#went by the archie timeline with the 100+ years thing

[yamham154]

bro still holds a grudge 🙄

this is a reference to the mayanana version of chasing sirius from revue starlight btw and it’s superstars tennis cuz i can’t think of them working together in any other context LOL

[bettyminicoop]

We're at AU since 504, and I'll prove it to you.

So, Riverdale is a comic.

No not like this.

RIVERDALE is a COMIC.

This is how this article began a day ago, when I tried to develop a theory about season 5 and try to explain the absurdity of everything that we have seen on the show lately. But Riverdale is really a comic, in which anything can happen, including events that take us to an alternate universe.

So, the main secret of the season 5 is not mixing ships, it's not about TBK, not about Moth Men, not about TRAUMA™. The main secret of the season 5 is: "What the hell is going on here?"

Does RAS like predictions? Jughead in 417 literally says, "In what future are we not together?" Thus, launching this universe, in which we find ourselves since 504. And there is an explanation for all this, oddly enough.

Honestly, I think that the absurdity of 518 helped me a lot. I realized that all the ship's nonsense of the season is a red herring. I calmed down, exhaled, moved a little further and looked at the whole picture.

For convenience in the future, I will call the events of the first four seasons as RD01, and season 5 since 504 as RD AU. So, everything that happened in RD01 also happened in RD AU, but in a different way. And something may not have happened at all. This is where all the inconsistencies with the plot of the first four seasons come from.

1. The writers are not lazy, they don't forget what happened 5 episodes ago. RAS simply deceived everyone by taking a very risky step. All of the plots that take place in Season 5 have a backstory that we don't know anything about. Except for certain plots that are taken out of the context of the first four seasons. But the difference is that all these plots that happened in RD01 went completely differently here in RD AU.

2. The episode of Citizen Lodge has the most direct evidence for the existence of RD AU. Because if this episode hadn't happened, it would have been hard to guess RD AU. It would be impossible to connect the dots. Citizen Lodge is the key to unlocking the mystery of Season 5 of Riverdale.

The Midnight Club takes place in 1992, but Citizen Lodge takes place in 1988. Although these are the same characters, in the same age range. But at Citizen Lodge we were shown newborn Veronica, because Hermosa never existed here. In RD01, the Lodges have a family rum business, RD AU Lodges are shoe shiners not originally living in Riverdale. The events of both episodes contradict each other, because they took place in different universes. This is not a fault of the writers, this is a deliberate hint. This whole new RD AU universe exists several years earlier than RD 01.

Small addition. In 516 it is indicated that Hermosa exists in the RD AU. But maybe she is younger than Veronica.

3. The last time a clear timeline is set is 503, when Jughead sits in Pop's a year after graduation. And when he walks out the door, he says that the next time he saw his friends was six years later. But we haven't seen that yet. Because that's where RD01 ends.

When 504 starts, nowhere is it stated how many years have passed. The first timeline is set by Veronica Lodge. "It's 2021". And this is the very first clue that we are in the middle of RD AU.

4. When Season 5 was announced, RAS said it would be a 5 year time jump. But by the start of the season, it turned into 7 years. And there is still no error. In RD01, after Bughead says goodbye on the porch, their next meeting actually happens in seven years. But we haven't seen it yet.

RD AU probably takes place five years after core four graduated from high school. And this is confirmed by Bughead's conversation in the bunker when Betty asks Jughead why he's bringing up a conflict five years ago. Which by the way does not negate the fact that voicemail happened only two years ago. Because it is the aftermath of a terrible five-year conflict that ended Bughead's relationship in RD AU. Do you seriously agree that kissing was a terrible thing to do? Probably something worse happened at RD AU.

5. On the chest of Archie RD AU there is no scar after his meeting with the bear, so this did not happen in this universe. We've been shown Archie's breasts so many times this season but we never really noticed!

6. Tom Keller and Sierra McCoy do not appear to be married in RD AU, although they literally fought the Gargoyle King for their relationship.

7. I believe that the RD AU timeline is shifted 4-5 years back relative to RD01. As confirmed by Bughead's bunker conversation and the events at Citizen Lodge. And this explains why RD AU is now in 2021, and not 2027, as it should be in RD01.

8. I watched season 5 very casually and hardly saw more than 1/3. So I need you to help me collect more evidence for the existence of RD AU. For every plot, event and conversation, you need to apply an AU theory filter. And I can promise you, every piece will find its place in the puzzle.

By the way, differences can be not only in plots and dialogues, but also physical in the appearance of characters and interiors.

I'm sure that Veronica's question to Archie, where he sees himself in five years, was also not accidental. But I no longer have the strength to develop this and build it in the context of RD AU. Especially because I don't know much about their relationship history. I trust you to figure it out.

And I wouldn't be at all surprised if Season 5 of Riverdale is still Jughead's book from RD 01, called Rivervale.

Will we get the RD AU backstory in Season 6? To be honest, I'm not sure if we need it.

Is Polly still alive in RD01?

Could Alice's hallucination at 518 be AU on AU? That is, literally being RD01 inside RD AU. Because these scenes were, it seems, the most "normal" in the whole episode. Follow up on this idea. Or we can just wait for season 6 special.

It does not matter at all which ships the RD AU will end with. It does not matter. Because season 5 and season 6 special is not about ships.

Maybe season 6 special is when RD01 and RD AU mix. Well, let's see, it's not long to wait.

Is there a chance RD AU will end on episode 100? Perhaps.

Please give this season and finale a chance. I am currently re-watching individual episodes to find confirmation of my AU theory, and now season 5 makes sense! Check it out for yourself. I'm sure there will be a TBK mystery in the final episode next week that will make my whole AU theory obvious. But I will write about this separately right after this post.

Looking back now, I think the flurry of spoilers ahead of 518 is literally when RAS went crazy. Because we're incredibly dumb and didn't want to see obvious clues in the narrative.

I will never pull this stone out alone. So, my young archaeologists, arm yourself with hammers and brooms, and help me bring this treasure to the surface completely.

I want to say THANK YOU to Bughead fandom. Because you are amazing. Because you are building theories, you are guessing, you are thinking. Because you spin every situation, you question every plot that happened on the show. And I am overwhelmed with complacency, because the uncovering of the main secret of Season 5 came from the Bughead community. After all, who else besides Bughead can uncover Riverdale's secrets?

And thanks to those who first brought up AU in Riverdale. Because only thanks to this theory, I was able to pull the thread and untangle the whole ball.

It's so liberating. It’s like someone has suddenly turned on the lights in the dark room we’ve been in since the beginning of Season 5.

[wiltyard]

⇢ regrets & pointless apologies

fandom: Wizards: Tales of Arcadia pairing: implied reader x hisirdoux casperan gender: AFAB reader who uses she/her pronouns warning/s: lots of cursing, lots of self-doubt, and self-hate on the reader's part to the point she ends up having a breakdown, angst (there's no direct comfort coming from any of the characters here guys, sorry and btw, the reader is 100% the asshole here, she's still pretty much just troubled, in her late teens of all ages) synopsis: this happens during episode 8, and since my brain was pretty much dry as fuck when I wrote this, this isn't chronologically correct in terms of the events that happened during that episode, but let's just pretend this happened in an alternate timeline for plot-purposes a/n: the reader is named btw, her name is Anake

"Oh, just fucking great! Not only do l we have to deal with a bunch of demigods, but now Morgana, MONSTER JIM, and A REVIVED KING ARTHUR who wants us DEAD?? For FUCK'S SAKE—" You threw your hands up in exasperation.

Before they could say anything, you were already storming off, making your way to who knows where much to your companions' disbelief. After all that? You had the gall to storm off somewhere? Alone?

"Anake! Where are you going?" Claire calls out. She reaches out as if to grab ahold of your shoulder to stop you. She decides against it, remembering how you did not like people randomly touching you. And how you almost broke Steve's hand when he grabbed you out of nowhere. They had to peel you off of the poor guy.

She shook off the thought, turning to look at Doux. He only stared back at Claire with the same baffled look on his face. But he tried to convince you otherwise, putting a hand over your shoulder to stop you from going further into the "It's not safe to split up right now—"

"Douxie, don't—" She was a little over too late. A thud was heard as Claire visibly cringed.

"Don't fucking touch me!" You screamed at him. His eyes widened in surprise, seeing how you glared at him, and if he didn't know any better, he'd think you wanted him dead.

But he's spent enough time with you to know that you usually mask most of your feelings with anger. Closely examining your face, in your eyes. He could see it. You're scared. And he couldn't find a reason to blame you for feeling that way.

He could be mad at you for acting this way. But he's lived for 900+ years and has dealt with worse people. Bickering with you over how you're acting wasn't going to accomplish anything. Well, aside from deepening the already large gap between you two.

