behind her back to continue to play.

“You guys are seriously giving me cavities,” Veronica groans from above them.

“You learn to ignore it. Hey, did you guys make it to the part where…”

Betty stops listening to the conversation and just burrows comfortably into Jughead’s shoulder, lets his scent fill her nostrils, and feels her body meld into his form.

She’s exhausted.

Ever since their big talk, she’s been having trouble sleeping—that much Jughead knows and he worries.

It’s been two weeks since he told her everything and she feels like she hasn’t gotten more than two hours a night, unless it’s been one of the few nights he sneaks into her room.

Those nights she can rest easy.

Betty sees the worried glances Jughead gives her as the bags under her eyes continue to darken day by day, but she just shrugs and leans into his shoulder. There’s nothing he can do—there’s still two weeks until his birthday and he hasn’t informed her of any decision that’s been made. She’s done her best to steer clear of the subject unless he brings it up.

She’s decided that she’s already said her piece and knows that continually sticking her nose into it would just put them into a constant state of tension, and with what’s going on in her life, Jughead’s her only relief. She doesn’t want to risk that. She’s too tired to be curious and have her one comfort taken away. So, as far as Betty knows, Jughead still has one foot in and one foot out.

(She feels like she’s holding onto the leg on the outside, sitting on it like she did with her father as a child when he’d swing her back and forth until her mother found them and scolded them for being unsafe. Only in this case, she’s holding on to keep Jughead safe. To keep their future safe.)

She’s so lost in thought that she may have actually fallen asleep—she doesn’t know, she’s not sure what it feels like anymore—but she jumps when Veronica practically yells her name directly into her ear.

“Fuck! What?” Betty starts and looks to Jughead for answers, confused.

“Language! She’s asking about the dance,” her soulmate fills her in with a grin.

“What dance?” she questions, ignoring his little jab.

“The Homecoming dance, duh,” Kevin answers, his hands now holding a controller and she notices Jughead doesn’t have one at the small of her back anymore.

“We need to start planning now, you know,” Veronica tells her like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Are you planning on asking me?” Betty asks her, her eyes now slits. She was definitely asleep and is not happy to be awake now.

“No, but we’re all going as a group, right?” Veronica goes on. “You and Jughead, Archie and his lucky lady, whoever she may be, and I was thinking I could go with Kevin. That is unless you have any other prospects,” she finishes while looking at the boy in question.

“No! Hell yeah! Do you think you can get me a swatch of your dress so I can match my tie? Oh, can I wear a bowtie? I love bowties. Should I get a matching vest too, or is that too much?” he shoots off rapidly.

“How do you know I have a lucky lady?” Archie asks, cutting off Veronica’s answer. “I mean, girl,” he coughs.

“Archiekins, you’re not subtle, you always sneak away after lunch and sometimes you’re missing in the morning. Not to mention some of the excuses you make. Just how many times can you leave your pencil somewhere?” she replies, nonchalant. “Your pencil? Really?”

“Wait, you have a girlfriend?” Betty speaks up, her brain only mildly alert due to her interrupted catnap. “And you didn’t tell me? Who is she? Did you know about this?” she asks her own boyfriend.

Jughead looks at her with an expression she’s unsure of. “I—”

“It’s my business,” Archie helps him out. “And it’s not—I’m going to the dance stag, as in listening to Reggie go on about how much ass he is going to get only for him to go home alone, watch the Pussycats perform, and probably dance with Kevin a few times to make his night—”

“Hey! We do not joke about things like this, Archie Andrews. You say it, you better do it,” the boy states.

“I would never joke, Kev, you know you have a special place in my heart,” Archie insists.

Kevin smiles from ear to ear and melts into the couch, his cheeks red with heat. “Can the three of us go together? It would cause such a scandal! Oh, please, can we do it? Please?” he pleads with Veronica, his eyes big and his bottom lip out.

“If Archie’s doesn’t mind,” Veronica answers. “I’m all for creating scandals.”

They both look to Archie who shrugs. “I guess so?”

“Oh, yes! We’re so doing this and taking the best photo-op ever,” Kevin sighs happily.

“You guys have fun,” Jughead says with hands moving up and down Betty’s back systematically to help ease the knots.

“You’re kidding, right? You’re coming. Betty, tell him he’s coming,” Veronica orders.

“Jug does what he wants, and he doesn’t do dances. Shit, can you go a little to the left?” she practically moans into his collarbone. “Sorry, babe, my left.”

He does as he’s told until Veronica hits him with a pillow so hard his hat falls off and rolls down Betty’s backside. “Fu—Veronica, what are you doing?”

“You are taking her to the dance. And you’re going to wear a suit with the suspenders on correctly, and—”

“V, it’s really not a big deal,” Betty interrupts. “I’ve tried to get him to go to every dance since grade school, he refuses. It doesn’t matter if I pout or use the silent treatment, he won’t go. He doesn’t feel comfortable so I’ve given up. I’ve gone without him a couple times and it’s not fun for me watching everyone couple up, no matter how much fun Kevin is,” she says honestly, “I’m not making that the hill I die on,” she says simply. “Can you get back to the massage please?”

“We went to a dance before,” Jughead counters instead.

“No, we haven’t. I’ve missed almost every single dance of my school career, and the two I did go to were with Kevin.”

“Fifth grade, the Valentine’s Day dance—”

“Oh, Jughead Jones, that does not count.” Betty laughs. “That was an in-class party not a dance. And it was for being the class to sell the most chocolate—”

“I remember that!” Archie recalls. “Remember your parents were so pissed because you ate all your chocolate rather than sell it so they had to fork over, like, a hundred and twenty bucks,” Archie recalls in a laugh. “Jug’s the reason we got the party,” he tells Veronica.

“We danced! It counts,” Jughead insists indignantly.

“Because I was the only girl left sitting by myself, not because you wanted to. Archie would have taken your place, but he was obsessed with Stephanie Gibson that week—”

“Don’t single me out, dude. Everyone was obsessed with Stephanie Gibson, she was the first girl in our grade to develop a chest and it was—let’s just say they were the size they are now, but on an eleven-year-old’s body,” Archie says to a wide-eyed Veronica.

She looks to Betty, who nods in confirmation. “That poor girl, she has, like, what, a D cup? And at eleven, wow,” Veronica mumbles to herself.

“Yeah, it was awesome,” Archie assures her.

“You realize I’m a girl, right? That’s not—I don’t see that as awesome,” Veronica tells him.

“He was just happy because his hand brushed up against it, so stop acting like you got somewhere. We were eleven,” Betty reminds him with an eye roll.

“I’m sorry, not all of us found our soulmate at four years old and—”

“What!?” Archie’s interrupted by Veronica’s shriek.

Betty’s mouth opens in shock, Archie looks like a deer stuck in headlights, Jughead just lets his head fall back onto the couch, and Kevin almost looks giddy.

“Holy shit, this is getting so good,” he coos and both Betty and Jughead give him a look.

“You two got soulmarks at four years old—?” Veronica asks but is so shocked she can’t continue. “What, that’s imposs—” she continues to be practically speechless.

“We didn’t mark at four years old,” Jughead speaks up finally.

Betty looks at him with pleading eyes and he simply nods a little. “But I did know when I was four,” she finishes.

“But you are soulmates? You marked later? When? Where? Is this why you go into the bathroom stalls to change for practice?”

Rather than answer Betty just tugs on her crop top to reveal the gold crown. It’s somewhat blocked by the sports bra, but her new friend gets the idea.

“Holy crap,” the brunette breathes. “I didn’t think you two were marked. I thought you just, like, rose above it. Wow,” she goes on. “How did you know at four?”

Betty shrugs and leans back on Jughead’s legs that are now in a bent-up position. “I don’t know, we had just met and he hugged me to make me feel better, and,” she looks at Jughead who now has a small smile playing on his lips. “I could feel it somehow. So, I told him he was mine and he never fought it so,” she stops with a shrug.

