#plus my favourite quotes ABOUT him embracing men

[player1064]

Was gonna go to bed early tonight bc I didn't sleep last night but uh needless to say that plan was not successful.... have a supercut of Gary embracing men

[daisy-chain-gardens]

Fic review number four is … 

Every Little Thing by @youbuildmeupbeliever

This is my first long review for a one shot and honestly, I couldn’t have picked a better one. Not only is this Christmas themed (the reason I figured I should post this now while it’s still ‘the season’), it’s also heart-wrenchingly beautiful. I don’t really cry when I’m reading but I have no shame in saying there were a fair amount of tears running down my cheeks by the end of this. 

This is the same review I left on AO3 but I figured I���d post it here as well because EVERYBODY needs to go and read it, right now, before you read my review under the cut and get it completely spoiled for you :)

As soon as I read the summary, I was hooked. I know you had the major character death warnings and things but I was super intrigued to see how you would deal with the flashbacks and the whole emotion of the situation. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. I was hooked from the first sentence and I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen until I had read the last sentence. This was honestly heart breaking but you wrote it so well and so realistically that it was almost a pleasure (almost because, let’s be honest, it was still super sad). Let’s start at the start.

Betty woke up and instantly felt warmth surrounding her. This is only the first line but you already had me feeling things. As soon as I read this I knew that you were going to have her waking up to an empty bed in the ‘present’ time and oh my goodness it was awful. However, I really liked the bittersweet tone you managed to keep throughout all of the flashbacks. What we know about Jughead’s death makes all of their little moments in the past seem so special and precious and it makes us sympathise with Betty that much more in the future.

She rolled into her husband’s chest, peppering kisses across his collar bone. This whole section is so fun and playful and it was nice to have some happy moments before you ripped my heart to pieces (ok, so it wasn’t that bad, but you get what I mean). You can feel how much love they have for each other by the small little things you’ve described and it gives me the warm fuzzies.

She looked back at her husband, dressed in the familiar black plaid robe he always donned on lazy mornings, and smiled to herself as she remembered when he used to loath all holidays, but had grown to love any reason to celebrate with his family. I love this bit a lot. It’s so sweet and it’s so nice to read about Jughead being happy and excited about a holiday, especially given what we know about him and his family in the actual show. Jughead loving Christmas is a huge part of this story and it’s nice to have an explanation, no matter how small, to justify it and tell us why Betty is struggling so much on Christmas in the present.

Some mornings she still reached over to rub her hand on Jughead’s back, only to find contact with a cold bedsheet. This is an example of how you turn really simple lines into something beautiful. As a reader, you know exactly what emotion Betty is feeling and that is something you have nailed throughout this one shot (and all of your other writing). After the fluffiness of the last part, the somber start to this part is shocking but necessary.

I took the kids to see Santa at the mall the other day and Mila told him that all she wanted for Christmas was for her daddy to come back. It breaks my heart that I can’t do that for her, that her only wish for Christmas can’t come true. I’m not gonna lie, as soon as I read this I knew I was going to cry at some point in this story. It’s such a simple event but so realistic and I can totally see how that would make Betty lose it. You can tell how fragile she is and how protective she is of her children and it makes it that much more touching. Also, I love that Betty has a picture of Jughead she talks to and sleeps beside. It’s such a small detail in the scheme of things but definitely something I can imagine her doing.

He ran his hand gently over the baby’s dark head of hair with the very definition of heart eyes. He looked at his wife with the same look in his eyes, pressing a kiss to her temple, squeezing her shoulders, “I’m so proud of you, baby. I love you so, so much. Thank you for making me a father.” One of my headcanons is that Jughead is an incredible father who has an infinite amount of love for his kids and, of course, for Betty. I’m so glad that you think the same thing and Jughead falling in love with his daughter as soon as he sees her is so adorable.

“I miss him lots, too,” Mila presses her right palm against her mother’s cheek. “But Daddy loved Christmas. He wouldn’t want us to be sad on his favourite day, Mommy.” I can so easily imagine a mini Jughead-esque girl saying this to Betty and her being on the brink of tears. Mila is so sweet and innocent and you’ve captured her character really well. The way that she’s looking after her mum, even just in the little things, is so adorable and makes me feel slightly better for Betty. At least she doesn’t have to handle two nightmare children alone.

Betty took a deep breath and headed to her closet, grabbing her husband’s black plaid robe, shrugging it on and taking a moment to relish in its embrace. She didn’t wear his clothes often anymore, only when she really needed his comfort and to be enveloped in him. Another thing I love about this story (I will admit, there is a LOT I love about this) is the subtle mentions that pop up over and over. Like Jughead’s black robe and his short and the other things that are mentioned in the ‘past’ and then reappear in the present. It makes for really smooth reading. Plus using the word ‘embrace’ in this just makes it so much more personal. You can tell that Betty is clinging onto every whisper of Jughead she can and it’s through the little things, like your choice of words, that you’ve made it apparent to the reader and I love that.