Before he knew it, Archie was already by his side, asking if he was okay, along with everyone else. Doux only nodded in response, seeing the regret flash in your eyes and you turning around to dash your way into the forest. He tried to keep you in his sight, but his view was blocked by everyone else crowding around him.

"Guys, Akane's getting away!" Steve pointed in the direction you went. Claire offers her hand, and Doux sighs as he accepts her help. As she pulls him up, they both exchange worried looks. Then Doux stares at where you last stood.

"Let's give her some space. Camelot knows she needs it." He releases a sigh.

...

You were frustrated. Angry. You did not come here to get dragged into some prophesied 900-year-old end-of-the-world event. Yet here you are.

Grabbing fistfuls of your hair, you pull it as you scream in frustration. Your hands slide off due to the short length of your hair, making you even more pissed. You don't know what else to do other than scream in frustration when you're pissed.

You were dealing with enough shit on your own, and now you're being forced into this whole "saving the world" shit. You kicked the dirt and stomped your feet. Yelled profanities. Screamed your lungs out. Cursed everyone you knew.

Anything to deal with the feeling of helplessness and powerlessness clawing its way into your heart. In your anger, you couldn't help but wonder, of all people, why did it have to be you?

Things were getting better for you. But then it didn't. It was such a sudden turn of events. And then these weirdo magic people came. Dragging you with them, having to fight for this Nari demigod you found out was part of the Arcane Order. The more you knew, the more confused you got.

And it turns out that you were also a weirdo magic person! Amazing! Right?

You might have felt differently if you had learned about that in better circumstances. Maybe after processing it all, properly at that, you would've been overjoyed.

But it all happened so suddenly. After that, you, Doux, Claire, and Jim fucking disappeared into the past— god, your stress levels went off the roof during all that happened.

You can't handle shit like that. You were never the best at handling stressful situations like they all could. All you know how to do is have a breakdown, internally panic, internalize your feelings and then blow up on everyone that gives a shit about you.

Pathetic, isn't it?

Yet, now that you have a chance not to be a pathetic piece of shit who only knows how to loathe. You couldn't even do anything right. You were worse than who Douxie used to be. At least he was trying his best. Unlike you, he was ambitious. He had good intentions. You, on the other hand, just got dragged into this. You don't have any life-long goals to help the world.

But still, you fantasized about this, receiving some power to achieve all your dreams and surpass expectations. Now that you've received that power for who knows what reason, you figured whoever runs this universe is just fucking with you at this point. Regardless, you don't even know what to do next.

You should've just stayed home with that woman you were forced to call "mother." And a father who willingly put you through all that suffering. After all, they were right about you. You wouldn't make it out here in the real world. You should've just stayed with them. No matter how much they hurt you. Or put you down.

"Why am I so fucking stupid?" You finally whisper, clenching your hands into fists. Something in your chest felt heavy. It hurt.

And then you felt something wet rolling your left cheek. Confused, you bring up a hand to touch it. It was... tears? More started to roll down your cheeks. It didn't matter how much you tried to wipe them away and convince yourself that you shouldn't be crying.

"Only weak people cry!" You say out loud, ignoring that you used to cry every night, wanting to run away, wanting to escape to a safer place.

...who were you even kidding? You are weak. You can't even help yourself.

And with that, a sob escapes your throat as you furiously try to wipe your tears away with your knees weak. You sunk to the ground before you noticed, instinctively leaning against the tree for support. You don't know what to do.

"God fucking— damn it!" You cried harder. This world is so big, bigger than you once thought it was. And you've never felt so small.

What's worse is that you can do nothing about how you feel. You can't control your feelings. You tried, and it all ended up the same way, exploding in your face or at other people.

You never had control, to begin with. You couldn't do anything.

Not even when Steve was about to get shanked by that Gumm-Gumm troll thing, you couldn't move your body at all. You were so afraid that you froze. During a war of all things! And Cameron ended up losing his life because you didn't do jack-shit. Steve watched his friend die in front of him. You could've done something to try to save him, but you didn't.

You gritted your teeth, squeezing your eyes shut as a sob broke out from your throat. You concluded that they don't need someone like you dragging them down. Not when the world is at risk. You began to cry into your hands.

You apologized. You apologized to whoever could hear you.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I— I'm so sorry." You sobbed.

[dr-fumbles-mcstupid]

Happy pride month everyone! A friendly reminder that I identify as asexual aromantic. There is a lot of bullshit discourse in the Lgbtqia community about a lot of things. One of those things is that Aro & Ace people don't belong, they aren't discriminated against. Or they aren't "actually queer."

Fun fact #1. I first heard the term asexual as a 22 year old. I found it through a fanfic online, it was so underrepresented I didn't know it was a thing. No form of published media had ever told me about it, no person I knew had ever used the word. To this day

in popular media, off the top of my head I can think of 3 asexual characters, only one of which identifies as aromantic. Jughead from Archie comics (but not in Riverdale, because aro/ace isn't part of LGBTQ+ so it isn't erasure right?), Todd from BoJack Horseman, and apparently there was an ace character in the SYFY channel series lost girl.

Fun fact #2, I went on a few dates with a guy at the age of 20, it didn't go any further. He apparently told people I slept with him. I found out my older sister was close friends with a mutual friend of his, and when Briana (my sister) spoke up to that friend and said that was 100% a lie because she knew I did not (we didn't talk about a lot of sex things, but I think she had an inkling about me being ace even then), her close friend said that I had obviously lied to mysister becuase no one got to the age of 20 without having sex.

Fun fact #3, our whole society is really based upon the ideas of cohabitation and romance in particular. Almost all forms of media portray romance, and it often shows that a person isn't happy, or that their life hasn't really started until they find their perfect romantic partner. Leaving out how toxic that is to people romantically inclined (the need to constantly be with a partner, making it seem like you need to find 'the one', bad portrayals of what a relationship should actually be) it is incredibly disheartening to an aro person, and it makes it much much harder for non aro people to relate to, or even comprehend aro people.

Fun fact # 3b, a number of years ago a close friend of mine started a new relationship and had been in the "puppy love" phase where They dropped everyone but their Significant other for almost 7 month. I asked Facebook what the normal timeline for 'puppy love' or what they thought it should be was. Almost 99% of people said that when they met their significant other, or when they got married they dropped Almost all of their non familial aquentences including friends. People argued that this was normal and expected. They believe that once they found their romantic love that no other relationships were needed

Fun fact #4, I don't identify as sex repulsed, talking about sex or even engaging in sex with others, doesn't disgust or trigger me. Despite this people often treat me as ignorant of sex, and sexual urges, Sex Ed in general, and even if I was, like so what? Where this gets worse, is there is a perception that I am inoocent, or infantile becuase I haven't had the experience of sex, or have no desire to. This goes to relationships as well. I did have one serious relationship, and I dated people casually as well. Even if I didn't I am a smart person, romantic relationships are built on the foundation of compatability, honest open conversation, and friendship. I know this Even though I don't want a romantic partner. 😱 I still like movies and books with romance in them!!! 😱 I understand the concept of romance!!! 😱 You don't have to treat me like an idiot, or think I can't have advice for you/somone who is in a relationship!

Fun fact #5, I experience multiple micro aggressions every day, even from friends and family members. Every time I go to a new therapist I will mention being asexual, and their response will be "well that is probably because of your medication." I know some medications can erase your libido, but I have been on over 20 different medications over a period of 15 years. I still have a libido (sexual desire does not = sexual attraction, look up sex favorable and sex repulsed asexuals). I will explain this to them and yet every therapist I have ever had has still tried to persuade me that I was wrong about this.

People in my life will make jokes about me going on dates or meeting the mother of a friend becuase you know, I'm obvs gonna fall in love! People can't be friends, and "I don't think aromanticism is a thing." On the other side of the spectrum I have a few friends who say they support me, but then whenever I say "Chris Hemsworth is so attractive" or "She-Hulk is Bae, 10/10" , they automatically use it as ammo for discourse on why "maybe you are confused?". Being able to tell that someone is aesthitcally pleasing does not = sexual attraction. Even aro and ace people talk in this manner a lot becuase of fandom and online discourse, and how people Interact in general.

And finally, if I was wrong and I am just confused and not "really aromantic or asexual becuase it is just a mental or physical disease" (it's not) how does this hurt me or you? I am happy without sex or a romantic partner, I would be fine living the rest of my life without it, friends are enough! (although a queer platonic partner would be 👌👌👌). Even if I was misinformed and misguided (I am not), It isn't hurting anyone.

TLDR, #Aromantic and #Asexual people are #LGBTQIA, we are discriminated against, and it is a valid identity. The more you know #Pride2019

[badassllamaclan]

Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans (Real-time thoughts as I watched it yesterday)

Spoilers under the cut!!!