“Why would I? Look at you,” Jughead teases and tickles her sides.

“Shut up, I was four and crying and—”

“Adorable,” he whispers before kissing her sweetly.

“Enough with that, I’m still in need of information over here! When did you find out?” Veronica presses.

“They went through a rough patch when we were, like, thirteen. It was all very angsty and he wore even more black than he does now,” Kevin begins. “Anyways, they were in this very big, very strange stance of ‘we’re not together but we’re not single either’ and there was hella tension, let me tell you,” he continues. “Anywho, Betty got her period, she was super scared of, you know, not being right, so she avoided him. Finally, he snuck into her bedroom, of course, and she told him. They kissed and voila, crown soulmarks right over their itty-bitty hearts.”

“That we keep secret because of the small-town drama, and because we were so young,” Betty adds on.

“Or, we were keeping it a secret before Archie opened his mouth,” Jughead says.

“I’m so fucking sorry, guys,” their red-headed friend finally speaks up. “I’ve never told anyone else, ever, and I—”

“We know, Jug’s just giving you a hard time,” Betty insists and pinches her boyfriend.

“It was only a matter of time before Veronica found out,” Jughead agrees, then bites his lip. “Besides, I’m working on telling my parents so we can spill the beans, anyway.”

At that Betty smiles and plants a big kiss on his lips.

“And what a better way to do it than at Homecoming in two weeks?”

“Uhm, no,” Betty answers herself. “I’m not putting a time limit on it. Jug’s parent’s history with marks is rough and I’m not putting him in a position where he feels forced to tell people. He’s working on it and that’s all I need right now,” she assures her new friend. “Besides, we have other plans that weekend.”

“We do?” Jughead asks.

“I was trying to be subtle, but yeah, it’s your birthday,” she reminds him.

“Oh shit, yeah. Sorry, Veronica, we can’t go, got plans,” he agrees quickly.

“You? Plans? On your birthday? All you do is get Pop’s and go to the Bijou with Betty. You can do that on any given Wednesday,” Kevin speaks up. “Jug hates his birthday, by the way.”

“I admit defeat for the night but not forever on the subject. You’ve been warned, Joneses,” she threatens.

“Joneses?” Betty questions, tilting to her head.

“What? It’s inevitable, but I know to be quiet in mixed company, unlike some people,” Veronica says dramatically to the room.

“I said I was sorry!” Archie pouts.

“And I’m going to find out who your lady friend is,” Veronica warns with a smirk.

“And I’m going to help,” Betty offers and the two wink at each other.

“Jug, a little help here?” Archie asks, his face pale.

“Sorry, bud, I know better than to try and keep things from Betty by now. You’re on your own,” her boyfriend says while looking at her with a small grin.

“You better,” she murmurs before kissing him once more.

“Okay, can we get food or something? All these slips have been great, but I’m hungry, and when I’m too hungry I get hangry and—”

“Stop, yes Kevin, we can get food,” Jughead interrupts. “Pop’s?”

“Yeah, I could use some chili cheese fries after that horror show we call practice,” Veronica agrees while standing.

Betty sighs. “I probably have to go home. My parents—”

“You’re coming,” Jughead urges as he struggles to get up with her still on top of him.

“Jug, I’m gonna fall!” she whines.

“You? I haven’t felt my ass in over an hour,” he groans while letting her go to get on her own feet. “You’re coming, you’re never home for dinner on nights you have practice and they know that.”

Betty looks at him under tired eyes but says nothing.

“C’mon, going to bed with a full stomach won’t hurt any. I’ll make sure you’re home before Alice Cooper sends out the dogs,” he assures her.

“Fine, but I’m getting a side salad,” she capitulates.

“As long as it’s on the side of a big, juicy cheeseburger, sure,” Jughead agrees.

“When you put it that way,” Betty says with a grin as he throws an arm around her shoulders to pull her close.

*

It’s unfair, Betty thinks, on Friday night after a grueling River Vixen’s practice followed by the football game, that she felt like death warmed over all day, but as soon as her head hits the pillow it’s as though she doesn’t remember how to sleep.

Wearing one of the shirts she’s stolen from Jughead, she curls into her pillow, her thumb hovering over his name nestled between emoji hearts in her contact list.

He and Archie are having a sleepover tonight, meaning they are next door playing video games and eating all night, doing whatever boys do when they have sleepovers, and she doesn’t want to interrupt, but—

She’s so tired, so tired with no sleep in sight that the words on her phone become blurred as tears fill her eyes.

Betty sniffles and hits Jughead’s name.

He answers after a ring or two, mid-laugh, and it makes her heart lurch. This is their first real ‘guy-time’ together or whatever, and she hates that she’s ruining it.

“Hey, babe,” he greets. “Calling to say goodnight?”

She sniffles again and bites her lip. “I know you’re with Arch, but do you think you could come over? Just until I fall asleep? Please?”

“Of course, are you okay, Betts?” he asks, knowing her entirely too well.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” she assures him and doesn’t think it’s a lie. She is fine, just tired, tired and out of it. “I—I don’t sleep unless you’re with me, not real sleep, not lately, and I—”

“Betty, I’m already walking out the door. I’ll be up in two minutes, okay?”

“It’s Archie mad? I know tonight’s a big deal—”

“It’s video games and shit-talking, and no, he’s not mad. He wanted to get a writing session anyways, whatever that means to our resident Justin Bieber, no worries. I’m about to climb up, so,” he pauses.

“Okay, see you in a sec,” she murmurs before hanging up and dropping the phone on pastel bedspread.

Maybe it’s this room, she thinks as she surveys the pinks, purples and baby blues all mixing together. As time goes on, she’s feeling less and less like the room belongs to her. It’s the bedroom for the perfect daughter her parents want. It doesn’t feel like her, not anymore, not ever again.

“Arch is right,” Jughead states as he crawls through her window. “If I work out my arms more, that is a lot easier.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispers in response.

Jughead cups her cheeks as it sits on the bed in front of her. “No, I’m sorry, Betts. This is all because of me. I hate it,” he admits.

“It’s not just you, Jug,” she assures him, leaning into his hold. “It’s a lot you, not going to lie, but… everything is getting to me. It’s like I can’t keep up the charade anymore.”

“What charade?”

“All this perfection,” she mouths, not wanting to say it. “I hate that word, I hate it, and I—for so many years I’ve abided by it. I wore the pastels and sweaters with stupid lace trimming and long-sleeves that my mom picked out. I took ballet and piano lessons. I’ve been shadowing at the Register since I was, like, nine? Who does that?” she asks the room more than him. “I was nine. I should have been playing Star Wars with you and Archie or watching Disney movies nonstop with Kevin—”

“Hey, as I recall, I was subjected to those Disney marathons too, Betts,” Jughead cuts in with a small smile. “I know every word to The Little Mermaid and Cinderella, and even Tangled,” he reminds her.

“Beauty and the Beast too,” she adds with a smile. “I went to church and did every academic extra-curricular. I voluntarily did every extra credit assignment even though I had straight-A’s. I did that stupid internship. I didn’t talk back and I was nothing like Polly. I didn’t shorten my skirts or hang out with people she didn’t approve of. I’ve only missed curfew, like, twice in my entire life,” she stops to look at him, doing her best to blink away the tears. “But what’s the point? It doesn’t matter how much I try to be everything they want when all it takes is one stupid mistake for them to throw me away.”

“Betty, what are you talking about? Your parents aren’t perfect themselves, no matter how much they want to be, but they love you,” he tells her.

“Like they love Polly?” she asks with a quiver in her lip. “She may have been rebellious and loud and full of life, but she’s still their daughter. All it took was one choice—Jason—and it was so easy to toss her aside.”

“Betty, I—”

“Did I help?” she asks him. “Because I did everything they said. I became everything they wanted. Did that make it okay to let her go because they had me?”