“Hi, baby boy. I’m your daddy and this is your mommy, and we’re so happy you’re here!” The little parallel between Mila’s birth and Beau’s is really sweet. Plus I love that Mila got Jughead’s features and Beau got Betty’s. hey would be such adorable kids. The little moment between Mila and Beau after that is so so adorable and then the small moment between Jughead and Betty afterwards is enough to make my heart burst. And this time it’s for good reasons.

“Anything for you, baby girl,” Jughead appeased his daughter, smiling at her as he snapped pieces of the toy together. I can so imagine Jughead being at Mila’s beck and call, willing to do anything and everything for her. Such a sweet mental image. Plus I love how, even though he isn’t actually present for that much of the story, you’ve managed to set up his character really well. We can tell that he’s an incredible father to his kids by the small moments you’ve blessed us with. We can tell that he’s an incredible husband and rock for Betty based on how hopeless she is without him and all of the cute coupley memories we get flashbacks of. Us knowing that he’s such an amazing person makes it that much easier for us to imagine the emotional state Betty and his family are in once he dies.

She looked in her closet and Jughead’s black dress shirt caught her eye. She pulled it off the hanger, and held it to her nose, breathing in the faint scent of her late husband, tears welled in her eyes. The fact that Betty is so fragile, even though she is a very strong character, is freaking sad. You can tell that she’s struggling and trying to hold herself together and be strong for the kids but everyone has their breaking points. It’s difficult to see such a strong character reach hers.

They spoke quietly about their life together and hopes they had for the future, for their kids and for each other. They traded declarations of love and sweet nothings. I wasn’t really sure which quote to use from this part because, well, you know but I just really like how comfortable and playful and close they are. You didn’t even have to put those emotions onto paper literally for us to get that sense of how their relationship is and for that I admire you. That’s something I wish I could do better and you’ve nailed it.

“How are you doing, honey?” she asked, taking note of the men’s dress shirt adorning her daughter’s body. YAY. FOR. SUPPORTIVE. ALICE.

When Betty reached FP, he pulled her into a bone crushing hug. She felt like this was his attempt at putting all her broken pieces back together; like he was giving her every bit of strength he had in him. YAY. FOR. SUPPORTIVE. FP. But actually, this second sentence is gorgeous. We’ve been so caught up in Betty’s grieving that we forget Jughead’s death affected a lot of people, his family obviously being some of them. This is really gorgeous wording to describe something a lot more melancholy. Plus I just love that FP/Betty dynamic so I love it when they appear in fics together.

That statement alone broke the dam holding Betty’s tears back. She clutched onto FP, sobs wracking her body for the second time that day, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last. I can’t find the specific thing I love about this part because, well, it’s sad. I honestly think it’s just Betty and FP together. You’ve written both of them so in-character and I love it.

She leaned against him, his chin settling on the crown of her head. Warmth surrounded her as she watched over her loved ones. I think this is where I knew for absolute sure you were going to make me cry with this story. There are so many mentions of Betty just wanting to feel Jughead’s embrace (okay, so two or three but you get my idea) and then you go and write him actually hugging her and it makes me emotional.

“This. Giving me a family. Loving me. Making me the happiest man alive. I still can’t believe that this is my life. I just - I can’t believe that this is my reality. After all this time, still shocks the hell out of me.” Jughead confessed. Once again, I don’t really know what draws me to this but I’ve always loved various love confessions so this is perfect.

Betty carried both kids into the house one by one, making sure each was settled into their respective beds. This bit was where my heart started breaking because you can feel Jughead’s absence. You can tell exactly how he fit into their little family and it must be truly awful for Betty to have to carry on with this life when she would be constantly reminded of who she’s lost and the massive role he played in her life.

“We left a chair for you at dinner, the one right beside me. You would’ve loved all the food. I think my mom forgot that you weren’t going to be there today, she made so much food.” I have no words for this last paragraph. It’s beautiful, to the point where I wasn’t at all ashamed that you made be bawl my eyes out. I understand that Betty is a very proud and independent person but it makes me sad she doesn’t feel like she can break down in front of anyone now that Jughead’s gone. She’s just spent the with her family, technically the people she should be able to talk to about anything, but she has to wait until she gets home and is all alone before she really lets herself feel everything. I’m not really sure how to put it into words but this last paragraph was beautiful and melancholy and nostalgic and adorable (a very odd mix, I know).

Thank you so much for writing this story and sharing it with us. It was beautifully written, well thought out, and an absolute pleasure to read. Thank you thank you thank you.