They’re gonna deny me Barbara seeing her human son again!?!?!?

Dafuq? Was that Otto????

Lol Incredibles?!?!?

STRICKLER FLYING IN THERE COULDA SOLVED HALF THEIR PROBLEMS

Men in Black needed

BRUH THAT WASN’T EVEN DETECTIVE SCOTT IN THE TRAILER

WHO IS BAILING THEM OUT OF JAIL

That fuckin your mom joke. These losers are so grounded when they get back to Arcadia

EXCUSE YOU, WHY DOES STRICKLER SOUND LIKE THAT???? But also, yay Strickler was there when Jim woke up.

FUCK ALRIGHT TROLLHUNTERS ROTT PRODUCERS AND WRITERS YALL ARE ON THIN FUCKING ICE, don’t give me that bullshit with Strickler’s voice and then HAVE STRICKLER ASK FOR JIMS BLESSING AND TO BE HIS BEST MAN AT THEIR WEDDING

Nomura…. Is her voice different I’m not 100% sure

Alright WTF ELI GOT HOT

ALSO WHY DID HIS GLASSES GET BIGGER

FUCKIN WHAT

“So we don’t technically have a school”

Why the fuck is Arcadia the center

WHERE ARE ALL THE BABIES THAT WALT AND BARBARA WERE RAISING?!?!?

Also Nari up close is serious leafmen vibes

I love that this is some of the most involved Barbara has ever been in anything

Wtf did they do to BARBARA’S NOSE?!?!?

Smooth morons

FUCKIN WHAT

IM SORRY FUCKING WHAT

THE WRITERS ARE ON CRACK THERES DEADASS MPREG

WAIT WHO IS GONNA TELL BARBARA THAT STEVE IS PREGNAT

ALSO WOULDNT MAKING JIM ARMOR BASICALLY MAKE HIM ON GHE SAME LEVEL AS TOBY?!?!?

Why didn’t that fuck test the amulet before they tried to stop the order???

Also why does Jim yelling sound so weird? Like his voice is deeper specifically when he yells.

Mad respect that the arctic base in Greenland wasn’t destroyed and that researcher won’t straight up freeze to death

Everyone is questioning troll dragons, WHEN STRICKLER EXISTS RIGHT THERE

At least Nomura is still Nomura

Fuck either Blinky or Arrrgh is gonna die or some shit… WAIT BLINKY IS TELLING THE STORY THAT MEANS HE LIVES… fuck

Also Jim you’re such a loser I love you, the world’s ending and you’re upset cause your mom is finally happy and her happiness is at risk

ALSO WHERE IS NOTENRIQUE

OH COOL, we addressed that Archie’s dad still exists and is ancient AF. LOVE GHE GUILT TRIPPING!!! Father son bonding over terrorizing Blinky, love it

ALSO EVERYONE WAS CAUGHT ON VIDEO IN THE BEGINNING HOW HAS THAT NOT BEEN ADDRESSED, they’re literally only acknowledging that the titans happened

Yay, Barbara and Strickler having active roles

ALSO HIS SWEATER

Hi I was not ready for Nomura

Cool they’re gonna kill Strickler in the exact way I said on tumblr a few years ago

THANK FUCK THEY WENT TO GO STEAL LITERAL FUCKING TIME FROM THE TROLL DRAGON

YES BARBARA VALIDATING HOW MUCH STRICKLER LOVED JIM, but random assedly bringing up Jim’s bio dad?????

YO YALL JUST GONNA LEAVE BARBARA FUCKING ALONE AT THE CASTLE

So they’re going to kill off as many fan favorites as possible because they have to fix everything with the time sphere

BUT ALSO I KNOW MOVIES AND SHIT AND THEY WOULDNT JUST MENTION BIO DAD FOR NO REASON (they did in fact)

YES SHANNON STILL HAS A GIRLFRIEND

Coach Lawrence is trying his best

Thus far the pacing of this is pretty good

Oh shit Nari and WHATS his face died, but I swore that wasn’t permanent when they killed WHATS his face the first time

Wait back up, I thought that Heartstone was dead, and now it’s glowing

Lol I love how they have military clearance

ALSO WHERE IS BARBARA

Aja is a wonderful and realistic queen

DAS A BIG HEARTSTONE

THIS IS THE GAYEST SHIT

ALSO WOULD LOVE IT IF THIS SHIT DIDNT WORK, but it did

I love how they brought Nomura back just to kill her

BRUH WHERE IS THE SPHERE SO YALL CAN FIX EVERYTHING

Lol I kinda knew Toby was gonna die when they kept bringing up him being moral support he felt underestimated and the underestimated ones always sacrifice themselves

Also I would be bawling my damn eyes out if it wasn’t for the fact they haven’t used the green time orb yet

Blinky comforting Arrrgh borderline looked like they were kissing

Arrrgh crying though almost got me

Lol I would love it if Jim time travels and when it catches up to the same point that the current timeline is at they’re just at Barbara and Strickler’s wedding.

WAIT HOW FAR BACK IS JIM GOING

ALSO WHY ISNT BARBARA THERE

ALSO CLAIRE AND JIM SAID THE ACTUAL WORDS I LOVE YOU

BUT HOW FAR BACK IS HE GOING WTF

IS THIS THE DAY HE FOUND THE FUCKING AMULET

WTF IS GOING ON

WAIT THESE FUCKS BETTER GIVE ME A MONTAGE OF JIM TRYING TO SLUGHTLY CHANGE THINGS

BRUH HOLD ON I HAD AN IDEA FOR STRICKLER BEING THE TROLLHUNTER BUT HIM NOT BEING ABLE TO WIN SO HE TRIES TO DESTROY THE AMULET AND ENDS UP MEETING WITH ALL THE OTHER TROLLHUNTERS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN AND THEY ALL SEE A FUTURE WHERE JIM WAS THE TROLLHUNTER AND THEREFORE THEY WON

BUT IF TOBY IS THE TROLLHUNTER

also real quick Jim trying to set Strickler up with his mom OMFG

FUCK I WILL CRY

YEP IM CRYING

THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT ON JIM IS SO GOOD

ALSO UPSET NORMURA DIDNT HAVE A SCENE IN THE ALTERNATE TIMELINE

FUCK it’s such a good ending for the series I love it

OKAY IT WAS JONATHAN HYDE BUT WHY WAS HE EXTRA GROWLY

Fuck there’s no more… I just wanna see more, like how the writers and creators think the little differences between timelines will be

I’m literally sitting here staring at the credits screen.

I love how the last bit of credits is the production babies

The ending also explains why there was so much fan service

[feather-dancer]

Writing in 2020

Instead of a “Here’s how progress was this month” on my writing, with it being the end of a year figured have a look back on everything I’ve done instead and currently working on. Honestly I’ve written so much this year it’s silly? I’ve had so many pain days, physically cannot art right now because of the cold (Been struggling near a month now) yet there’s all THIS just from this year that bar one is all brand new things! 2020 is the year of being constantly stressed out yet write a lot particularly of the AU bent it seems.

~

Masks We Wear, Lies We Share (Strickler fic) was started in 2019 and had a second chapter back in January this year but has been rather quiet ever since because I got sidetracked. There has been a half written third chapter for months, the first chapter had a big update though it still to me feels like it has touches of getting back into writing after a good few years of not doing. I do want to keep at it but for now it seems very dormant.

Ghosts he left behind (Ghost!AU) was the one I got sidetracked with after getting a terrible idea while doing a puzzle one year ago tomorrow. Three chapters in, least two to go the thing is an absolute beast that absorbs words like it’s going out of style. It’s one of the biggest projects I’ve undertaken despite the time frame it’s self only being a humble 48 hours before dooms day and not something I tag lightly. For me personally touching on themes of mental health, LGBT+ peeps without labeling them for easy points and banding together despite issues are still lurking about is important though often tackled by people with such a vague understanding any of these end up getting treated like an on off switch and not part of what people are. I hope I succeeded anyway, the next chapter is Hope after all and I think we need that.

Things Unsaid is partially done though paused for Ghost!AU related hiccups but has an entire removed scene in it so yanno? It’ll come out eventually but it’s sitting here awaiting it’s moment in the meantime.

A Collection of Daises - Tumblr prompts  Man I feel terrible I’ve got multiple prompts to go after but despite the first one being done very quickly the second is partially done as my brain just would not push forward for some reason. It won’t go off of course but I still feel guilty for the disappointment I must be causing.

You weren’t there (Douxie oneshot) is bit of an odd circumstance one if I’m honest though was sparked by Wizards coming out to be started originally. This takes place on the Eternal Night (Day 2) and because Ghost!AU Chapter 3 is the day before (Day 1) I kept getting really confused which event was when to the point of writing the wrong things in each file. Now chapter 3 is finally out I should be able to work on it again as the problem has now been averted! The final quake hit when I put it on pause so you can probably guess what the culprit was.