“No. No, Betty, stop,” he urges and tugs her by the back of the knees so she’s in his lap. “It’s never okay to do what they did. Polly’s their daughter as much as you are. It doesn’t matter if she didn’t listen as much as you did.”

“What if that’s why she doesn’t want to see me? What if she thinks because they have me they don’t need her?”

“Oh, baby,” Jughead says into her neck as they hold each other. “I don’t know what Polly thinks, but it can’t be that it just can’t be. None of this is your fault. She made her choices and they made theirs. You weren’t even here when it all went down.”

“Because I was at that stupid internship my mom got me into. If I was here—”

“You’d be in the same boat you are now,” he tells her. “Because neither of them would have budged, and you know it.”

Betty nods into his neck, her fingers playing with the little hairs at his nape. “I’m mad at her,” she admits.

“I know,” he answers quietly.

“She just left me behind like I would agree with them. Like I hadn’t been on her side for the last year with everything. I keep trying to prove to her I’m a good enough sister, the perfect sister, and she just keeps—” the rest is caught in her throat and she squeezes his shoulders tight. “I’ve done everything to contact her. She’s made herself unreachable, and I—I think I’m done, Jug. I can’t—if everything I’ve done, everything I am isn’t enough for her then that’s it. I can’t be any more than I am.”

“Baby, you’re enough, you’re more than, fuck,” he insists, his grip so tight she almost can’t breathe, but Betty wants it that way. He makes her feel safe, wanted, enough.

“I’m not used to giving up,” she confesses after a long moment.

“You’re not giving up, Betty. You’ve done everything you can do to show Polly you’re on her side and that you don’t agree with your parents. If it’s not enough for her, then she’s truly becoming a Blossom and that’s her fault, not yours,” he says firmly into her skin.

Betty pulls away to wipe her face on her pajama shirt.

“You’re everything, Betty. I don’t ever want you to think you’re less than how completely wonderful you are,” Jughead states.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall apart on you,” she whispers, resting her forehead on his. “That’s not why I asked you to come over. I just—it’s not all you, so don’t be a drama queen and think it is,” she teases.

He smiles and presses a soft kiss to her lips.

“I can’t wait until we’re older, when I’m out of this room, this house. When I don’t have to call you to come over because you’ll be beside me. I want to be able to roll over and have you already there.”

“That’s the real dream right there, huh?” he murmurs and kisses her once more. “C’mon, let’s get under the covers.”

Betty settles under her sheet and comforter set but finds more comfort in Jughead’s arms. “Jug, if you become a Serpent, what kind of obligations will you have?”

“Betty, I—”

“I mean, like, you made me watch Sons of Anarchy. Do the Serpents have Church? Will you have to be there? Are there different meetings for the younger Serpents? Will I have a name?” she begins to ramble on.

“A name?” he questions.

“Yeah, on Sons they were called Crow-Eaters, right?”

“The groupies were, Jesus, Betty,” he says in half a laugh. “You wouldn’t be a groupie, you’d be a… Old Lady, I think? And, I don’t know about any of it. I’m not in, remember?”

Betty settles back onto her pillow. “Well, I’m just saying, they should hand out pamphlets or something, so we know what we’re getting into.”

“It’s a gang, Betty, I think that speaks for itself,” he tells her.

“Humph,” she grunts and stares at the ceiling.

“If conversational whiplash is a thing, it’s what I’m experiencing right now,” Jughead admits.

“Welcome to my nightlife,” she sighs and blinks up at the too-white paint. “My mind jumps to a million different things when I’m trying to sleep. I think about you, Veronica, Kevin, my parents, Polly, Archie, his girlfriend, who is she?” she goes on without missing a beat. “I keep wondering who. At first, I thought it was Ethel and he wasn’t saying anything because she’s not, like, his usual, you know?’ she asks and then continues before he can answer. “And it pissed me off because Ethel is awesome, and she deserves better than to be a secret because she’s not someone Reggie Mantle would ‘approve’ of or whatever.”

“Wow,” is all her boyfriend says.

“But then, during one of the times Archie disappeared we were with Ethel,” she tells him. “Veronica said it could be Cheryl, but Cheryl wouldn’t keep Archie a secret. I mean, look at him, she’d parade him around like a show dog or something, Kevin’s words, not mine. Then,” she looks over at him to make sure he’s still listening. “There was a theory it could be a guy. Archie’s always been very into girls, but hey, anyone can have a sexual awakening.”

“Are those Kevin’s words, or Veronica’s?” he wonders aloud.

“Kevin’s, mostly hoping Archie was exploring, you know, so he’d have a chance. Regardless, Archie and Kevin have already touched, so they aren’t marked. Not that it really matters, but I don’t want Kevin to get his heart broken, I don’t think he’d survive losing Archie. That’d be like growing up thinking Lindsay Lohan really had a twin, earth-shattering.”

“Wow,” Jughead repeats, laughing now.

“What?”

“It’s—you can just tell you have a new friend, a girl-friend. That’s all,” he explains, and tucks a hair behind her ear.

“Right. Anyway,” she says, and he laughs some more. “So, the guy theory isn’t out, I just don’t think it’s the right direction, you know? This could all be solved if you would tell me, but I told Veronica as much as we’re intertwined and as much as you love me, you keep your promises, especially to Archie, and I respect that. I won’t make you tell me, just drive you crazy until you do.”

“Are you trying to butter me up about Homecoming?” Jughead asks, still chuckling.

“What? How did you get Homecoming from that?”

“Betty, you went from Polly to the Serpents, to Archie being gay, and you’re asking me how I got Homecoming after you made me feel all warm inside with that comment?”

“I am not the one pushing you into Homecoming. That’s Veronica. You were there when I told her. I’ve admitted defeat. That is all her,” Betty reminds him.

“But you do want to go?” he pushes.

“I would like to, yes,” she tells him honestly. “But I won’t force you into anything that you don’t want to.”

“And you really want to go?” he asks again. “I’m being serious here, Betts. We’ve never talked about dances or Homecoming, not since the shitty seventh-grade ones that were so lame Archie even skipped half of them.”

Betty turns her head to look at him. “Yes, Jug, I do, okay? I would like to go shopping for a cute dress, get dolled up with my friends, and attend a dance with my soulmate, who I know looks amazing with suspenders worn correctly…” she trails off just to smile at him. “But I’m not going to guilt you into going. I’m fine with sitting at home with you and watching movies and doing absolutely nothing as long as you’re right beside me.”

“Doing nothing with you is one of my favorite things,” Jughead begins.

“Well, it’s your birthday. I assumed we’d be doing a little more than nothing,” Betty comments, to which he grins.

“That’s my second favorite thing to do with you,” he laughs. “I’m a weirdo, I know this, how I almost never go without that stupid hat solidifies that, but—”

“Now I get what you meant by that whiplash comment,” Betty interrupts.

“Shush,” he mutters. “I want to go to Homecoming with you.”

“What?”

Jughead kisses her temple softly. “It’s something I’m against as an institution, but—if something so small will make you happy, and won’t hurt me at all, of course I want to do it.”

“Jug, you don’t have to, really,” she assures him.

“Betty,” he breathes while licking his lips. “I’m—fuck, baby, I’m weird,” he tells her again. “You never say no to going to the Bijou with me, or going to Pop’s for the millionth time, or seeing the same five Hitchcock or Tarantino movies repeatedly because no one will make movies better than them—”

“I am your favorite Hitchcock blonde, right?” she cuts him off, with a grin.

“Of course,” he affirms. “But don’t get me started on how he treated the women in his films—I’ll never finish what I’m trying to say.”

“Oh, believe me, I know,” Betty teases.

“What I’m getting to,” he goes on. “You do so much for me, such small trivial shit that bothers the hell out of everyone else around me, but you never say no.”

