#jughead: jealous

[diltonsstrangescience]

I found this on one of @jhsharman’s posts:

(Sorry if it’s rude to take it but I am giving credit.)

I think the original post was one of their many (very cool) side-by-side comparisons of things changed in reprints. But I want to put this here in isolation.

I don’t know if this is consistently canon, or one of those traits that changes over the decades, but I consider it to be true. Jughead is an above-average student.

Sure he’s weird, but he’s not disruptive. Sure he’s lazy, but he’s also willing to put effort into things. He’s generally very respectful and nice to everyone he interacts with. Jughead rebels against societal norms and expectations, sure, but he almost never breaks actual rules. He’s a good student.

He might sleep in class sometimes, but he always learns the material one way or another. And he may not be an overachiever like Dilly, but in the pursuit of doing only what he’s required to and not a single thing more, he does a good job.

He doesn’t worry about school, but he still does well. You can have it both ways. (Somehow.)

[bughead-in-the-comics]

Betty walks out after Jughead tells Trula that she’s interesting in We Meet Again!, Archie's Pal Jughead #175 (2006).

[tina-rocket]

As nice as it would be to see Kaz jealous & have Inej consider a romantic option that isn't Ketterdam's angstiest most repressed criminal, Tolya is canonically aromantic & possibly asexual as well.

I don't want another Jughead situation! We already have little to no aspec representation as it is, especially in fantasy. The writers better not ruin it by erasing Tolya's sexuality for the sake of another love triangle.

[urdeadbestfriend]

riverdale season 5: we have to reincorporate the town! how do we reconcile the people we wanted to be with the people we became? quick, archie! post a thirst trap so my wall street hubbie gets jealous!

jughead subplot:

[elizacinnamon]

Five Times Archie Andrews Felt Jealous (And One Time He Didn’t Mind)

I.

Archie thought he knew what jealousy felt like as a little kid. A twist in the stomach, similar to dread. He felt jealous when other kids got to bat first in little league. He felt jealous when he saw other kids having milkshakes before dinner on school nights at Pop’s. He felt jealous when he saw his friends with happy families that included siblings and parents who never fought.

But real, sickening jealousy comes at a price. He remembered the first time he ever felt that stomach-turning sting: sitting in the student lounge, watching Jughead slip his arm around Betty. His oldest pal with his arm around his best friend. His Betty. 

He supposed he deserved it. The price he had to pay. Weeks prior, he had told Betty he wasn’t good enough for her even though he loved her. He meant every word. He truly loved her; he knew that without a doubt. But he felt so messed up those days. And he couldn’t mess something as perfect as her up. 

But Jughead? He clenched his fist. His two best friends dating? God, how he wanted to punch Jughead’s face. Archie still felt sure he didn’t deserve Betty, but he also felt sure that Jug didn't either. She was too good for both of them, too good for the entire world. But she seemed happy—her sweet smile a bit brighter, a skip in her step. To see her happy was enough to settle his stomach and ignore the pain. And he no longer knew where her heart lay. He smiled and pretended to be supportive. But a little part of him hoped he would be good enough for her at the end of the road . . .

II.

Archie thought he knew what jealousy felt like but once he officially started dating Betty, he felt it in a new, furious, way that he hadn’t expected. A decade passed since the moment he first witnessed Betty with another boy; he had suffered through three years of watching his two best friends in a passionate, tragic, nauseating relationship. At times, he convinced himself Jughead might be truly good for Betty. He seemed to make her happy, after all. He understood a part of Betty that confused, yet fascinated, Archie—the side obsessed with mysteries and novels. But he also saw Betty shrink and change in ways he couldn’t put his finger on. Mostly, he missed her. He missed his best friend. Once his dad died, only Betty could make him feel like home again. Betty was back-to-school grilled cheese, spilled oil on overalls, and laughter over overdue homework assignments. His Betty. The one he still didn’t feel good enough for, yet the only one who made him feel good. Jealousy grew into longing, desire, and aching. All of it led to a forbidden kiss, a song, and the end of the relationships that kept them separate. 