Savouring memories was a drabble with legs that happened entirely because I woke up with the line “I was feeling nostalgic I guess” one morning and... Ran with it. End result was a final conversation with Morgana pre fall and dealing with the grief of the after... A very personal thing in many ways.

These thoughts of you was the second drabble with legs after just6 had the idea of Douxie meeting Zoe but Archie was in his lap and couldn’t move. Traction wise it’s done the worst of all things I’ve posted but personally I like it? It was nice to have a bit of historical dabblings where neither of them have met their first century just yet.

Along came a word - A writing meme collection 36 drabbles of varying lengths, a song and a range of subjects are in this thing and it scares me. I’m still not entirely sure how I did it as quite often many of these came in mass produced in a few days.

As long as there are stars in the sky another very unexpected appearance sparking from somebody tossing a question of wondering what Trollhunter Douxie would look like and I just ran off with it. Chapter 2 has been started and got all my notes ready, I’m still hugely enjoying the breaking canon to make it work element plus three trolls are still alive so I can write them it’s great! Can’t wait to get stuck into troll lore more than I already have.

A Heart of Glass is the other unexpected appearance though this one coming from me linking Revenge to a friend, they made a comment and off I went dragging multiple people into this thing where the Order ends up getting Douxie. Choosing to write it as things grab me was the best move for certain because I’m not beholden to a timeline though it still exists in the background. I started chapter 2 and ended up writing two pages in a scarily small amount of time a few nights ago it was weird. It’s fun if angsty, he’s still him even though he’s a traumatised mess and the title is very literal.

In the media spotlight is 100% @ice-demigod-skrael‘s fault that I started writing this yesterday thanks to a mood board for his Fashionista AU I fell in. I don’t even know what I’m doing I just wanted to WRITE and add to my backlog apparently it must be payback for all the Heart of Glass stuff. It’s just gonna be a short thing (I genuinely do mean short) but I’m invested damnit.

[mobius-prime]

180. Sonic the Hedgehog #112

Welcome to a very special issue! Nearly every page is packed with really interesting and relevant information, dealing with the emotional issues of a few important characters, and also containing not one, not two, three, or four, but FIVE different character profiles! This is a really meaty one, so let's get busy!

Mistaken Identity Crisis!

Writer: Benny Lee Pencils: Art Mawhinney Colors: Josh & Aimee Ray

So we got a little bit of a hint about it last issue, but ever since his free will has been restored, General D'Coolette and Antoine have been spending a lot of time together, making up for lost time as father and son. They're strolling through Knothole one day when out of nowhere, a dimensional portal begins to crackle above their heads, and Sonic, recognizing the look of the portal, rushes over just in time to catch Zonic as he falls from it.

Aww, don't feel bad, Antoine! Weirdly enough, for most of this issue, the artists seem to have forgotten that Zonic is supposed to be affected by sideways gravity, and so when Sonic rushes him off to the hospital he's just lying down in an ordinary bed without any problems. It's honestly not too big of a deal, but it is weird, especially given that later issues that go further into the concept of the No Zone actually incorporate this idea of sideways gravity into the story in some quite fascinating and unique ways. Dr. Quack begins looking after the injured Zonic, but until he wakes up from his stupor, they'll be unable to find out who attacked him, so for now Sonic heads back out of the hospital to go talk to Antoine and his father once again. The general is clearly very impressed at Sonic's heroism and valor, but while Sonic is initially happy to receive the praise, he notices Antoine is looking troubled behind his father's back, and, realizing that he's feeling unappreciated, decides to help him out.

I mean, while I disagree that Antoine isn't a hero, it's incredibly sweet of Sonic to go out of his way to ensure that Antoine can look good in front of his father. I would actually say that Antoine is the definition of brave, as bravery isn't just feeling unafraid in the face of danger, it's actually being afraid, but stepping up anyway, which is exactly what Antoine always does when he's faced with something terrifying. Sonic strolls away after explaining his plan, and Antoine goes back to his father feeling confident and excited about whatever Sonic might be cooking up, but as soon as Sonic is out of earshot he's called back to the hospital to speak to Zonic, who is waking up.

So one of Sonic's "worst enemies" is hanging around here, huh? Meanwhile, Antoine is giddily describing a somewhat-embellished fight between him and Robotnik to his father when none other than, who else, Evil Sonic shows up to ruin their day! Antoine is certain that this is in fact Sonic Prime, merely dressed up and putting on a performance to give Antoine the chance to show off by beating him up in front of his dad, and thus immediately karate chops him on the head, knocking him out. Sonic and Zonic exit the hospital and come racing up, pleased and amused to see Evil Sonic already out cold, and Sonic knowingly congratulates an oblivious Antoine on his victory…

See, Antoine? You're a courageous hero after all!

All right, now before we dive into the backup story for this issue, we've got a lot of character info to cover! Our first character to look at is Sonic himself. Since he's what I used to get my measurement ratios, his height and weight are the same as those from the games. He's 100 cm or 3'3" tall, and weighs 35 kg or 77 lbs. We already know he's sixteen, though by now I'd imagine he's a little closer to seventeen as it's been a while since he celebrated his last birthday. But when is his birthday, exactly? Well, it's actually not the same as his birthday in the games - in the Archieverse, his birthday is on June 11. Now, remember how I said several issues ago to keep in mind the date of Robotnik's death during Endgame? That date was June 13… and Endgame took place over the course of three days. Which means that, yes, the mission where Sally supposedly died took place on Sonic's birthday.

This changes goddamn everything. Can you imagine? Sonic isn't so bigheaded that he would expect all operations against Robotnik to cease just to celebrate his own birthday, so of course he wouldn't be too fazed over having to infiltrate Robotropolis on his big day. He probably expected a successful mission and a happy return to Knothole, where he and his friends would have a little celebration of both the mission and his birthday. Instead, he was abandoned at the city, and returned on his own to Knothole to the news that his childhood best friend was dead and he was suspect numero uno. What was supposed to be a day of celebration turned into his worst goddamn nightmare. Two days later, of course, everything was resolved and Robotnik was dead, but still, what a horrible thing to deal with while it was all still going on! I will also note that this gives a little more perspective to the amount of time he and Tails were away from Mobotropolis while in search of Naugus. They returned (and Elias was brought back from the Floating Island) on his sixteenth birthday, meaning that in between defeating Robotnik and returning to Mobotropolis after defeating Naugus, an entire year had passed. The comics are finally starting to really solidify the timeline of events and pay more attention to the passing of time, and we can see it all coming together by the inclusion of these dates.

Apart from all of that, the rest of the page doesn't tell us much that we don't already know. It hasn't been mentioned in a long time, but yes, Sonic's middle name is still officially Maurice. His real first name is listed as being "unknown," but luckily, I have the power of internet research on my side! He never got a chance to include it before he stopped working on the comic, but Kenders originally intended to eventually reveal that Sonic's birth name was in fact Ogilvie, which is a real-world surname that is Scottish in origin. Apparently, he was named after one of his grandfathers, but quickly picked up the nickname Sonic due to his running everywhere as a small child, and eventually legally changed it to such, because no one wants to be stuck with the first name Ogilvie. I mean, come on! Ogilvie Maurice Hedgehog? That's the worst name I've ever heard in my goddamn life! Actually no offense to Kenders on this one though, I'm not meaning to imply that I disagree with this idea on his part, as the entire point of it is obviously meant to be that Sonic was born with a horrendous name and was eager to change it to something better as soon as he grew old enough to choose for himself. With that context, it's downright hilarious.

But Sonic isn't our only character file to look at! Next up, we have Knuckles, who actually gets two whole pages to himself due to how much content there is within his own backstory. First, his measurements. He's 103 cm or 3'5" tall, which is a little bit shorter than his game counterpart, and he weighs 37.4 kg or 82.3 lbs. He's also sixteen, though with a birthday of September 8 he's a few months younger than Sonic, as we already know. His actual file, though it mostly again just covers info we have already received through past issues, gives us some more context for how his earliest years of life went. He was in fact taken out to the Floating Island for Guardian training at the age of only three years old, and his father essentially homeschooled him in basic things like math and science while also training him in his inherited duties. We also find out that in fact he was only ten years old when his father left for Haven through the wall of fire, which even given his accelerated development as a child is still quite young to be left with the impression that one has been abandoned by the only parent one has ever known. Over the five or so years before he met Sonic, Knuckles became quite sour and bitter in attitude, seeing as he knew nothing of why he was abandoned and why he was even here, and his only friend on the island was Catweazle, who as we know isn't exactly the kindest or most reliable of friends. Of course, once Sonic and Robotnik showed up, and he met the other members of the Chaotix, he began to lighten up more and enjoy life, as well as learn everything about his race's history and as his own personal destiny, but it's honestly quite sad just imagining this lonely, near-friendless ten year old Knuckles wandering the island, listlessly doing his duties because that's all he's ever known while believing himself to essentially be an orphan. Even in the games, Knuckles at the very least knows nothing of his own past, so there's nothing for him to feel sad about, no real sense of personal loss - he's just alone. I'd say it's worse for preboot Archie Knuckles, as he does have those memories of loving parents and a sense of purpose - he just doesn't have those things anymore. Again, he did eventually get back everything that could make him happy, but still, it's sad to think about.

