#yes i just discovered that fp is not returning...

[trashlie]

ILY FP 206

Oh my god oh my GOD what an episode, right?! It’s going to take everything in me to not spoil this outside of my read more text cut lol but MAN what an episode. I think this might go up in my top 10 favorite episodes, if I were to create one of those, if only for the good material we got and the art. WOW! I feel like quimchee is personally catering to me and everything that I covet lmao we’ve got CALLBACKS we’ve got further parallels we’ve got explanations of the past, we’ve got TENSION! I, for one, feel like a cat who discovered the bag of catnip, and I’m going to yell SO MUCH in this post!

Man, the lighting and expressions in this particular episode are so good - the flashback was largely simplistic in its work, simple backgrounds, simple expressions, things mostly expressed through use of color. But we’ve returned to the present where Nol is holding back nothing - he is comfortably Nolan in his skin, no loner putting on a front or hiding his darker, potentially scarier side. When he found the Math Club photo in the previous episode, we didn’t see his eyes, which alone gave some indication to his feelings about his discovery, but that expression we finally get to see as he looks at the photo and talks to Shinae - WOW. In the past, as Yeonggi, he would never have allowed himself to show that side of him and was always so careful about the image he presented.

Nol is holding nothing back, now. With Shinae, he’s showing an authentic version of who he really is. 

The way the shadows fall on his face makes him look almost haunted. 

There’s so many good details in the art of this episode, ngl. The sequence of Shinae’s memory being jogged and snippets of that meeting flooding back to her, culminating in that close up of her eye, that red pupil with the scratchy jagged lines around it. A+ art, the shock of both the return of those memories and the realization that Nol has pieced together what she tried so hard to keep from him, something she did not want to b the one to tell him about, aaahhhh! 

Something interesting about this is that despite how things ended between Shinae and Alyssa, in a way, Shinae is trying to protect her (just as much as she’s trying to protect Nol). It wouldn’t be difficult for her to just admit the truth upfront - that yes, it turns out the ex-friend who kind of ruined my life is, indeed, your girlfriend. There’s something almost sweet about it - Shinae has been very careful to not influence Nol’s relationship, to not be that kind of person. Even before she ever knew who he was dating, she drew clearly-defined boundaries in effort to ensure that her involvement couldn’t lead to a falling out with his girlfriend. And here she continues to do that. She doesn’t want to influence how he sees Alyssa, she doesn’t want to be the reason they might fall apart. But at the same time, she is protecting not only Nol, but also herself and Alyssa. Shinae never says “Alyssa isn’t like that anymore” or anything like that. Her entire point of reason is that she knows her memory isn’t reliable, and that she doesn’t know the full story. It’s awfully mature, tbh, to be able to acknowledge that her experience is not the sum of that whole affair, that Alyssa’s side of the story is something she lacks and never had a chance to know. In contrast to her current situation with Nol, where he has inadvertently come clean and she now understands why he left, Shinae still has no idea why things with Alyssa played out the way they did, only the vague assumption of what Alyssa wanted vs how she acted. 

To be honest, I think as much as Shinae wants to protect Nol and Alyssa’s relationship, she also wants to protect her memories and the handful of good she experienced with Alyssa. Though things ended badly and she internalized that hurt and repressed it for so long, that was Shinae’s first friend, someone she was so eager and excited about. When we’ve been hurt or betrayed, it’s easy for those good memories to become soiled, to become infected by our bitter resentment. You forget that there was ever any good, because all you can remember is the bad, and how it makes you feel. 

I think we see that with Nol. The way he reminisces on Alyssa almost suggests that they were never very close, that his relationship with Alyssa never compared to his relationship with, say, Dieter or Soushi. Again, this episode plays with expression and framing SO MUCH and it’s SO well done. “She’s not important to me. So don’t feel bad.” We don’t see Nol’s expression when he says this. In fact, we only see a close up of his face, eyes hidden, as he asks Shinae to be honest. Quimchee uses the hidden eyes a lot, especially with Nol lately. I think it’s less that Alyssa was never important to Nol as much as she no longer is. Once upon a time, she was a friend he tried to steer straight, to save from Yui’s villainous grip. Again, we see that down-up view of Nol, his face cast in shadows, eyes cold as he states that he hates Alyssa’s nature. In a way, Alyssa is a failure of Nol’s - at least, this is probably how he views it. There was nothing he could do to keep her out of Yui’s grip, to save her from that woman. In fact, Alyssa continued to willingly walk into the lion’s den. 