“Juggie,” she murmurs and looks up at him under heavy lids.

“I’m not being self-deprecating, I promise,” he insists. “It’s who I am, and you’ve loved me for all that I am before these marks ever showed up on our skin. I mean, Jesus, we just had a conversation about what you would be called if I joined the Serpents, that was real.”

“I was there. What are you getting at, Jug?” she asks.

“If going to Homecoming is something that will make you happy then of course I want to go. I always want to make you happy,” he finishes.

“That was a very long-winded way of conceding,” she responds in a whisper.

“I’m not conceding, I’m—I’m trying to be romantic, okay? Do you want to go to Homecoming with me or not?”

“Yes!” she says with a smile from ear to ear.

Jughead smiles wide, the kind of smile that makes her stomach flip. “And—I think we should take Veronica’s suggestion.”

“What?”

“I think you should get a dress that will show our marks and that is how we’ll tell the world.”

“What?” she repeats as though she doesn’t understand what he’s finally saying.

“I—I don’t know how to tell my dad, how to come clean about this lie. It’s—I need a push, you know? I need something to make me do it. It’s become one of those things that’s harder to fix because of how long it’s been going on. I need to pull the Band-Aid and if my hand is forced I’ll have to rip it off,” he explains.

Betty’s shocked for a second before she sits up. “You’re joining the Serpents, aren’t you?”

“What?”

“You—you want to go to Homecoming and show our marks and tell your parents. You’re the one buttering me up. That’s cruel, Jug,” she says hollowly as she tries to pull away.

“I’m not buttering you up!” he insists, getting up too and pulling her back to him. “That didn’t even occur to me, Betts. I swear.”

“So, you’re not joining the Serpents?”

“No! Well, I don’t know, I haven’t figured it out yet. I just have all these decisions hanging over me and I’m sick of it. I need something to give me a push, so I want to put a time limit on it, or I’ll never get the nerve. It’s not just about telling my dad. It’s explaining why I lied to him for years about the thing that makes me the happiest. I need something to help make me do it, and this is it. Going to Homecoming is for you, but that’s the only reason, for you,” he insists.

“It’s not because you’ve decided to join the Serpents and you’re trying to make it easier on me?” she asks again to make sure.

“I haven’t decided anything with the Serpents. But I did decide to go to Homecoming with my beautiful soulmate, showing our mark, because it’s time, and it will make you happy, which is all I really want.”

“This is real?” she asks, tears in her eyes again.

“Very real. No strings, no hang-ups, just wanting to make you happy.”

Betty throws herself at him in a hug, almost knocking him off the bed. “Oh, Juggie! I can’t wait to tell Veronica. I can’t wait to find a dress. I can’t wait—” he cuts her off with a kiss.

She leans into him and lets herself get lost in it, in the feeling of his lips on her skin, his hands slipping under her shirt to skim across her ribs. It makes her heart flutter and stomach somersault.

Betty doesn’t realize how deep they are in until she feels his fingers slip under her underwear. “Whoa, Jug, wait,” she breathes heavily.

“What?”

“I—I love you, you are romantic. I can’t wait for all the Homecoming stuff and your birthday, but,” she stops and bits her bottom lip. “I’m so fucking tired.”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he apologizes instantly. “I forgot.”

“Honestly, I did too for a second,” she admits. “But I love you, so much.”

“I love you more,” he replies and slowly brings her down to the mattress with him. “But, I think you’d love me more if you got a full eight hours tonight.”

Betty snuggles into him. “No offense but right now, a full eight hours sounds so much better than an orgasm.”

Jughead laughs and starts playing with her hair, a surefire way to make sure she falls asleep ASAP. “Go to sleep, baby, and you’ll find all this is still real in the morning.”

*

“I know you hate it, but it goes so well with your skin tone,” Veronica says as she appears out of thin air with a dress in hand.

Betty looks it over. It’s beige, would be skintight, swoop low to show her boobs, and definitely be sexy, but—

“I want color, V,” she admits.

“We could give you a splash of color with your earrings, a necklace, and shoes!” the brunette insists.

“No, I just… I think I’ll know it when I see it,” Betty tells her.

“I love you, but you’re being so picky,” Veronica huffs and shoves the dress back on the rack.

“Why don’t you wear it? I’m sure there is one in your size,” Betty says.

“I can’t do beige, really, it washes me out most of the time,” Veronica sighs as they continue their search for the ‘perfect’ dress as Veronica calls it. Betty’s not so in love with the name, but she’s not wrong. “I still can’t believe Jughead agreed to this. Ugh, you guys are like a fairytale.”

Betty shakes her head at an outrageous lime green dress, who would even try to wear that? “From the outside, it may seem like that,” she starts, “but we’ve been through so much crap, V, believe me. Even now, Jughead has this huge decision he has to make before his birthday and I know what decision he should make, but it’s his to make.” She stops and lets out a long breath. “I can’t make it for him, I won’t be that type of partner.”

“Hey, is this something we need to talk about?” Veronica asks in a soft voice. “I know I’m not as close as you and Archie, or Kevin, definitely not Jughead,” she says with a chuckle, “but, you can trust me.”

“Oh, I know. I know, V,” Betty assures her. “If it was about me, I would tell you. But this is about Jughead, so it’s his business, you know?”

Veronica nods and motions to the small pile dresses that are a ‘maybe’ for her along with the two dresses Betty didn’t hate so far. “Let’s try some of these on, huh?”

They find a large room they can share together. Now that Veronica knows about the mark, Betty has nothing to hide.

“You look amazing in every dress, V,” Betty practically coos at Veronica’s fifth ‘maybe’. “In every color too.”

“It is a blessing and a curse,” she breathes, then smiles playfully. “I prefer black, it can make you be both sexy and innocent at the same time. I can be in mourning or a mob wife. There are so many options.”

Betty chuckles as she shucks the dress off and it pools at her feet. “Here, a little black dress, just for you,” she says and hands her a black dress with lace sleeves.

Veronica smiles suggestively before practically snatching it out of her hands. “Yes, I remember you saying black lace, and I just told you to add it to the pile, but I didn’t look at it.”

“Even if you don’t want it for Homecoming, you better buy it. You look amazing, V,” Betty insists, standing now to look her over.

“Why wouldn’t I wear this to Homecoming? It’s perfect,” Veronica states. “Sorry, I know you hate the word—”

“No, it is. The boys aren’t going to know what hit them,” Betty agrees.

“And I have the perfect black gloves to match it with,” the raven-haired girl says with a small smile.

“Hey, V,” Betty starts softly. “I think I know, but why—”

“Do I wear the gloves?” Veronica finishes, her voice low. She lets out a long breath and sits on the little bench in the changing room. “I—everyone in Riverdale knows the scandal involving my parents. My dad is in prison for embezzlement; my mom is this town’s target practice, all while suddenly being a single parent with almost every account frozen like she’s to blame for it too, when she didn’t know anything about it.”

“Veronica—”

“My parents are marked, Betty, they marked in high school, Riverdale High School. My mom was,” she stops to breathe. “She dated Fred Andrews for over a year in high school, until my dad set his eyes on her.”

“What? Your mom and Archie’s dad?”

Veronica nods. “It’s not a big deal, he was jilted for a little bit, but then he marked with Archie’s mom, of course, as we know,” she goes on. “Anyways, my mom was happy with Fred. I’ve seen the pictures. I heard stories when I was dating this boy back home, Nick St. Claire. My mom always said it’s fine to date before you mark because you’re not marked yet, you know? And she had fun with Fred. He treated her like a princess. Then, they had one big fight, and my dad saw an opening and took it. They marked, and then obviously she and Fred were over after that. But in every picture I’ve seen of her and Archie’s dad… well, I’ve never seen her smile that way at my dad.”

“Oh.”