Okay, onto the next one! This time we're looking at Miles "Tails" Prower. He's 80 cm or 2'7" tall, and weighs 30.6 kg or 67.3 lbs. His height is actually exactly the same as his game counterpart's, but he weighs significantly more - about 50% more, in fact. I'm going to attribute that to his older age, as in the games he's only eight, while in the comics he's currently eleven years old, with his birthday being on October 24. His original backstory explained that his father was roboticized the same day he was born, but we find out here too that at some point after Robotnik's coup, his mother mysteriously disappeared as well - not roboticized, mind you, as otherwise she and Tails would have reunited after the sword restored all the Robians' free will. For whatever reason, neither of his parents have shown up at all ever since their disappearances. Most of the rest of the info is, again, stuff we already know, but we actually run into a bit of a discrepancy with the reiteration that the Tails we've currently been following in the comics is actually a false duplicate, with the real Tails missing somewhere. The initial issue that revealed that he was a duplicate made it seem like he was replaced somehow when he was in transit with Athair from Knothole's public school to Knuckles' location, but this page claims that instead the switcheroo happened all the way back in freaking StH#56, which was the very first time he ever transformed into Turbo Tails. If this was true, then we wouldn't have seen the real Tails since very shortly after Robotnik was first defeated all the way back in Endgame! It would mean that the entire, nearly-year-long adventure with Sonic around the world in search of Naugus never happened with the real Tails, and that for all intents and purposes the real Tails would not even be aware of the renewed war against Eggman. This is definitely a mistake, as every other issue that acknowledges his replacement with the duplicate indicates that he was indeed replaced when Athair teleported him away, but it's still such a bizarre mistake to make given how much time has passed since the first Turbo Tails incident.

Okay, next up, we have Amy Rose! She's 92 cm tall or 3 feet exactly, and weighs 28.7 kg or 63.1 lbs, which is actually less than Tails despite being a good bit taller than him. As we know, she's a bit of a special case in terms of age - mentally she's ten years old, while the Ring of Acorns aged her physically to about the equivalent of a sixteen year old. Interestingly, her birthday is on July 5, which if you'll remember is also Sally's birthday! I kind of like that two characters share a birthday, honestly. Amy's page actually does give us quite a bit of background info on her that we've never heard before, unlike many of the others'. Apparently, she actually lived in Mercia her whole life, which is why she was merely Sonic's pen pal in StH#25 - she lived overseas. She was born to Mercian nobility, but her extremely rich parents became overwhelmed with sympathy after witnessing the plight of so many of those less fortunate during the two back-to-back wars, and decided to give up the entirety of their wealth to charity, officially making them the coolest rich people that have ever existed. However, unfortunately, soon afterward both of them were lost in the fighting against General D'Coolette and Robotnik's other agents in the area. She was taken in by Rob - who weirdly enough is described as her "father's brother" here despite every other source saying they're cousins - and once she had recovered somewhat from the loss, he sent her to live in Knothole with the hope that it would be safer for her there, apparently not being aware of the extremely close proximity the village had to the literal center of the war. From there, we basically know the rest, including her sudden age-up from wishing on the ring. Apparently she still has plans to marry Sonic someday, but unlike her game counterpart she keeps these intentions strictly hidden, understanding that Sonic isn't the mushy type and hoping to wait for the right chance to win his heart in the future. Man, it actually kind of seems like she understands exactly what I was talking about last issue about his lack of romantic attitude, huh?

Okay, last off we have a file for not a single character, but the entirety of the Brotherhood of Guardians! Unfortunately for this post, it really doesn't tell us anything new. We do get a look at a picture of every Guardian in their prime all lined up together, and a brief history of the formation of the organization, all the way from scientist Kayla-La's discovery of the incoming comet bearing down on their city, down to Knuckles today in the middle of his evolution into a living Chaos Emerald. Athair is included in the lineup, as even though he ultimately rejected his role as a Guardian, he still was part of the bloodline beginning with Edmund. Other than that, we really got nothing new from this, so it's time to finally end our journey through this issue's numerous profiles and move on to our backup story!

Forgiven

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Art Mawhinney Colors: Josh D. Ray

So we haven't actually heard anything about Lupe and her pack for some time, but with every Robian's free will restored, she and her family are back to normal, albeit still roboticized. They've been staying in Knothole for the past few days, but now everyone is throwing them a going-away party as they plan to head back to their own homeland once more. Sonic goes into Uncle Chuck's lab to invite him to the party, but Chuck, seeming uncomfortable, uses the excuse that he's too busy to go right now. Sonic leaves, but a few minutes later returns… having brought the party with him. He seems pleased by his own genius, obviously not having noticed Chuck's mood, and while Chuck tries to smile for his nephew's benefit he's actually torn up inside at seeing everyone so happy.

Lupe notices his mood and follows him, claiming that she's noticed that he's been avoiding her and her entire family ever since they regained their free will. At first he attempts to deny it, but it becomes apparent that he's actually wracked with horrible guilt over it being he who roboticized them in the first place.

It's honestly so sad to see Chuck like this. He's a genuinely good person and a great character whose past decisions inadvertently led to some of the worst tragedies this world has seen, and he clearly blames himself for all of it, despite having no way of knowing how things would have turned out. He quietly says that all he truly wants is to be forgiven by those he's wronged… but while he and Lupe were talking, everyone else in the party has come out as well and overheard his last statement. Sally says to him that they can't do that unless he's willing to forgive himself first, and Lupe, determined to show him that no one blames him, announces that the celebration is no longer just about her family, but about honoring Chuck as well. He becomes overwhelmed with emotion and embraces her, thanking her profusely, as everyone cheers. Hopefully, this encounter will allow him to finally put some of that guilt to rest, poor guy. He's suffered enough.

[timholtorf]

Comic books!

Nothing better to start off a massive rant than just putting a vague headline about said rant.

The focus is comic books, and in particular comic books as they are today and why none of them really interest me anymore.  Well that’s not 100% true.  There are comics I do get, but they are few and far between.  My tastes have changed since the times of my youth.

Let’s go back to those halcyon days for a moment.  The year was 1975. Or somewhere within that range.  I had found comic books.  I had found some of the best comic books around at the time for my age.  There was the Gold Key comics which printed Star Trek, the Six Million Dollar Man and other hit television shows.  Naturally, there was Archie comics.  And there was DC and Marvel.  My first steps into the super hero genre where with DC Comics’ World Finest.

At the time, it was a dollar and had six stories.  That’s like getting two comics for free back in those days.  Comics were a quarter!  The feature story was Superman and Batman in a monthly team-up.  There was Green Arrow, Hawkman and Shazam.  There was also stories with Black Lightning, The Creeper, Zatanna and the Huntress.  I collected as many as I could.

From those original days, I found that I gravitated toward four characters in particular; Green Arrow and Black Canary and Hawkman and Hawkwoman.  Sadly, there were no really huge ongoing titles that lasted very long.  I managed to collect all of the Hawkman and the Atom, all of the Green Arrow back stories in Detective Comics, and the mini series that came out in the 1980s, as well as Tony Isabella’s short run on Hawkman which included the story the Shadow War.  I even went back and collected the old Green Lantern Green Arrow Hard Travellin’ Heroes stories.

The 1990s arrived and suddenly comics were starting to take a huge turn toward grim, gritty, dark and realistic.  Which for some reason meant everything was grey.  The Dark Knight came out.  We had just seen The Watchmen and V for Vendetta in the late 80s.  It was only a matter of time before this grim and gritty concept hit other heroes.

And they did.  The reboot of the Huntress even took a bit of that turn, changing Helena Wayne to Helena Bertinelli and giving her a completely different backstory. Because, ya know, Crisis on Infinite Earths was meant to clean up the timeline (spoiler, it didn’t).  We were also given a couple of gems that I loved.  Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters and Hawkworld.