We have that contrast again of Alyssa and Shinae - how Alyssa was unable to see beyond Yui’s facade, or even worse, how she was willing to endure Yui to get what she wanted. It makes her look selfish and spineless, wishywashy. Nol resents that, in the end, Alyssa made her choices, and in the end, all that remains of their former friendship, of the relationship they had, is one that is transactional. Don’t get me wrong, I think Nol does care about her still, in a way. I think there’s a high likelihood that Alyssa also still cares about Nol and Shinae both, but in a way she can’t act on, that she has to repress and shove away. I don’t think she feels particularly good about what she does, which is why she deflects. It’s easier to place blame on others than acknowledge that you are the one actively hurting people you care about, right? 

In a way, Shinae and Nol both care about Alyssa to some capacity, and largely in a way that is rooted in the past - who she was, what their relationships were. That’s the thing, right? You don’t have that kind of bitter, festering resentment towards someone if you never cared about them, if some kind of affection (whether romantic or platonic) never existed. There was a time when Alyssa was a person Nol wanted to help, maybe even when she was a person he enjoyed talking to and hangout with along with Soushi and Dieter, but those days are long gone. 

On the balcony at the hospital, he asked Alyssa what if they start to resent each other, because he already did. Because the weight of their transactional relationship had become that much of a burden, because there was nothing he could do to help her anymore and she felt more like a leech than a balance, because she had become the very kind of person who he resented. Swept up in the world of the Hiraharas and networking, Nol had become as invisible to Alyssa as he was to anyone else. Whatever remained of their friendship had run its course. 

Where Nol has allowed his memories to fester - the way his memory shows the gap between him and Alyssa increasing as he turns away from her and eventually has his hood up, back to her, the use of that intense red, Alyssa’s hollow puppet eyes, Yui a marionette puppeteering Alyssa, so menacing - Shinae has tried in vain to protect it, to reassure herself that there must be more to the story or maybe she’s made it all up, that maybe Alyssa was not as horrible as she looks. Both of them seem to acknowledge though, what praise does for Alyssa and the extents she’s willing to go to to earn it. 

And again, that juxtaposition - Alyssa is so malleable, is (or at least was) so willing to do whatever if it earned her praise, where Shinae’s integrity refuses to accept undue praise or handouts. It’s not explicitly stated, but it’s easy to glean that this is likely a big reason Nol was so drawn to Shinae, who always expressed concern for him, who never saw him as invisible, who has made a point to demonstrate how much she cares about him. When tempted by Yui, Shinae fought back and sees through her shiny veneer. Of course it must be intriguing, that someone can push back against Yui and not be poisoned against him by her. 

In fact, everything about this episode is SO heavily laden with how much their relationship matters. Shinae cares enough about Nol that she refuses to be the reason that his relationship with Alyssa is ruined. Nol cares about Shinae enough to start to feel comfortable as himself, doesn’t wear his mask, and offers her honesty, going as far as to call her out on her refusal to be honest. They’re taking turns baring parts of themselves to each other, sharing things they likely have never shared with anyone else. It can’t be that Nol is still drunk and his inhibitions are lower - he’s calculating looking over Shinae clutching the book to her chest, takes a step back and looks at her like that, admonishing her for lying when he’s being honest. They are actively acting on that importance to each other, the understanding that they have to be honest in order to understand each other. 

Nol is so comfortable, in fact, that he even shares a tender little memory - just a little snippet of it - about his mom. He’s always been careful not to mention her to his friends, to not bring up anything about her. The day he crashes the study session at Dieter’s, Shinae asks him about his mom, meaning Yui, and without knowing what Shinae means he switches mood completely. But here, he shares just a little piece of the distant past, and Shinae, realizing that he must be talking about his mom, offers her hand.

And GOD I love this moment SO MUCH. The dance that never was at the formal, a deal made at the masquerade. Everything comes full circle in that moment. It’s Shinae to Nol’s rescue, it’s Shinae making an offer, it’s Shinae offering friendship needed. Throughout the series, Nol has reached out to Shinae so many times, never letting himself close the gap except the one time that he hurt her. Once upon a time, Shinae drew boundaries between them and here she’s the one crossing them. Knowing what she knows now of Nol’s life, of his family, of his mother, it’s a gesture I don’t think is made lightly. Could Nol be happy, if only for a moment, if she sings and dances around to Christmas music with him like they once did? 