“My dad always provided for us, more than we ever needed, honestly, and he always treated me right, I was his little girl. He treated me like a princess, when I wish he’d done the same with my mom. Their mark is on their necks, it—it looks like, to me, like dead flesh, like it’s eating her from the inside out. My parents say its black crushed diamonds, but… tomatoe, tomato, I guess?”

“I know what you mean. My parents say theirs is a sharp pen going down their wrists, but to me it looks like a blade about to cut open the main vein,” Betty admits quietly.

“I’ve never heard my parents say ‘I love you’ or show affection towards each other unless we were at some event. With one look my father can have my mother go from all smiles to knowing she did something wrong somehow, and it completely ruins her night. He’s never hit her or anything like that, but the emotional abuse was there from time to time. I saw it. I tried to tell her to stand up to him but my dad is such a presence. He demands respect. You know he’s one of the smartest, most cunning person the moment he walks into a room, any room.”

“I’m sorry, V,” Betty whispers.

“Honestly, it’s hard with my father being in prison, but sometimes, I swear, when she and I are hanging out together I see that smile I used to only see in the pictures of her and Mr. Andrews together. She’s more at ease now. She doesn’t have to be so ‘on’ all the time, she can relax. I’m not saying the marks are wrong, but… my mom’s weighs her down in a way that I don’t ever want to be weighed down myself.”

Betty nods. “So you wear the gloves so you won’t mark with anyone.”

Veronica mimics her movements. “I don’t want to lose myself the way she did. I wear the gloves to protect myself and I know it means I could have missed my moment, but I’d rather be alone than be in a relationship and feel alone, because that is so much worse.”

Betty sits down next to her and pulls her into a long hug. “If I hadn’t marked with Jug I probably would have come up with the same solution to keep him. Whether or not you ever take off the gloves is up to you, but from what I’ve gathered in the past few weeks—you’re not passive. You’re not like your mom in that way and you wouldn’t let yourself be taken over like that. Whoever your soulmate is, they are definitely in for a long, crazy ride because you’re so full of life and a force to be reckoned with.”

Veronica leans into Betty’s arms with a smile. “Thank you, B.”

“Any time, V.”

She wipes at her eyes, and smiles. “No more sadness, I have something for you that you have to try on, even if you don’t like the color. I have a feeling about it.”

“For you, sure,” Betty agrees and stands.

Veronica pulls out a dress from underneath a rather large poofy purple one that belongs in the eighties. It’s pink, but—Betty agrees, she has a feeling about it.

An hour later, Betty gets dropped off by Smithers at Sunnyside, leaving her dress behind because Jughead is not to see it until the dance as per Veronica’s orders.

That may be so, but she’s so excited she can’t stop herself from at least telling him about it.

She runs up the few steps to his trailer and bursts through the door—FP gets annoyed when she knocks and Jughead is just as happy not having to get up to get the door.

“Juggie—” the words die in her throat upon seeing him surrounded by a group of Serpents, his father included, a leather jacket adorning his torso and a black eye darkening on his face.

To be continued…

Notes:  Don’t jump to conclusions, peeps, trust me, and… well, doesn’t Jug look great in the jacket?? This was fast, huh? You’re welcome ;) Big stuff in the works here! You’ll see… big things coming, be ready, y'all!And let’s never forget to thank @jandjsalmon for beta-ing and answering weird questions at all hours of the day when I forget a word or need to describe something better.

[oncetornasunder]

About Katrina

FULL NAME.  Katrina Lucinda Spellman Jacobs (Spellman biologically and more common alias, Jacobs legally) MEANING. Katrina - Pure, Lucinda- Illumination. Mythological Roman goddess of childbirth and giver of first light to newborns., Spellman-  occupational name for a musician or minstrel, from Middle Low German,  Jacobs- from the given name Jacob, derived from the Latin Jacobus, itself derived from the Hebrew language personal name Yaakov, from the Hebrew word akev ("heel").   NICKNAME. Most of her friends call her Kat, significant others get away with Trina. People especially close to her can get away with KitKat. Spellman. GENDER.  Female HEIGHT. 5′7″ AGE.  Born October 31, 2000 (year is subject to change due to me needing to figure out what year Tommy Kinkle was born)

ZODIAC: Scorpio Sun, Sagittarius Moon, Leo Ascending (Natal Chart!) SPOKEN LANGUAGES.  English, Latin and Spanish

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

HAIR COLOUR. Dark brown/black EYE COLOUR.  Blue  SKIN TONE. Porcelain BODY TYPE.  Curvy, muscular   ACCENT.  American VOICE. Very blunt unless upset or worried, then quiet and reserved DOMINANT HAND.  right. POSTURE. Likes to shlump SCARS.  TBA  TATTOOS.  None yet, she’s planning a few MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S).   Dat cat eye makeup :P

𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 !

PLACE OF BIRTH. Spellman Sister’s Mortuary, the Midwifery Room, Greendale HOMETOWN.  Riverdale BIRTH WEIGHT.  8lbs, 1oz BIRTH HEIGHT.  19.5 inches long MANNER OF BIRTH.  Natural childbirth.  FIRST WORDS.  Mama  SIBLINGS.  Adoptive sibling: Sabrina Spellman (on Edward’s side, daughter of The Dark Lord and Diana Spellman), Half siblings: Noah Jacobs, Aaron Jacobs (on Lucinda’s side, with her new husband) PARENTS.  Biologically Edward and Lucinda Spellman’s, Lucinda ran away with Katrina after faking their deaths to get away from Edward and the coven. Adopted by her new stepfather Nicholas at the age of 5. PARENT INVOLVEMENT. Lucinda is very involved with taking care of her kids, good mom. Edward died a few years after Katrina’s death and Lucinda spirited the two of them away before Katrina could ever meet her father. Nicholas, Kat’s adoptive/stepfather, is stern but he’d die for his kids.

𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 !

OCCUPATION. Bookseller at Spells and Sorcery Bookstore CURRENT RESIDENCE.  Riverdale CLOSE FRIENDS.  Polly Cooper, Tommy Kinkle, Charles Smith (AU), the Core Four (Betty, Jug, Veronica, Archie) RELATIONSHIP STATUS.  verse dependent FINANCIAL STATUS.  Upper DRIVER’S LICENSE. Issued at 15.5 years CRIMINAL RECORD. None. Yet. VICES.  alcohol

𝐬𝐞𝐱 & 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 !

SEXUAL ORIENTATION.  Bisexual. Prefers men ROMANTIC ORIENTATION.  More heteroromantic but she could see herself romantically attracted to both men and women PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE.  submissive       |       DOMINANT     |       switch PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE.  submissive       |       DOMINANT       |       switch LIBIDO.  Depends on the partner and her emotional state. Pretty high normally. TURN ON’S. Respect, understanding, caring, intelligence, kindness, listening, protectiveness. TURN OFF’S.   Cruelty, demanding, controlling, oppressive, mistreating people (specifically children), judgement, disrespect.  RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES. Kat tends to drift towards people she feels she needs to protect (romantically or otherwise), but she loves to help them understand they are stronger than they seem and they are so much more than they were initially led to believe. She likes to protect her significant others but honestly if they start to show protective tendencies back? HELL YEAH.

𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 !