The former was the story of an older man who’s superheroing heyday seemed to be heading toward the twilight years.  Oliver Queen was 40 years old.  Black Canary/Dinah Lance was in her late 20s early 30s.  It was time to put aside the trick arrows and move Queen and company from Star City to Seattle.  Green Arrow tackled some pretty heavy stuff in the Longbow Hunters, and the subsequent on going series with Mike Grell’s writing and (sometimes) art.  It was less sci-fi than the Green Lantern Green Arrow run, but it hit all the beats that Dennis O’Neal penned back in the 1970s.

Green Arrow wasn’t the only one.

Tim Truman wrote, pencilled and put down the layouts for another mini series that hit some of the similar beats as Green Arrow; The Hawkworld. Instead of placing the focus on just Hawkman, Truman placed the focus on the world of Thanagar.  It was a corrupt world with a government that oppressed the people of conquered nations, the elite flew on wings among their golden towers, while the poor and desperate clung on for dear life in the Downside.  Hawkworld became a critically acclaimed mini series, which prompted DC to do something that, in the long run, would end up killing the character in future publications.

The ongoing series was launched which was a retelling of Hawkman and Hawkwoman of the 1960s.  Two space cops attempting to track down the criminal Byth Rok and take him back to Thanagar.  But there was no archaeology cover story.  Katar Hol and Shayera Thal were cops who worked with the Chicago City Police.  Tim Truman’s name was attached to the ongoing, but it was John Ostrander who managed to pen the series.

The mistake was putting these events into the present DC timeline instead of putting them before.  It eventually made a mess, which Ostrander and eventually Steve Leiber attempted to fix with direction by Mike Gold.  But the damage was done, and Hawkman became toxic until the Justice Society rose again in the early 2000s.

While I truly do have some favourite comics, none have hit the mark like the Huntress, Hawkworld and Green Arrow did.  Truman and Ostrander’s work on Hawkworld really hit home, as the Hawks got to know the people of Chicago, especially in the project called Cabrini Green.  They understood that Earth, and the United States in particular, was just another Hawkworld.  The Huntress, written by Joey Cavalieri and pencilled by Joey Staton, was dark and noirish due to Helena Bertinelli’s connection to the mob, the fact she was a teacher, and that she really cared for the kids in her classroom.  And Oliver Queen, under both Mike Grell and later Chuck Dixon, because a look at life in an unusual way.

There’s comics that have been tried that have fit this kind of aspect in the recent past.  The Movement, Birds of Prey, Secret Six, Batwoman, and the short lived All-Star Western.  Sadly, most ended or changed directions.  Some stayed the course to their roots.

I’d love to see the kind of stories that were back in the 1990s made for today’s world.  Focusing on not just superheroes but current events as well.  Maybe Hawkworld could be relaunched, who knows.  Whaddya say @gailsimone!  Sorry, I just hope sometimes.

It’s been a long rant, mostly about things I’ve missed.

[briangroth27]

Riverdale: Who Killed Jason Blossom?

FULL Spoilers!

While I have an increasingly sprawling theory about supernatural events going down throughout Riverdale (essentially, the entire town is on the cusp of a Lovecraftian takeover that could impact multiple storylines with the slightest context shift), I’m sure Jason’s murderer is mortal. Right now the only characters that seem to be clearly and completely innocent are Archie and Veronica (in addition to others who have no motive, like Reggie, Josie & the Pussycats, Fred Andrews, etc.). For most of the season, Alice Cooper was the focus of my suspicions, but after this week’s episode, I’m thinking it’s someone else.

What We Know -Jason and Cheryl Blossom went boating on the Fourth of July and supposedly capsized. Despite Jason being a good swimmer, only Cheryl was found. -According to Cheryl, she dropped him off in Greendale. Jason was supposed to touch base with her in a month, but never did. -Jason was running away with Polly Cooper, whom he planned to marry, and they were having twins. He turned his back on his family for Polly. -Jason planned to sell drugs on a one-time basis for the Southside Serpents to get the money to start a life with Polly away from Riverdale. He never made the delivery. -Archie and Fake Miss Grundy heard a gunshot on the morning of the Fourth of July, but not the gunshot that killed Jason (Dilton claimed responsibility for this one). -Jason turned up months later, shot in the head with signs he’d been tied up, tortured, and frozen. The autopsy confirmed he’d been killed a week after his disappearance. -Jason was involved in a humiliation club with several jocks at school. -Polly was sent away by her parents and the official story was that Jason had driven her insane after dumping her like she was nothing. -The Blossoms have the engagement ring Jason was going to give Polly, which he had on him when he died. Penelope claims he threw it back at them when he turned his back on the family, but Cheryl taking steps to ensure that it “disappears” (instead she keeps it for herself without anyone knowing) makes it very likely that’s a lie. So how did the Blossoms get it back? -The Coopers and the Blossoms have had a century-long feud stretching back to when great-grandpa Blossom killed great-grandpa Cooper, supposedly because Blossom didn’t want to share the profits of their maple syrup business. -Somehow, Grandpa Blossom ended up with his throat cut. Could this have been Grandpa Cooper getting revenge for the murder of his father? -There has been a great deal of drama over the land where the drive-in theater currently stands. Clifford Blossom wants it, Hiram Lodge bought it in secret, Clifford attempted to shut down Fred Andrews’ construction project by hiring all his workers, and (presumably) Hiram hired the Southside Serpents to destroy the equipment after learning Fred and Hermione Lodge were seeing each other. 

Top Suspects

Clifford Blossom My major theory now is that Jason was killed by his father. Clifford has been considerably less emotional about Jason’s death than Penelope and the way he talks about Jason not living up to his potential/promise makes him very suspicious. He almost has more disdain for his son’s “weakness” than he does sorrow for his loss. Jason was supposed to take over the maple syrup empire one day, but was going to run away and give it all up for Polly. He was not the future Clifford wanted and Cheryl wasn’t an option, thanks both to her melodramatic nature and a heaping dose of sexist subtext permeating the Blossom compound. I wonder if Clifford—or someone he hired (the Serpents, who are not above assaulting teenagers?)—attacked Jason to scare him straight/keep him hidden long enough for Polly to think he’d left her in the lurch and it went too far. That’s my best guess for a grounded motive…but I don’t think it was grounded.

Beyond the bounds of reality and into the Twin Peaks side of the show’s pedigree, I absolutely think the Blossoms are—as the show has joked about and implied many times—into the occult in some fashion. Even if I’m wrong, Clifford just needs to believe the supernatural is real to fuel his motive here. I think the Blossom/Cooper feud really started because the two men were involved in a ritual to bring prosperity to their maple syrup business—which took place on the drive-in land, which is why everyone wants it—and Great-grandpa Cooper was possessed (or appeared to be) when he was killed (I think it involved hosting a Lovecraftian demon). Alternatively, that ritual worked and Blossom later cut Cooper out of the newly-successful business. Grandpa Blossom could’ve gotten his throat cut in the same ritual if things got out of hand. What if the Blossoms still do the ritual to prove their worth as heirs/honor some beast? Jason and Cheryl were not dressed for running away with his pregnant girlfriend; they look like they were dressed for a baptism. What if this ritual involves temporarily dying/being possessed by something (whether Jason actually was possessed or just appeared so because of the circumstances of his week-long kidnapping), but in the end they couldn’t revive him? “He was supposed to come back,” after all. It’s entirely possible Clifford sees his failing as a result of his involvement with Polly or unfit nature, which is why he’s not too heartbroken—if Jason couldn’t survive the ritual (be it impurity of heart or flightiness of nature, etc.), that’s on Jason, not him. Whatever the ritual entails, it presented on Jason’s corpse as torture, and his body was frozen either to await his planned resurrection or to put distance between his disappearance and discovery. It’s also possible the extreme cold was a side effect of whatever supernatural elements Jason came into contact with.

I don’t see Jason willingly taking part in a ritual or anything if he was on his way out of town. I thought that could be a snag, but follow me here: Cheryl says she’s helping Jason get out (I could even see Cheryl picking out those “baptism” clothes for him), but she’s told their father where in Greendale they’ll be landing. Clifford insists he take his place in the family business, Jason refuses, and Clifford kidnaps him. Cheryl’s freaked out, but goes along with it, trusting her dad. Clifford keeps him locked up for a week to perform this ritual to prove Jason is “the chosen one”/ensure their prosperity for another 100 years/whatever and Jason dies. It’s possible Clifford told her Jason just shut him down and left—the “threw the ring/turned his back on family” tale—providing a timeline where he was killed by “someone else” and it’s all Cheryl can do to keep believing it. Cheryl knows deep down she sent him to his death (she’s even said she killed him), but won’t turn her dad in yet. Maybe her doubts are how she knew to “get rid” of the ring and why she’s now keeping a potentially bombshell piece of evidence from everyone.