It took a war, another round of failed relationships, and a bomb explosion for him to finally ask her to be his girlfriend. Yet, not even a week later, she rubbed his hands across the sticky table of a bar and told him the last thing he ever wanted to hear. Her boss had made unwanted advances on her the previous evening. To make matters worse, she revealed that she had previously had a fling with the same boss. 

The stern look in her eyes told him she had it handled. And he knew she did. But in his mind, he thought of the girl in a pink dress in his arms as they danced across a gymnasium floor. A girl in love who hadn’t yet had his heart broken by him. A girl unshrunk and unchanged. A girl who deserved to be kept from it all—gang drama, her father’s evil, and men who saw her as something to conquer. A girl, who despite everything she’d been through, deserved to be loved, cherished, and kept from everything horrible in the world. 

The jealous twist in his stomach came with violent rage. He tried to imagine Glen (even the thought of him enraged him . . . she deserved more than his greasy hair and smug face) with Betty. He tried to imagine the careless, evil, mind that thought it was okay to use her for one’s own ends. His Betty. With that awful man. 

Archie imagined throwing Glen through a wall. It felt good to imagine. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t a bad idea, after all . . .

III.

Archie thought he knew what jealousy felt like when it came to seeing Jughead with Betty, but it was different now that he had officially started dating her. They had only been together a few months, but Archie could barely remember life before going to sleep to their mumbled pillowtalk. In the chaos of the town, and their lives, Betty once again was the only thing that made him feel like home. 

When Betty announced she had asked Jughead to 'read her mind,' he looked at her with wild eyes. He couldn’t bear to imagine the two of them alone, holding hands, and diving into her memories. But he knew how lost she felt and he wanted her to get better. He wanted, more than anything, for her to push past the world she dug herself into full of darkness and only know light. Because he loved her, and because he knew her, he let her go. 

But the evening she spent at Jughead’s, with him home alone, nearly sent him over the edge. It didn’t help that they got into a fight moments before. Betty yelling at him to be more careful, implying his journey to become invulnerable to palladium was foolish. Hearing her speak, Archie realized it was a little silly. But he wanted to be invulnerable to fight for her, no matter what. However, that notion sounded cliché, old fashioned, and controlling so he kept his mouth shut.

For an hour, he paced around the house. He made himself eat dinner from the can of soup Betty previously opened for him. He did the dishes. He organized the pantry twice. He took Bingo for a walk. But the entire time, he imagined her sitting on Jughead’s couch. Were they talking about memories? Reflecting on the past? Laughing together about how foolish they had been to ever break up?

After a while, he started to grow ill. Full body chills. Aches. A fever. Likely the palladium around his neck but he blamed Jughead. This time, jealousy was practically killing him. He laid on the couch and wallowed in his misery. His feverish brain kept playing a scene that involved Betty coming home, days later, and announcing she decided to leave him for Jughead. It felt like knives to the heart. 

But after a little while, Betty opened the door and softly mumbled his name. Half-conscious, he felt her fall against his side. 

Archie looked down at her, sleepy yet peaceful. He cleared his throat. “Was your . . . uh session . . . productive?” 

She shrugged. “It was fine, I guess. But a pain to be with Jug for that long. All I could think about was how much I wanted to come home.” Home. Archie blushed, realizing his previous worries were in vain and wondering if Betty realized what she said. Maybe, just maybe, she thought of him as home in the way he’d always thought of her . . .

IV.

Archie thought he knew what jealousy felt like when it came to other people dating, or liking, Betty romantically but never knew what it felt like professionally. He respected Betty's job at the FBI and thought of her as a total badass. But it wasn’t until the topic of Slaughter Con arose that Archie grew jealous of Betty’s FBI colleagues who understood her career in a way that he simply did not.

Sitting across the table from Betty’s co-worker, Agent Drake, Archie felt the old queasy anger rise up again. Why did she act better than him? Why did she act like she could do a better job at protecting Betty than he could? He cupped his coffee cup firmly, giving Drake the evil eye. Nobody could protect, or fight for Betty, like he knew that he could. He decided to ignore Drake’s rude and pointed comments and pretend she didn’t exist. He enjoyed pretending she didn't exist.