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG. My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark by Fall Out Boy HOBBIES TO PASS TIME.  Reading, working at her mother’s bookstore, spending time with friends, checking in on the Southside Serpents, learning new skills MENTAL ILLNESSES.  Anxiety, depression. PHYSICAL ILLNESSES.  N/A  LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED. A bit of both? She’s creative but when they need a plan for something Kat normally comes up with at least 2 or 3 options.  PHOBIAS.  Her father returning from the grave, the Dark Lord coming for her soul, losing her family and friends. SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL.  She puts up a good front but honestly pretty low, unless when surrounded by friends at home and chilling in a quiet place. VULNERABILITIES.  Her friends and family. Threaten either of those and she goes berzerk. Kat has lived in fear that the Dark Lord will come for her and if she’s unable to protect the ones she loves or if they get hurt because of her she’d never forgive herself.

tagged by: @emiliaspellman

tagging: You, you’re reading this? You’re tagged :D

[aussie-mantle]

Archie's Sister (Part 4)

Jughead 👑: Psycho Lindsay Lohan's guilty Me: Don't be ridiculous. Why would she kill her own brother? Jughead 👑: I don't know. You ask her. You guys are friends. I rolled my eyes at his text. I placed my phone back in my bag and turned to Archie who was heading towards Mr Weathebee's office just as Cheryl was dragged outside by her mother and father. "Oh shit." "Ohmygod. (Y/N). Just shut up." "Wh-what?" I stuttered. "Just shut up. Why do you always have to have an input in everything that happens." "I was just-" "Yo Andrews. That's no way to speak to lady, especially not your sister bro." Reggie said and wrapped his arm around Archie's shoulders. "You my man, need lessons from me." He said and Archie looked at Reggie. I mouthed a thank you to him. "I'm alright, thanks anyways Reggie. If it's anyone, it's you who needs lessons. You can't even spell-" "N-E-C-R-O-P-H-I-L-I-A. Defined by a sexual act or sexual attraction towards corpses. Don't worry. I have the best tutor." He said and winked at me. "Stay away from him (Y/N)." Archie shrugged Reggie off him. I rolled my eyes and walked off. During lunch, we sat around the common room, gossiping away about what had happened earlier that day in class. "So are you a suspect now?" Veronica asked to Archie. I raised an eyebrow. He claims he was at Sweetwater river with Vegas on the Fourth of July. I now have to believe that. I wouldn't have a clue of his whereabouts on that day because I was with Reggie. "My dad says we all are, including me." Kevin said to the group. "Not me girl. I don't know these people." Veronica pointed out. "Guys, should we re-binge watch making of a murder on Netflix tonight?" Kevin suggested. I stayed silent. "Sorry, can't. Working on the paper." Betty said. "Count me out too." Veronica said and all our heads turn to her. "I've got a date." "You do?" Archie and I both simultaneously said. "Which Riverdale hottie made the cut?" Kevin asked just as Veronica was about to speak, Moose, Reggie and Chuck all got up. "Hey. I'll swing by to pick you up at eight?" Chuck causally said. "I'll be waiting." Veronica flirted. Just before they left Reggie spoke up. "Damn (Y/N). You should wear leather skirts more often. You're teasing me." He flirted and I rolled my eyes just as Reggie made eye contact with Archie and stomped his foot forward to scare him. I had completely forgotten I was wearing a leather skirt, rather than my normal denim skirt. As they left Archie turned to me. "Chuck Clayton?" Betty asked confused. "You're going on a date with Chuck?" Kevin asked, like there was a probably. Veronica didn't really care. "He's kind of a player." Betty said to Veronica. Thank god they didn't pick up on what Reggie said. "Who carries! He's the hottest of hot!" Kevin said sticking up for Ronnie. Agree to disagree Kev. "And he's the varsity football coaches son. In Riverdale that's like dating a Kennedy." Veronica made a smirk to the two. Archie looked at me as we didn't participate in their conversation. After school and I ended up with Reggie. He had parked his car near Sweetwater River. "Reg, I don't think it's a good idea. Someone died here." I said as Reggie turned his engine off. "(Y/N). It's fine. It's just you and me." He smirked and hoped in the back of his ute I pulled my top off Reggie did the same. "God, I wasn't lying when I told you that you were teasing me." Reggie said as I straddled his lap lift up my leather skirt. Reggie's hands found his way to my lower back and squeezed my arse. "You're unbelievable." You giggled wrapping your arms about his neck and kissing him. "I'm just showering you, the way a woman like yourself should be treated." He smirked kissing down your jaw line and chest. "Sorry Dad. Sorry I'm not perfect like (Y/N)". Archie said heading up the stairs as I walked into the house. I squeezed past Dad after giving him a kiss on the cheek- a token of appreciation I have for him. "Yeah, you're right. You're pretty far from perfect lately. That's why you're grounded." Oh shit. Nice one Arch. "What?! You serious!" Archie backfired. "You're in this house for two weeks, seven o'clock. You want some alone time, you got it." Dad said in his husky voice. "I'm not ten years old Dad." "You wanna go three?" Archie gave up and walked upstairs. I pulled some leftovers out of the fridge. "How was tutoring?" Dad asked me. "Really good. He's improving." "That's great to hear. And you know it's because of you right? My smart little girl." Dad said running his hand and messing up my hair as I smiled. "Welcome everyone. To the first annual 'Taste of Riverdale'." Mayor McCoy began her speech. I couldn't seem to find Reggie. I was really bummed that Archie was grounded. I promised him I would film everything the song he wrote, performed by Josie and the Pussycats for him. I needed a good view. Just as dad walked over to Hermione Lodge I turned to find Jughead. He had sent me a text telling me about his whereabouts. As I reached him Jughead shifted to the side for me to squat next to him. "Why's your dad talking to Miss Grundy?" Jughead asked me and I shrugged. "She's tutoring him I'm pretty sure." I mumbled just as Mrs Blossom slapped Alice Cooper. "H-hey Riverdale." Josie said awkwardly deferring the attention away from the two ground ladies. Just as the Pussycats began to play, Archie snuck his way over. "Are you sure it was worthy it to watch some locally sourced monsters?" Jughead scoffed. "I helped write that song man." Archie said and I smiled to him. The song was actually really good. It had a really catchy tune to it. At the end of the song, I noticed my father begin to walk over to the Mantle family. Shit. There's Reggie with them. "Love to stay and chat. But I've gotta go." I said pushing and the wall and running back downstairs. "There's the lovely girl that's tutoring our son." Ms Mantle said as I walked over. "Olivers grades have hugely improved since (Y/N) began tutoring Oliver. He has gone for a D- to a B+. Your daughter really has some brains Fred." Mrs Mantle smiled at my father. "She sure does." Dad said putting an arm around my shoulder. "Same she wants to go into nursing though. They don't get paid well and all her talent would be going to waste-" "Mom. It's her career choice, not yours." Reggie butted in. "Son. Leave this to the adults. Our sons going to be a marine biologist." "No I'm not. I'm going to play football." "That's no career." "That's a really good idea Reggie." Dad said standing up for him like Reggie did for me. Thankfully Dad had forgotten that whole 'Reggie knocking out Archie and giving him a black eye' scenario. My phone began to buzz against my leg. "I've gotta take this." You said looking at the caller ID. It was Betty. You scoot through the crowd and answer your phone. "What's up?" You asked her bubbly. "Can you come to my house. Now." She said and hung up. That was weird. Maybe she's in trouble. Once I made it to her house, I didn't even have a chance to knock on the door, she opened it for me. "H-hey Betty." You smile to her and spot Veronica in the house as well. Both of them looked like had recently had showers or something. "(Y/N). We need to talk." Betty said gesturing me to the couch by Veronica. "It's important." "It's about Reggie." "There's this playbook." You sigh. "I know." "Then why didn't you say anything about it? You were sexually abused (Y/N)." "Actually, I wasn't-" "Did you know you're worth 15 points. You're an eight and 'team mates sister' give you another extra seven points." Veronica said showing me the infamous playbook. I knew I was in it. I snatched the book of Veronica. "How did you get this?" I asked flicking through the pages. It looked like Reggie had kept his promise about only putting me in it twice. Still, it's not an awesome thing to keep score. "We broke into the school." Veronica confessed. "But what we find interesting, is that Reggie's name is next to yours. Care you explain?" Betty asked me getting closer to me. I could tell it wasn't his handwriting, it was someone else's. Someone else, namely Chuck had written out names in it. Reggie couldn't rub it out. "As you can see, it was only two nights." I pointed to my name. I looked at the other girls, Ethel, Polly, Amy, Vanessa, Stephanie. "Are you sure? Reggie likes to flirt with you a lot during school. Is there anything else you would like to tell us before we publish this in the Blue and Gold tomorrow?" Betty asked me and I shook my head. "Nope." I lied. "I should go." I told them and said a quick goodbye and left to go home next doors. Just before I left I swear I heard Betty say something about asking Archie.