Penelope may have been involved too, especially because of her apparent lie about the ring, but I believed her sadness about FP killing Jason. I don’t think that was just for our, Polly, or Cheryl’s benefit. It’s entirely possible Clifford sold her the story about Jason turning his back on them too. Clifford could have easily planted the gun in FP’s house or paid someone to do it. I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibilities that Hal Cooper was involved in this ritual too: maybe there always has to be a Blossom and a Cooper present. We still don’t know what Hal and Clifford were talking about at Jason’s funeral, do we? Maybe his overzealous hatred of the Blossoms is being played up so no one suspects that he’s actually in deep with them. If he’s working with Clifford, then he stole the murder board to protect him (and by extension, himself). I don’t think Hal killed Jason, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he were involved.

Ultimately, my money’s on Clifford. Jason didn’t make it through the ritual and for whatever reason, Clifford believed he had to kill him. I think they’ll play him as crazy in the season finale, but then reveal he was right about the supernatural as things get much weirder in Riverdale. I also wonder if the season finale will involve the ritual being staged again. There was a whole lot of creepy attention paid by the entire Blossom clan about how much Archie looks like and reminds them of Jason. Lately, Cheryl’s been praised as the heir Jason never was. I think Archie was and now Cheryl is being groomed to take Jason’s place, and not just in the Blossom syrup company.

Hal Cooper Hal wasn’t at Homecoming, was he? Just like he stole the murder board from Sheriff Keller’s office while the drive-in closing was happening, he had the perfect opportunity to plant the gun on FP here (though would they pull the same trick with Hal not showing at an event and doing something shady, or would they play the same situation so we think that’s his M.O.?). I don’t know why he’d steal the murder board unless he was directly involved or trying to solve the mystery on his own, and we’ve seen no suggestion of the latter despite his career as a reporter. This reddit suggests he could’ve stolen it to protect Alice or Polly, which I hadn’t considered. Some dimension to him would be nice, but I’m not sure I buy it.

Hal killing Jason because he was “stealing” his daughter and had gotten her pregnant, coupled with the nearly over-the-top hatred he has for the Blossoms for robbing his family of what seems like millions in the maple syrup industry, makes him a pretty good suspect. Like Alice, I didn’t think he had what it takes to kill Jason either, but he didn’t exactly deny it when Betty asked him point-blank. Hal’s my second-highest suspect, but I wonder if he’s too obvious; he seems like the type of character to be mistakenly accused/confronted by our intrepid teens moments before the real killer reveals themselves.

Also, if the kids are actually watching the murder in the trailer for Episode 12, I think Betty would be a little more shocked than just closing the laptop if she’d seen herself or her parents doing it. Everyone else’s eyes would’ve immediately been on her too. Obviously we can’t see what they’re seeing—the camera could be on Jason with the killer’s back to it—but I don’t think it’s a Cooper.

Alice Cooper Alice was my guess almost from the beginning. At first her “rot in Hell” comment about Jason in the pilot seemed like it’d make her too obvious, but for the longest time I’ve been thinking they showed us the truth and were obscuring it with red herrings ever since. The 100-year feud between the Coopers and Blossoms could’ve given her a motive and her past on the Southside—maybe a Serpent herself?—could’ve given her the grit to do it. What exactly did she do “for the family,” as she told Hal in their argument before kicking him out of the house? My theory was Betty believed her parents’ stories about Jason driving Polly insane, went Dark Betty/“Polly,” kidnapped Jason, and Alice killed him to prevent Betty from doing it. 

However, according to the tie-in comic (I haven’t gotten to read it yet, but I looked up a summary), all four main kids have alibis for the summer, so if that’s canon, I guess Betty can’t have kidnapped Jason since she was in LA (barring a “Polly”-driven blackout trip home). If Betty wasn’t involved in his kidnapping at all, that lessens the likelihood of Alice’s involvement IMO. Alice still could’ve done it because he’d gotten Polly pregnant and they were running away together, though her reaction to Hal’s demand that Polly get an abortion makes me think she didn’t. She’s seemed a lot more level-headed since that moment and while she is a helicopter parent who’d do anything “to protect” her children (including going so far as to lock Polly away to hide her pregnancy), I don’t think she seems particularly violent. Her M.O. seems more like emotional pressure and sabotage, like getting Betty on Adderall and winding her so tightly that she digs her fingernails into her palms when she’s stressed.

Less Likely Suspects

Cheryl Blossom I could almost see it being Cheryl given her comment that Jason was “supposed to come back” and her “confession” early on, but I don’t think it is. Not only is she too much of a presence on the show to lose her to prison next year, I believe she truly loved Jason and don’t think she’d kill him (a mercy killing if some otherworldly beast took him over, though? Maybe). I do think she’d deliver Jason to whoever actually did kill him, believing he’d be fine. It’d make perfect sense if that someone were her father. Maybe the Jason ghosts she’s been seeing are guilt (and along those lines, what if Clifford saw the ghost of his father because he slit his throat?).

FP Jones and the Serpents They’re certainly being played up as major suspects, but I don’t think they killed Jason. I do think they’re the ones that followed Jughead and Betty to his car and set it on fire, but I think that was to cover up any evidence of drugs/Jason’s involvement with them. I don’t think any killer would be dumb enough to keep a dead kid’s jacket, so I think they took it to plant it on a convincing patsy (it’s “insurance,” after all). If the clues end at the car and everyone knows Jason was involved with the Serpents, the trail dead-ends with them. If they plant the jacket on someone, they’re in the clear. But who will they frame? Is that why FP was asking Jughead who he thought the killer was, to get a suitable target? Alternatively, planting the jacket on someone may be Hiram’s plan to get revenge on the Blossoms for having him arrested. 

This reddit theory draws some compelling connections between FP, Joaquin, Clifford, the jacket, and the gun. Basically, it posits that FP kept the jacket to protect himself in case Clifford turned on him (“insurance”), Joaquin reported this to Clifford (who’d also hired them to trash the construction site, not Hiram—which makes a lot of sense to me!), so Clifford had Joaquin plant the murder weapon on FP. FP claims it wasn’t the Serpents who attacked the construction site, but would he really admit that? I don’t think any of the Serpents killed Jason, but I can buy this as the chain of events leading to FP’s framing, if FP wasn’t planning on framing someone else to throw suspicion off the Serpents.

The only way I can see it being the Serpents is if Clifford hired them to capture Jason (to scare him straight) and things went too far by accident.

Hiram Lodge I think the payments he’s been receiving from the Blossoms were repayment for his ancestor getting their family out of legal trouble back when Great-grandpa Cooper was killed; all these families are more intertwined than we know. In the present day, he’s clearly against the Blossoms and I think it’s because he’s innocent of the embezzlement he was arrested for. How could the Blossoms have their pick of who to send to jail unless they arranged the “crime” (unless both Lodges were guilty and they didn’t think they needed to worry about Hermione)? I wouldn’t be surprised if he were found innocent of everything he’s been charged with. What if taking the Blossom’s future was his revenge? Still, I don’t really buy it was him; even with his impressive reach into Riverdale from prison, he seems too far removed to have a big impact on the show if he’s revealed as the killer. While Veronica would be crushed, I don’t think the audience would have the same emotional reaction.

Jughead Jones Where was he the week he was supposed to be road-tripping with Archie? I don’t think it was him, but why would he need an alibi for that week? We still don’t know why he wouldn’t tell Sheriff Keller where he was (personally, I don’t think he remembers that week). He has no real motive, unless there’s something major we don’t know about his relationship to Jason and/or Polly. Before we knew they were twins, my sister questioned whether or not Polly’s kids are really Jason’s…to which I asked, what if they’re Jughead’s? I doubt they are, given the twin thing (and the Blossoms presumably would’ve wanted to be sure with a DNA test), and I think we would’ve seen some indication of a prior relationship between Jughead and Polly by now. I think Jughead might’ve been involved in the circumstances of Jason’s death (if my supernatural theory is right), but I don’t think he killed him.

Fake Ms. Grundy I felt it was implied she was sleeping with Jason too; could she have killed him to cover it up? Or maybe out of revenge when he planned to leave her to run away with Polly? I think both are possible—it did feel open-ended the way she got out of dodge and they made a point of discovering her gun—but I don’t see us getting as big a payoff if it’s her as with some of the other choices. On the other hand, I felt a bigger deal should’ve been made out of a student sleeping with a teacher, and if she returns to be unmasked as a killer, that’d definitely help paint her even creepier than she already is for sleeping with teens. If my supernatural theory is correct, she may’ve been involved, but focusing on the mortal realm, I don’t think so.