And god, listen, there’s a LOT of reading into this that we could do. The dance at the formal that never was - Nol denying a dance with Shinae to keep his distance, as Kousuke requested, as Nol surely had already decided upon. Maybe had Kousuke not demanded that Nol keep his distance, Nol still would have refused the dance (especially given that Shinae had previously drawn those boundaries around them), but what is to stop them now? There’s no Kousuke in the room to express disapproval. Shinae knows the relationship isn’t real, that it’s nothing that needs to be respected as she was before. Now it’s just them and the bits of their souls they’ve bared here alone in the dark. 

And again, back to the way Nol has spent so much of this series reaching out to her and refusing to close the gap - that he even did it just last episode! For it to be Shinae, this time, who reaches out to him, who offers the hand he continues to deny himself, is just SO SO SOOOOOOOO good and satisfying! Shinae is taking the initiative that Nol won’t allow himself. 

And listen man, I try, I try really hard not to be overly shippy about things but GOD the seeds have been sown, haven’t they? I have so many FEELINGS about how INTIMATE these last few episodes have been, the way their angry exteriors have thawed away and left these pockets of honesty. Shinae has been spending this time doing her best not to spook Nol - won’t ask about his mom lest he bolts again, careful about what she asks and says - and it just feels so intimate, to sit here in the dark together and bare their souls a little bit. Nol telling Shinae things he’s probably never told anyone else, just as Shinae told Nol a story she probably hasn’t told anyone else. I love the way they are just drawn to each other and let their defenses down. Nol has spent so much time trying to put distance between himself and Shinae, to escape her gravitational pull, but so many times he always wound up drawn back in. AND I LOVE IT, OKAY. 

Do they realize the ways they play off each other? Shinae has started to see their parallels (and the way they foil each other there, too - Shinae has become aware of her internalized self-loathing in a way Nol has yet to) and has a tendency to always respond to him even without realizing it. Last episode we see her response to his proximity and honesty, confused about why her heart is reacting lol. There’s also her raw anger at Nol still putting that distance between them, pointedly calling her Yoo. What she hates is that he’s trying to create that buffer, because using her first name is too close. If he keeps calling her Yoo, he can pretend that they’re not as close as they really are, that she isn’t as important as he’s already proclaimed. Shinae doesn’t want the distance, she doesn’t want the buffer. 

I also really love that she continues to call him out, and how her experiences with Alyssa have given the ability to see things how she does. In the way that her truth and Alyssa’s truth are not the same, Shinae notes that Nol’s truth and her truth are not the same - her image of him is not the way he sees himself, and neither one of them are more true than the others. In that regard, I think we will see that Nol isn’t as “innocent” in whatever it is he thinks he’s being punished for, but that he’s also not the one wholly responsible for it. Suppose this is about the incident with Kousuke, maybe Nol has internalized that he possibly hurt someone, without giving acknowledgement to what could lead to it. Was it self-defense, was it him reaching a snapping point, was it instigated, did something push him and his buttons? Nothing in I Love Yoo is black or white, only shades of grey. 

Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself, but I can’t help but feel that all the foundation that’s been laid is slowly building now. The sown seeds are slowly, SLOWLY, maybe starting to sprout. The way Shinae has always played off of Nol and has subconsciously responded to him so many times - as he pulls away, she pulls closer; as he stops chasing, she begins to - makes me think that maybe we are seeing a little spark. I don’t think anything romantically would come of them for a long time, until we have a time jump, maybe, since Shinae is not really aware of what she’s feeling, or why she’s reacting the way she is. And frankly, Nol is so full of self loathing that I don’t think he could entertain the idea of it. I do think it could be there between the lines - he made an effort at one point with Alyssa and gave up when he realized it was fruitless, when she became someone he couldn’t stand. Does he ever think about the ways Shinae foils Alyssa? Is that why he tried so hard to keep that distance between them? He must be aware of how he succumbs to her - that whole incident in the rain proved it when he finally reached out and held her in that tight hug, before he finally steeled his resolve against her. I’m always so curious of what goes on in Nol’s head, what he tells himself about their relationship. The admission that Shinae, like Soushi and Dieter, is important to him is probably something he denied to himself for so long. 