But walking around Slaughter Con, Archie couldn’t escape her. Every time he looked for Betty, there she was. Following Betty, talking to her, or whispering something “work related.” She wouldn’t leave Betty—his Betty—alone. A leech, Archie thought to himself. But when he mentioned his dislike of Drake to Betty, she told him that he was overreacting. 

“She’s someone I can talk to about work stuff,” Betty said shortly. “You wouldn’t understand.” 

Archie felt suddenly small and madly jealous. As silly as it sounded, he wanted to understand her work stuff. He wanted to understand everything in her brain. He wanted to be the only person she could confide in. 

He knew the right thing to do. He knew he needed to take a step back. He knew it was his job to support Betty, and allow her the freedom to do, and discuss, her work in the way she found best. He trusted her and he knew she could handle herself. But he secretly hoped, in his most horrible moments, that Drake would trip or step on a nail. 

V.

Archie thought he knew what jealousy felt like and he thought his jealousy was justified (most of the time). But jealousy comes in different forms. Romantic is just one. Professionally is another. One form he never expected to feel? Jealousy over Betty’s own family. 

Growing up beside Betty, he knew well that the Coopers were nothing but a broken family living in a house of horrors. He knew the truth well before the rest of the town realized the Coopers weren't the perfect family. Even with his own dysfunctional parents, he never once felt jealous over the trauma that Betty carried from her home life. 

But when Polly came back, he felt the familiar stomach twist. It completely surprised him. He knew he shouldn’t be jealous over Betty spending time with Polly considering the fact she loved her sister and previously thought she had lost her forever. But Betty looked so damn happy after hearing Polly had returned. The glow in her eyes made him wonder if he made her that happy, too. Did Polly make her feel more at home?

He remembered Betty mentioning Polly as a potential emotional tether. Did she ground her more than him? He knew it was a silly jealousy, one rooted in insecurity and overthinking. But he wanted to be home to her. 

That night, after spending the entire day with her sister, Betty slipped into bed beside him. 

“I’m glad you got to see your sister again,” Archie said quietly. Despite everything, he meant it. 

Betty, eyes closed, grinned. “Me, too. But I missed you today. Maybe tomorrow she can come and spend the day here with both of us.”

“Yeah?” Archie asked, reaching to place his hand on her back underneath the covers.

“Yeah. I want my sister to really get to know the person most important to me, the person who I’ve talked to her about since I was a little kid,” Betty replied, looking happier than ever. “And see our home. The life we’ve created, different from the one we grew up in.”

Archie felt his previous jealousy deflate like a balloon. He realized, despite years of doubts and fears, he had always been her home, just as she had been his. 

“I love you,” he mumbled in response, unable to say anything else. 

VI.

Archie knew what jealousy felt like but in those days, he didn’t mind. He wasn’t used to Betty telling someone else “I love you” more than him and he certainly wasn’t used to her kissing someone else more. He wasn’t used to her spending all her time talking about, and caring for, a human who wasn’t him. 

Seeing her hold lil’ Freddie, and fall in love with the little life they made together, made him feel like home as never before. Home was grilled cheese and milkshakes because they didn’t have time to cook anything else, spilled milk and spit up on shirts and skin, and tears and laughter over the amazement of their son’s life. Their Family.

In those days, Archie had no doubt where Betty’s heart lay. Although it was split, he was okay with that. In those days, he no longer questioned her feelings about him or the place she called home. He knew where her home was because it was the same as his.

[doctorcurdlejr]

Andrew Garfield is a fake ass bitch because why are you going to tell Cole Sprouse you love Riverdale and then not even try to get a minor role in the show as jughead's gay cousin that Archie thinks is hot and jughead gets jealous about. You're duplicitous, Andrew.

[feminist-cult-following]

characters that are actually lesbians because I say so <3 part 2

1. shauna shipman — had sex with and then married her best friend’s boyfriend because she couldn’t have her. then literally consumed her remains so they could be intertwined forever. do I even need to explain any further.