Ethel She seemed to delight in seeing Betty nearly drown Chuck, so would it be that much of a stretch to think she also went after Jason? He was involved in the football team’s humiliation of women at school too…maybe she got revenge on him. Was the confidence boost she got from Betty and Veronica standing up for her an act to win their sympathy? Perhaps she used Betty and Veronica to punish Chuck to throw suspicion off herself once the Jason investigation got underway. I doubt it’s her, if only because we’ve already gone down the horrible athlete road with Chuck and doing so with Jason might feel like a retread.

Dilton Doily He’s a self-described weirdo and survivalist. If there are supernatural things going on in Riverdale, maybe he’s been training his scouts to protect themselves from them. What if he thought he was killing a monster (or knew he was possessed) and shot Jason? I think it’s entirely possible, but I don’t think it’d have any emotional resonance.

Betty Cooper I don’t think she did it, even given her dissociative disorder manifesting “Polly”—and the comic seems to give her an alibi (she was doing an internship in LA)—but the way she went after Chuck it’s possible. She tried to get “Jason” (Chuck) to “apologize” for what he’d done to “her” (Polly), and I think this is a reference to what the Coopers told Betty Jason had done to Polly (driven her insane). I don’t think there’s some dark secret to Jason’s relationship with Polly that Dark Betty knows about. Still, the lie that Jason drove Polly insane does give her motive.

Polly Cooper What if she really is insane? For a motive, what if she found out about Jason humiliating girls at school or his potential affair with Fake Miss Grundy? I’ve also seen it suggested here that she could’ve mistaken Archie and Fake Miss Grundy for Jason and FMG, then set out to kill him in a fit of revenge, but that only works if it was a crime of passion and not a week-long torture sesh. Surely he’d be able to convince her he wasn’t back with Fake Miss Grundy before an entire week was up, right? This theory list makes the solid point that we don’t really know Jason outside of his reputation, and not everything we’ve heard lines up with a guy who’d be responsible for his pregnant girlfriend. Still, I think we’re seeing too much of Polly investigating the Blossoms out of sight of anyone else for me to buy that she’s actually the culprit (barring a dissociative identity disorder like Betty has). Also, if Jason’s body was frozen to put time between his disappearance and when it was eventually found, Polly probably couldn’t have done it.

Moose This was my initial, complete shot in the dark guess after watching the pilot. I thought maybe Jason knew he was in the closet and was extorting him somehow (given the comments about how terrible Jason was), and Moose killed him to keep him quiet. Or that Jason had a relationship with him and had ended it like he was nothing, just like what Betty had been led to believe about Jason and Polly’s relationship. However, Episode 2 made it seem like Moose being gay was an open secret and he didn’t seem that bothered that people knew, so I doubt it’s him.

Fake Miss Grundy’s Ex This is a theory I’ve seen on a few sites, including this one; basically, he is as violent as described and came to town, saw Archie and “Geraldine” together, went nuts, ran into Jason thinking he was Archie, and tortured/killed him (or, killed Jason simply because he was also sleeping with FMG). My thinking is: if he can do all that, where has he been since? Why wouldn’t he try to contact Fake Miss Grundy if he’s in town? Would he really just kill a kid and run away? It’s feasible I guess, but doesn’t feel very emotionally satisfying; if that plot is going to come up again, it needs to deal with Archie being statutorily raped, not Jason getting killed because of it.

Kevin Keller Another theory I’ve seen around, like on this site, comments that Kevin was way too calm the day after finding Jason’s body. That he suggested Joaquin make out with him at corpse-ridden Sweetwater River. That he’s into The Talented Mr. Ripley. It’s possible—the site also mentions that he’d have access to his father’s gun—but after the backlash to making Archie Comics’ first African American character (Chuck) 100% horrible, I can’t imagine they’d make Archie Comics’ first gay character the murderer. He also seems to have no interaction with Jason whatsoever.

Who do you think killed Jason?

[dr-fumbles-mcstupid]

Happy pride month everyone! A friendly reminder that I identify as asexual aromantic. Ther is a lot of bullshit discourse in the Lgbtqia community about a lot of things. One of those things is that Aro & Ace people don't belong, they aren't discriminated against. Or they aren't actually "queer".

Fun fact #1. I first heard the term asexual as a 22 year old (I am 30 now). I found it through a fanfic online, it was so underrepresented I didn't know it was a thing. No form of published media had ever told me about it, no person I knew had ever used the word. To this day in popular media, off the top of my head I can think of 3 asexual characters, only one of which identify as aromantic in addition to being asexual. Jughead from Archie comics (but not in Riverdale, because aro/ace isn't part of LGBTQ+ so it isn't erasure right?), Todd from bojack horseman, and apparently there was an ace character in the sci-fi channel series lost girl.

Fun fact #2, I went on a few dates with a guy at the age of 20, it didn't go any further. He apparently told people I slept with him. I found out my older sister was close friends with a mutual friend of his, and when Briana (my sister) spoke up to that friend and said that was 100% a lie because she knew I did not (we didn't talk about a lot of sex things, but I think she had an inkling about me being ace even then), her close friend said that I had obviously lied to my sister becuase no one got to the age of 20 without having sex.

Fun fact #3, our whole society is really based upon the ideas of cohabitation and romance in particular. Almost all forms of media portray romance, and it often shows that a person isn't happy, or that their life hasn't really started until they find their perfect romantic partner. Leaving out how toxic that is to people romantically inclined (the need to constantly be with a partner, making it seem like you need to find 'the one', bad portrayals of what a relationship should actually be.) it is incredibly disheartening to an aro person, and it makes it much much harder for non aro people to relate to, or even comprehend aromantic people.

Fun fact #3b, a number of years ago a close friend of mine started a new relationship and had been in the "puppy love" phase where they dropped everyone but their Significant other for almost 7 month. I asked Facebook what the normal timeline for 'puppy love' or what they thought it should be was. Almost 99% of people said that when they met their significant other, or when they got married they dropped almost all of their non familial aquentences including friends permanently, or that they became aquaintence and did not hold much importance in their lives anymore. People argued that this was normal and expected.

Fun fact #4, I don't identify as sex repulsed, talking about sex or even theoretically engaging in sex, doesn't disgust or trigger me. Despite this, people often treat me as ignorant of sex, and sexual urges, Sex Ed in general, and even if I was, like so what? Where this gets worse is there is a perception that I am innocent , or infantile becuase I haven't had the experience of sex, or have no desire to. This goes to relationships as well. I did have one serious relationship, and I dated people casually as well. Even if I didn't I am a smart person, romantic relationships are built on the foundation of compatability, honest open conversation, and friendship. I know this. Even though I don't want a romantic partner 😱 I still like movies and books with romance in them!!! 😱 I understand the concept of romance!!! 😱 You don't have to treat me like an idiot, or think I can't have advice for you/somone who is in a relationship!

Fun fact #5, I experience multiple micro aggressions every day, even from friends and family members. Every time I go to a new therapist I will mention being asexual, and their response will be "well that is probably because of your medication." I know some medications can erase your libido, but I have been on over 20 different medications over a period of 15 years. I still have a libido (sexual desire does not = sexual attraction, please look up sex favorable and sex repulsed asexuals). I will explain this to them and yet almost every therapist I have ever had has still tried to persuade me that I was wrong about this. That is was because of medication, or I was uncomfortable with my body and sexuality due to being on the autism Spectrum and I needed to push myself out of my comfort zone to Fix it.

People in my life will make jokes about me going on dates or meeting the mother of a friend becuase you know, I'm obvs gonna fall in love! People can't be friends, and "I don't think aromanticism is a thing." On the other side of the spectrum I have a few friends who say they support me, but then whenever I say "Chris Hemsworth is so attractive" or "She-Hulk is Bae, 10/10" , they automatically use it as ammo for discourse on why "maybe you are confused? You made a comment on someone's appearance and how they look pleasing and therfore you want to have sex with them." Being able to tell that someone is aesthitcally pelaseing does not equal sexual attraction. Even aro and ace people talk in this manner a lot becuase of fandom and online discourse.

Even if you don't think aro and or ace are 'real ways to identify.' some of these issues are problems for you too. Not having sex becuae you don't feel like it right now, because you want to wait for someone special, because you hate it, or just aren't included to do it are all valid reasons and saying that not wanting to have sex isn't normal feeds into not only in validation for aces, but for many other people who identify all over the spectrum. Ditto on the representation of romance in the media.

And finally, if I was wrong and I am just confused and not "really aromantic or asexual becuase it is just a disease/mental or physical health condition", how does this hurt me or you? I am happy without sex or a romantic partner, I would be fine living the rest of my life without it, friends are enough! (although a queer platonic partner would be 👌👌👌). Even if I was misinformed and misguided (I am not), It isn't hurting anyone.

TLDR, Aromantic and Asexual people are LGBTQIA, we are discriminated against, and it is a valid identity