And look, maybe just this once, he could let himself have this. Just this once, a stolen pocket of time with no one else around, no one to approve or disapprove, nothing but their own choices and intentions. The dark is for lowering inhibitions, for authenticity, and maybe for allowing yourself what you ordinarily wouldn’t.

I mean, yeah I do think they’ll probably be interrupted lol - wasn’t Minhyuk supposed to be bringing them medicine? and we heard Kousuke grousing about needing to get away from the singing lol, though I don’t think he’s the type to just go barging into random rooms - but I hope if they DO get interrupted, it’s only after they’ve allowed themselves to indulge. 

Sure, Nol could refuse her, and maybe Shinae might even feel disappointed if he did. But, idk, maybe it’s just the hopefulness speaking, but the whole thing about being vulnerable in the dark, under shadows shielding you from what might ordinarily prohibit you, I can’t help but to feel (or maybe just hope) that Nol will indulge himself. Shinae’s extended hand isn’t just an invitation to dance, but an offer of her friendship, of their mended relationship. Take her hand and become partners in crime once more. Once upon a time he extended an offer to her he didn’t really mean, and this time she does the same, but full of sincerity, on the hope that maybe she could rekindle a long lost memory of his that he can no longer enjoy. Nol will never again dance around and sing with his mom, but maybe he could build new versions of that memory with Shinae. 

ALSO someone pointed out that next week’s episode comes close to Nol’s birthday, which it finally is in the storyline, and LISTEN you can’t tell me that we’ll see nothing of it, right?! AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I’m so excited for this next episode I’M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TOOOOOO IIIIIIIIIIIIIT. 

I could write so much more about just... the nearly tangible tension, the redevelopment of their relationship, the ways they affect each other, but for now I’ll refrain. Maybe I’ll babble in another post lol. I just. I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS about where they currently stand. Nol is so certain he’s a monster, someone dangerous, and he isn’t holding back anymore. He shows dark, shadowed expressions he’d ordinarily refrain from letting anyone see, and though there’s plenty of reasons for Shinae to have reservations or to doubt herself, she continues to believe in him, unflinchingly unafraid of him. Though Nol can only see himself as a monster, she’s still able to see the humanity in him, the heart of gold he doesn’t acknowledge, and will continue to hold onto that for him. And I’m a SUCKER for that, I’m A SUCKER for how they’ve developed, how they’ve grown so important to each other through these shared experiences but more importantly, by what they’ve seen in each other, what they believe in, and trying to preserve that for one and other. 

Once again, the thing I love so much about them, especially as of late, is that aspect: that they can see in each other things the other cannot, or couldn’t. Nol saw in Shinae a person who had built walls around herself, who kept people out, and wanted to help her do what he couldn’t, wanted to help her open up. Shinae is returning the favor - she sees in him what Nol can’t yet, and continues to fight for him until one day he’ll be able to see it himself. They hold mirrors up to one and other! They respond so intimately to each other! Nol knows how to read Shinae like a book, what her body language is saying, what she means even when her words say something else, and Shinae is learning the same. Don’t ask about his mom, he seems angry, he’ll bolt, how does she placate him instead, how does she get him to continue to open up? Their development is SO well done and GOD I cannot get enough of it I AM SO! LKAJFJKFKJFJKFJ living for this episode, living for this ENTIRE ARC. 

God I’m so satisfied lmao 

[jenroses]

A lot of it can! I built a stupidly overpowered computer given that the game I played the most in the first month or two was Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri from 1999. Windows 11 actually does better with SMAC than Windows 10 did, it's only crashed once! I can also run Creative Suite CS2 which I OWN on this system. Photoshop from 2004 doesn't quite know what to do with multithreading but it's actually still really fast and the 64 gigs of RAM doesn't hurt. At the moment I have NMS running in the background while I have a gadzillion firefox tabs open and I could easily watch a video like this and be fine. One of the upsides of holding on to old software is that where it can take advantage of the new hardware, it really does run very well and you get actually uplift. The issue is that a lot of people lost the thread of Intel's naming scheme and haven't upgraded their computer or they bought something with stupidly little RAM (16g is probably okay but 32 g is what most gamers will be happier with and I bought a little word processing toaster of a netbook in 2020-ish or 2021 which had FOUR gigs of RAM but there was a huge tech shortage at the time and it can do what i needed it to do (run Scrivener) just fine. It cannot handle a lot of tabs open and still do, you know, the operating system. 8 gigs is Sluggish because of Windows bloat.