[gayspacepilots]

Tag Game!

RULES: ANSWER THESE 88, THEN TAG SOME PEOPLE

Indirectly tagged by @kickedtotheside​.

BASICS: a. NAME AND PRONOUNS: Arty, they/them and he/him. b. AGE (and birthday!): 18, Dec.17th. c. SEXUALITY: Aroace. d. GENDER: thought I was non-binary, but I had a late night-realitation and know I don’t know anymore. I’m not cis, I’m something else, just not sure what. e. COUNTRY: Canada f. FAVORITE AESTHETIC: Anything with plants or space. TRIGGERS/MENTAL ILLNESSES: General anxiety, social anxiety and lots of severe depression.

THE LAST: 1. DRINK: Well the last drink I had was water, but I’m drinking a Ginger Ale right now. (It’s making my head throb...) 2. PHONE CALL: My mom? I think... 3. TEXT MESSAGE: “Well, that’s good!” My mom got to where she needed to get to after her bus blew a tire. She told me she arrived safely. 4. SONG YOU LISTENED TO: “I Was Made For Loving You” by KISS. I’ve been listening to a lot of classic rock lately. I’ve missed it. 5. THE TIME YOU CRIED: Probably a couple days ago, I’m not sure. 6. DATED SOMEONE TWICE: No. 7. KISSED SOMEONE AND REGRETTED IT: I’ve never kissed someone. I’ve been kissed, but I’ve never initiated one. 8. BEEN CHEATED ON: Nope... unless you count during board games. 9. LOST SOMEONE SPECIAL: Yeah, my step grandfather, but he never felt like that. He was so similar in mannerisms and behavior, and he had the same sense of humour that the rest of my family has, that I've never doubted that he’s related to me. His and my grandmother’s wedding is the first and only wedding I’ve ever been and I think it’s pretty spectacular that any wedding, from here on out, that I see will be compared to the most important wedding I’ve ever been a part of. There were so many highlights of that night and I’m going to carry them with me forever. 10. BEEN DEPRESSED: More times than I could count. 11. GOTTEN DRUNK AND THROWN UP: Been drunk, yes. Thrown up from it, no, and I hope I never do. I did get a terrible hangover after I fucked myself up on some amazing red wine.

TOP 3 FAVORITE COLORS 12. Red 13. Purple 14. Green

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU: 15. MADE NEW FRIENDS: I’ve made some nice work friends and I’ve met some really nice seniors at work. They seem to like me and they make me laugh. 16. FALLEN OUT OF LOVE: No, it’s pretty easy not to when you’re aro. 17. LAUGHED UNTIL YOU CRIED: Yeah, I (and my co-workers) have done some dumb things at work and made some jokes that make my lungs burn and make my eyes pour.  18. FOUND OUT SOMEONE WAS TALKING ABOUT YOU: Yeah, several times. 19. MET SOMEONE WHO CHANGED YOU: I don’t know, it depends on what way you’re talking about. 20. FOUND OUT WHO YOUR FRIENDS ARE: *sigh* Yeah, I have. 21. KISSED SOMEONE ON YOUR FACEBOOK LIST: N/A, I don’t have Facebook.

GENERAL 22. HOW MANY OF YOUR FACEBOOK FRIENDS DO YOU KNOW IN REAL LIFE: N/A again. 23. DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS: Yeah, two cats. 24. DO YOU WANT TO CHANGE YOUR NAME: I want to change my legal name to my name. It just is a long process and I haven’t had time to work on it yet. 25. WHAT DID YOU DO FOR YOU LAST BIRTHDAY: I turned 18 last December (on a Saturday), meaning, I went to the Gay club (my city only has one) and drank. It was a grand ol’ time. 26. WHAT TIME DID YOU WAKE UP TODAY: 7:00, I had an early shift today and I spent the whole day feeding and talking to some very nice seniors. 27. WHAT WERE YOU DOING AT MIDNIGHT LAST NIGHT: I was working on a very long Benkaru Castle AU fanfics that has taken over my entire life. 28. NAME SOMETHING YOU CAN’T WAIT FOR: I don’t think I’m waiting for anything. 29. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR MOM: A couple hours ago. 30. WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WISH YOU COULD CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE: I don’t want to be aro. I’d like to be pan. 31. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: Back In Black by AC/DC. I told I was listening to some classic rock. 32. HAVE YOU EVER TALKED TO A PERSON NAMED TOM: Yes? I think? I’m not sure... I probably have. 33. SOMETHING THAT IS GETTING ON YOUR NERVES: Mouth noises, they sound so weird and gross. I’m just getting really sick of them.

LOST QUESTIONS 34. MOLE(S): None. 35. MARK(S): Too many to count and that I’d rather not talk about. I do have some badass scars. I’ve got a dent in my chin, a large scar on each of my forearms and a Harry Potter scar across my skull. (No, I’m not kidding, it’s pretty cool. I’ve very proud of it. My undercut shows it off very well.) 36. CHILDHOOD DREAM: Doctor. 37. HAIR COLOR: Dark Brown. I’m thinking about dyeing it red. 38. LONG OR SHORT HAIR: Short, very short. The shorter the better. 39. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON SOMEONE: No. 40. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF: I’m determined and stubborn. If I want something done and I’m committed to it, I won’t rest until it gets done. It just takes me a little something to get me going. 41. PIERCINGS: Just my ears, but one’s filled in cause I don’t wear anything in them anymore. 42. BLOODTYPE: A-, I found out because they had to know what type I was for my brain surgery. Luckily my dad donated for me. 43. NICKNAME(S): Art, Archie, Arthur, or any other name that starts with ‘Ar’. 44. RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Forever alone, and would like to be left alone. 45. ZODIAC: Sagittarius 46. PRONOUNS: They/Them and He/Him 47. FAVORITE TV SHOW: I’ve been watching Downton Abbey for my story. I’ve mostly had it on as background noise, but I’ve been enjoying it. 48. TATTOOS: *Sigh* No, none. 49. RIGHT OR LEFT HAND: Right. 50. SURGERY: Top tier, brain surgery at 3 months. I was a bad ass baby and I carry a sick scar from it! 51. HAIR DYED A DIFFERENT COLOR: Soon I will die my hair red, but I’ve got to get it bleached first. 52. SPORT: “Yeah, right!” They laughed, sarcastically, “An art kid doing sports! That’s a laugh!” 53. VACATION: I wish. 54. PAIR OF TRAINERS: I love my Converse, would never go anywhere without them or any of my multiple pairs of them.

MORE GENERAL 55. EATING: I just had some Triscuits, they were pretty good. 56. DRINKING: Ginger Ale. 57. I’M ABOUT TO: Work on my story. 58. WAITING FOR: My queue to be finished. 59. WANT: A s/o to spend my life with, but that’s not going to happen. 60. GET MARRIED: *See above 61. CAREER: Hopefully a successful Graphic Designer who part-time works on their own books. 62. HUGS OR KISSES: Hugs, but only from certain people at certain times. 63. LIPS OR EYES: Err... neither. 64. SHORTER OR TALLER: Shorter. 65. OLDER OR YOUNGER: Doesn’t really matter to me. 66. NICE ARMS OR NICE STOMACH: Strong arms and a squishy stomach. 67. SENSITIVE OR LOUD: Sensitive. 68. HOOK UP OR RELATIONSHIP: Relationship. 69. TROUBLEMAKER OR HESITANT: Hesitant.