2. jackie taylor — what else was I supposed to take away from the toothbrushing scene in the pilot? see also: every interaction she had with shauna, literally ever

3. lottie matthews — if not gay then explain every interaction with laura lee. and nat. and shauna. and mari, leven. I rest my case.

4. imogen heaney — I know what you are, little miss “token ally”

5. taylor jewel — I know a bitch who’s in love with her best friend when I see one

6. betty cooper — veronica doesn’t put betty in the basement. she‘ s not afraid of her shine. she let’s her bejeweled.

7. veronica lodge — do you guys remember that episode where veronica’s sister accused her and betty of murdering jughead because “that’s the kind of thing that secret girlfriends do”? cause I do. and I think about it all the time.

8. rikki chadwick — her and emma were literally in love

9. kiarra carrera — “kiarra belongs with pope” “kiarra belongs with JJ” no, kiarra belongs with SARAH. friends to enemies to friends to lovers you will always be famous

10. abby littman — fellas is it gay to stare longingly at your best friend while she’s with her girlfriend? or to kiss your other friend in front of her at a party to make her jealous?

11. maya hart — that girl never wanted lucas or riley’s uncle, and she never wanted to “be riley” she wanted to be with riley. in this essay I will

12. sarah cameron— sorry (not really) but that girl just does not belong with a man

[nat-20s]

Extremely funny to read comics where Reggie is like wuhhh how is Jughead pulling all these major hotties?!?! And jughead's just hanging out with people. Same energy as troy being jealous of Ryan hanging out with Gabriella. Like bro I think you misunderstood the situation

[wallbeatjournal]

kevhead (derogatory) dynamic "we both want archie andrews so we'll settle for each other in the mean time until we explode. i guess"

ngl i actually feel like hooking up with jughead would make kevin want archie carnally so much less. like witnessing the full pathetic horrifying scope of jughead's repressed-obsessed Thing About Archie's Untouchable Hetero Perfection would make him furiously eager to drag jughead out of the closet to reckon with his vibes and also kind of overall disgusted with what archie himself refuses to ever acknowledge about their dynamics to the point that archie might as well be complicit in this whole infuriating thing of his image and unattainability and jughead being THE WORST seriously what is WRONG with you.

but kevin would for sure definitely try to make hooking up about archie in many regards. and jughead would want that but also absolutely not want that. don't tell me you guys wear the same size wrestling singlet!!!! i don't want to hear about the intricate rituals of the locker room!!!! (why are you even looking at archie like that. not that i'm jealous it's just he'd never be interested so. waste of time!!)

[diltonsstrangescience]

Outfit appreciation post (Ancient Rome edition)

[bughead-in-the-comics]

From The Cold, Betty and Me #174 (1989).

[jhsharman]

Commercial sell-outs 3

Laying out these scenarios: Only Twinkees save Archie when Reggie switches a frog for the flowers Archie gifts Veronica. Archie finds a loophole to make Twinkee time with a girl on the beach and not technically break a promise of fidelity with Veronica. Girls swarm around Jughead because of his Twinkees. It is all fitting with standard Archie fare.

I do not think that Hostess wants to be associated with Moose's jealous fist and jealous -- and it is out of character in that Dilton is not much at the receiving end like that. The bigger problem may be that the product does get in by this second tier -- even "Shut My Mouth" is probably pushing it with a last panel in second tier sneak-in. Though, we note the next one dropping into the first tier seems kinda contrived.

Yeah, but now Archie's car still does not work.

The Archies one is the very first Hostess ads, and shows an unnatural spec pasting job. Storywise, it is a -- sorry, buttheads, but they really do need to get paid in money, not junk food. And -- look! Another really awful sports team!

[circlemidnight]

Ok, NOW I KNOW that Veronica was definitely jealous of Tabitha and Jughead in that one episode. She was MAD. And the way she talked about him? PLEASE!

the way she was so proud showing him off at school!! She's been waiting all season for this!! And he's drawing her in class?? This is literally every trope we are blessed truly!! Also I love the continuity of her asking him over and over to walk her to school and home and now they are doing it every day and just spending all their time together they erased all the canon just to have Jeronica be highschool sweethearts going steady while she helps him create Archie comics T_T I don't know which one of you has higher power and delivered this to us but keep doing this very niche fandom magic that takes seven years to manifest because you are doing amazing sweetie!!