And yes, I have a fervent desire for two things in programming:

That programmers optimize their programs to run on a wide variety of systems with reasonable speeds

That programmers enable their programs to use things like multithreading and large amounts of available RAM *if there is excess capacity readily available* to speed necessary functions that take significant time. Like, oh, loading screens and transitions shouldn't take much time at all on my system but the cpu is sitting there at like 4% utilization while the framerate drops to 30fps on a LOADING screen because they just had to animate a gadzillion star systems through the gpu alone (looking at you NMS.)

What I mean by that is that, for example, in the gaming sector, there are a lot of companies who are like "How much eye candy can we stuff in here to meet our arbitrary (stupidly low) framerate goal" and most of the "eye candy" is stuff most observers wouldn't know or recognize from a hole in the ground. Yes, I'm talking about Starfield. I didn't understand why they'd accept a framerate of 30fps on console until I discovered they'd artificially locked both Skyrim and Fallout 4 ON THE PC to like 30 or 40 fps. And then tied the physics to framerate, completely unnecessarily (as in you can change this behavior with like two or three ini edits.) Then there's games like Baldur's Gate which was done thoughtfully and can run on a huge range of hardware. I had to return one Civilization game because they hadn't accounted for an aging fanbase and high resolution monitors and I flat out couldn't read the tiny text to play the game.

But yeah, we have this neverending leapfrogging bloat that goes on, where users try to upgrade to get things to work better and companies decide to fill in the new overhead with data mining background tasks and "user experience optimizations" that are a ridiculous rat race that in no way enhances the user experience.

Anyway, I'm not opposed to upgrades but like, do them sensibly and if you can, learn to build your own stuff so that you aren't beholden to the anticonsumer tactics most major computer system integrators (dell, etc.) use to get as much of your money as possible while giving you the least in exchange.

we should globally ban the introduction of more powerful computer hardware for 10-20 years, not as an AI safety thing (though we could frame it as that), but to force programmers to optimize their shit better

[waterlooletterwrb]

fp jones deserved more than being unhappy with a woman who lied to him only because his daughter is a little devil

[starms90]

Fp Jones x Young Reader

 The reader is about 21-25 Jughead and the reader get along great and Gladys has let Jellybean visit more and they get along great as well. 

I am very proud to be Fp Jones girlfriend, I have discovered ways to figure out the Serpent King. Even though I love Fp with all my heart I have gotten devastating news from Alice Cooper. It was yesterday morning when I made a run to pops.

“Thank you Pops” I smile leaving him a tip “You know I can’t take that” Pops says pushing the money away :Yes you can” I smile and he returns the smile back. I turn around to leave and bump into the person behind me “Oh sorry” I say worriedly “are you ok?” “Maybe watch where you’re going?” “I will Alice” I try to walk away and she blocked the way “You’re Fp little play toy?” She asked playing with my hair “Please don’t touch me I have to go now” I say trying to walk away once again. Alice then walks in front of me once again “I hope you don’t believe that he loves you because little girl your precious boyfriend has been in my bed the nights you’re not in his.” She smiles at me then I nudge her and walk away. I came back to Fp trailer dropped off the food and told him I should get home.

*A week later*

“Y/n” I hear Jugs voice I am really regretting giving him a key to my apartment. “In here Jug” I yell still in my bed under my blanket Jug walks in and craws in bed next to me. “Why are you here?” I sigh looking at him “I am worried about you?” He says looking up at the ceiling “Why is that Juggie?” “Considering my dad hasn’t seen you for a week and every time you reply to his text or even mine you give us bullshit excuses.” He says looking down at me I got up and walk toward my kitchen. “I just been busy” I lied Jug walks behind me “I have known you long enough to know when you’re lying.”

I make some cereal “want any?” “yea” I finish making me and Jugs cereal and give him his bowl. “My dad misses you” He says taking a spoonful of cereal “Alice isn’t keeping him company” I whisper a little loud because Jug heard me “What are you talking about?” “Not important” I say while continually eating my cereal “What did Alice tell you Y/n?” “Don’t wanna talk about it Jug.” 