HAVE YOUR EVER: 70. KISSED A STRANGER: No, but I’ve been kissed by a stranger. It was very weird to say the least. 71. DRANK HARD LIQUOR: More than once. 72. LOST GLASSES/CONTACT LENSES: Yes, multiple times a day. 73. TURNED SOMEONE DOWN: No? Not that I know of. 74. SEX ON THE FIRST DATE: No. 75. BROKEN SOMEONE’S HEART: No. 76. HAD YOUR HEART BROKEN: Yeah. 77. BEEN ARRESTED: Oh god no. 78. CRIED WHEN SOMEONE DIED: Oh yeah. 79. FALLEN FOR A FRIEND: No, that seems really weird to me.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 80. YOURSELF: No, I don’t think I ever have. 81. MIRACLES: Not particularly. 82. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT: No. 83. SANTA CLAUS: No. 84. KISS ON THE FIRST DATE: Maybe, idk. 85. ANGELS: No.

OTHER 86. CURRENT BEST FRIENDS NAME(S): N/A. 87. EYECOLOR: Green. 88. FAVORITE MOVIE: Star Trek Beyond, Big Eden, Uno the Movie.

I’m tired and I wasn’t properly tagged in this, so I feel bad if I tag anyone else. If you’d like to do this, and by all means, feel free.

[jamfingers]

Now that I read it, ngl I like "Life And Death" way better than "Twilight". Spoilers ahead.

CONS:

I have one really big issue and that’s that the execution for disproving that Twilight wasn’t sexist fell so flat. Bella experienced sexist treatment at the hands of Edward (her boyfriend), Charlie (her father), and Jacob (her best friend). While I can see what SM was getting at about Edward and Bella’s relationship specifically being uneven not because of gender, but because of power dynamics, Bella experienced sexism from her other important male relationships. Charlie and Edward had the whole “Take care of my girl” exchange in front of Bella like she wasn’t even there when he came to pick her up for baseball and it irritated her. Beau had his dad being awestruck that his son scored someone so hot in the equivalent scene and Beau was like “ikr?”. In NM (granted L&D didn’t get this far and went a different plot route in the end), Jacob sexually assaults Bella and because she can’t physically stop him, she just has to wait it out. Beau, like Bella, gets a harem to choose from, but unlike Bella, has (imo) more control at rearranging these dynamics.

There were also the societal adjustments made to suit Beau’s gender…like the assault in Port Angeles….what? Boys can’t be victims of random almost gang rapes? Or Beau’s fave book. The neuroscientist in me is like “well, there is a 2% genetic difference in males and females that accounts for mechanistic changes in brain functioning” while the sociologist in me is like “bullshit, his preference change is because of gender conformity and expectations”. So I’m torn.

Also the entire book is basically a fan fiction and a ploy for the author to make some more money (Yes I got suckered in, but still bro….you didn’t change much. I’d rather have something rewritten than revised).

Also, as much as I like the queer Twilight ideas, Bella would be just as “abused” in her relationship with Edythe and Beau would be “abused” in his relationship with Edward (I quote this because abused is the word used by fandom critics - I, like SM, always saw it as a power dynamic issue, not abuse, but that’s another thing all together) because both narrators just seem so damn susceptible to brainwashing and both versions of their love interest are incredibly forcible in their assertions and wills. The dynamics of their relationship don’t actually change much in the narrative, which was SM’s point - many people only called it abusive bc Edward was a male and Bella was a female, when in actuality it should be considered that way no matter what the gender or sexuality dynamics. Just saying. Stay consistent because, for all her faults, SM did. Edward/Edythe almost always got their way while Bella/Beau was often frustrated because they had to be the compliant one. When B does exert their will, it has to be through trickery rather than talking it out like adults bc they know E will be an obstacle. That is not an equivalent relationship and no amount of gender/sexuality changes will change that.

PROS:

So many things I loved. I adored Bella and Beau is just as lovable. He is so tol and so awkward and so adoring of this girl and it was refreshing to read a YA romance (esp a supernatural/fantasy one) about an ordinary boy falling in love with an extraordinary girl. I also like the fact that he’s more straight-forward in his descriptions of things that aren’t Edythe than Bella is. Bella goes on and on about how green and wet and cold it is and how she hates Forks bc it’s not Phoenix. That never appealed to me. Beau’s straight-forwardness and briefness about these details, to me, emphasizes the suddenly flowery, dramatic language he adopts when basking in Edythe’s glory. It was cute.

The genderbent versions of the characters seemed so much more…well-rounded and developed compared to their original incarnations. Which is weird because the book is essentially a copy-n-paste except for a few key moments and changes. Perhaps the author was just more comfortable writing them this time around.

Edythe Cullen is so much cooler than Edward. I didn’t like Edward much but I understand Beau’s obsession more than Bella’s. Fr dude I get it. Like the ECs essentially have the same rotten personality but it’s the little details that draw you in. Edythe’s details make her more awesome than Edward, sorry not sorry. She’s also like, smol and graceful and possibly more sarcastic than any version of all the characters which contrasts Beau’s slightly overwhelmed baby giraffe status so adorably. She reminds me of those evil-but-elegant looking Maine Coon cats.

A bevy of awesome female characters. Because so many of the key supernaturals were male in Twilight, it is fucking amazing that this whole new world seems so female driven. The new Volturi? Yes. The matriarch wolf pack? Double yes.

Archie fucking Cullen. I didn’t think it was possible for me to love a Twilight character more than Alice and Rosalie, but Archie man. Omg. (Royal not so much -his name omg I’m dead - because he seems to have Rosalie’s chip but his reasons for it are so ugh compared to hers. Both lost their families and statuses, yes, but Rosalie enduring horrific sexual assault before dying and losing all this on top of that seems more striking than Royal getting jumped. Idk, both are PTSD-inducing moments, but it once again portrays that SM failed to full stop the sexism she’s accused of utilizing. Also Royal was so vague about the details so SM wouldn’t have to think about developing why Royal is such a prick - like he could just be an asshole who thinks Beau is an idiot. That’s fine. I thought Bella was an idiot and sided with Rosalie, bc yeah girl, you want to die for a boy, a terrible, terrible boy at that. Rosalie was right in her logic and gets unfairly shat on for being a bitch. Whatever. I digress.) But Archie is also a double yes. I loved Archie, I want one in my life.

The ending. That was the ending I wanted for Twilight when I first read the saga. Tbh, the way Breaking Dawn ended was too perfect, kinda creepy on many accounts, retconish (Renesme or however the fuck it’s spelled shouldn’t exist, fight me), and frankly, incredibly boring. Too many things worked out for Bella and Edward and while they did have obstacles, their relationship was too happily ever after for my tastes and not really earned because a lot of their obstacles arose from their own stupidity/stubbornness.

The follow up for this new ending could potentially be soooo good and complex because there would be so many new obstacles and stakes to explore with Beau as a (spoiler) vampire in a relationship with a girl he’s madly in love with, but slowly realising exactly what it is he ended up losing to be with her. That is good relationship strife. Plus seeing Beau have a nemesis in Victor (Victoria) would make up for us being deprived of Bella having a single enemy that she went toe-to-toe with rather than her being the target of Edward’s nemesis because that would hurt Edward. Bella was very much side-lined in her own story and didn’t get to grow much in Edward’s presence (she had development just fine when he wasn’t around) until she got pregnant. Beau, with his ending, would not have that. I also want to see more fiercely protective Edythe - I want to see a couple protect each other, not one more powerful partner seclude the other away from the world “for their own good”. The new ending is a good way to provide growth for Edythe’s character as well and completely overturn that “abusive” dynamic. While I’m sad Bella didn’t get Beau’s awesome ending, the author seems satisfied and so were a lot of less critical readers so… *shrugs* Whatever.

Anyway td;lr - Life and Death, while not perfect, is a better story than Twilight with the foundation for a really interesting follow up if the time and thought were put into it.