[dirtyriver]

"I'm trying to steal Lottie away from her boyfriend. Trying to make him jealous."

"Sorry, Wrong Number!", Archie’s Pal Jughead #17, April 1953, art by Dick Briefer

[doctorcurdlejr]

go on your ten most recently listened to songs that have lyrics, then assign portions of their lyrics to different riverdale characters.

Well okay this is mostly Charli XCX with a few riot grrrl songs thrown in yay okay let's go

I never thought for a second / my voice was in your head / "Girl, you walk like a bitch" / when I was ten, someone said that - Charli XCX, The girl, so confusing version with lorde

Veronica Lodge!!! This entire song speaks really well to her dynamic with Betty

It's okay to just admit that you're jealous of me / yeah, I heard you talk about me, that's the word on the street - Charli XCX, Von Dutch

Cheryl Blossom, veritable queen bee and well known for showing up places unprompted with Hello street urchin I've heard tale that my gorgeous moniker has taken to falling off your ill-begotten lips as of late, understandable as that may be, I suggest you pick up a new vice before your little obsession stops being cute. Tick tock!

In Christian Dior, I'm a blessin' (it's lit) / too busy livin my life / I ain't even see your message (still) - Normani, Still

Hermione Lodge, specifically once she became a Real Housewife and Hiram would pathetically watch her on TV

Cute, sexy and my ride's sporty / those slugs know they can't catch me - Charli XCX, Vroom Vroom

Reggie managing the car dealership after his father sold him off to pay for gambling debts

Sending me flowers, I'm just tryna get lucky / yuck, lookin' at me all sucky / yuck, quit acting like a puppy - Charli XCX, Yuck

This is SO Betty turning down Archie's marriage proposal

I swear that I love nothing more than broke / I always let the good ones go - Charli XCX, Good Ones

Gay Kevin loves, I mean just ADORES, picking awful guys as a form of self destruction

Can I take you to the airport? Make out under the bathroom lights / Put your lips on my lips, I'll remember your kiss - Charli XCX, Beg for You ft. Rina Sawayama

Jughead Jones, well known for walking his lovers straight to the exit! There's the ever iconic running away with Archie, as well as his last kiss with Tabitha before she wipes his mind. He's constantly begging people not to leave him ❤️ yay

I don't mind sitting in the way, way back / I don't mind lying to my friends / one thing about Forsythia / she comes around and I get lost / against her yellow, I'm no longer me - Veruca Salt, Forsythia

Archie Andrews ☹️ his relationships with Grundy and Hiram especially, but he has a general propensity for losing himself in relationships

When that crown falls of your head / will you still feel better of dead? / I wanna see something else / why won't you show me something else? - Lunachicks, Less Teeth More Tits

Toni for sure. In general she's an activist, but I think this also applies to her relationship with Cheryl.

Way to go, way to flip off everyone / I steal your thunder then I try to bolt / but I could stand a little pity now and then - Veruca Salt, Volcano Girls

This is a very Veronica thing to me. She was constantly apologizing for her meaner impulses when it came to her conflicts with Betty

Making every motherfucker turn / fell from Heaven, no, it didn't hurt - Kesha, JOYRIDE

THIS IS LITERALLY TABITHA MY FAVORITE ANGEL TABITHA 🙀

[edgarsabandonedrocketship]

Three Days of So-Called Peace, Love, and Music. Or, How We Came to Loathe Camping

We’re back! Like the show, @middleagedresidentofriverdale and I took last week off for...reasons. But fear not—our latest chapter is now posted and we think it’s a good one 😊.

Chapter 12: Daddy’s Money. Jughead gets jealous and has a heart-to-heart with Veronica. Later, nu metal has a moment—will Betty and Jughead have one of their own?

Start from the beginning here.