“Talk to my dad please I don’t want him to start drinking his problems away again.” “Jug he’ll be fine.” Jug sighs “It’s not just about my dad, me and Jellybean love you we want you in our life we want you in our dad hell my mom wants you in his life too.” Jug says tearing up which is usually I stand up and hug him “I will talk to him promise.” He smiles “I knew that would work” he wipes his face off “you bitch” “haha... should’ve seen your face and you promise.” I know I say taking off his beanie. 

*The next day*

I am at the front of Fp trailer I knock even though I just usually walk in Fp opens the door looking at me smiling. He moves so I can walk in the trailer he tries to hug me but I move. “Hey I missed you” He says moving closer to me and reaching out his hand making me move back. “Did I do something wrong why won’t you let me touch you my love?” I take a deep breath “are you sleeping with Alice?”

 Fp looks surprised by the question “No, no, no, no, why would you ask such a ridiculous question?” Fp then pulls me to him not getting me anytime to pull away “Did she tell you that?” I just look down Fp lifts my head so I am looking up at him.”Did Alice tell you me and her were sleeping together” I just nod my head. “I will handle it!” Fp says pushing me away and leaving his trailer and I decided to stay until he gets back.

Fp burst into the door “h-” I was cut off by him grabbing me by my neck and kissing me. I would be lying if I said I didn’t miss his lips being around him makes me feel at home and happy. Fp pulls away “She was lying I promise I only want you.” He look me in my eyes not breaking eye contact while speaking letting me know he’s telling the truth.”I believe you” I smile he tightens his grip on my throat and kisses me harder.

Jughead was heading home when he saw his dad and Y/n kissing in the window not shortly after he saw his dad shirt coming off and decide to head to Betty’s before he sees too much. 

[venusluvrr]

The Psychological Horror Manhwa “Killing Stalking” is not a Romance, but an Emotional Series Depicting the Codependent Relationship Between Two Ill Individuals

Content Warning!!: contains mentions of sexual abuse (rape) and mental illness.

Killing Stalking is an immensely twisted webcomic series, mainly popular within the Yaoi community for its boy on boy focused plotline. The story follows characters Yoon Bum (Bum), a shy, scrawny young man with a haunting past filled with abuse, and Oh Sangwoo (Sangwoo), a younger man who also has a quite damaging upbringing but masks it perfectly with his vibrant, extroverted personality. After being saved from a rape attempt during his time serving in the military, Bum develops a crush on his saviour, Sangwoo, from which an unhealthy obsession starts to arise and he eventually finds himself locating and breaking into the man’s home one day when he’s out. When he does, he discovers a terribly injured woman being held captive in his basement, and with further evidence, soon comes to the realization that his crush is actually a serial killer -- hence the name “Killing Stalking,” as Sangwoo kills and Bum stalks. For a very specific reason though, Sangwoo decides not to kill the man that had been stalking him, and instead holds him hostage in his custody. From here, the story goes into exceeding depth of the abnormal, toxic, and manipulative relationship the two form during their time spent together. By just the mere description of it, it’s a bit concerning to know that a large portion of readers still support Sangwoo and Bum’s relationship. In other words, they believe they truly loved each other and that the story was not only horror fiction but a romance as well. One could easily come to this conclusion by basing their relationship on the few parts within the novel where they showed affection towards each other -- for example when Bum allows Sangwoo to hug him to sleep when he suffered through the night, or my personal favourite, when Sangwoo buys Bum a stuffed frog keychain after finding out that he had an affinity for such creatures. But we cannot simply dismiss the underlying factors of their relationship because of some cute things they did that made our heart melt -- Sangwoo still abused Bum at his leisure which makes those moments quite meaningless in the sense of it all. What Sangwoo and Yoonbum shared can’t be classified as “love,” because even with their peculiar bond and endearing moments, the psychological damage they both endured played a bigger part in the way they perceived each other.

Many toxic relationships start out lovely and glamorous until the couple have become comfortable enough to start revealing some bad habits, but in Sangwoo and Bum’s case, they were already off to a bad start, as the reason they remained with each other was solely for reasons pertaining to their poor mental health.

At the time Sangwoo saved Bum in the military, Bum still suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) -- a disorder he inferrably developed due to the fact that he grew up being constantly physically and sexually abused by the people around him. People with this illness may easily develop an infatuation for a person who shows them even the least bit of care; It can reach the point where they begin to idolize them and see them almost as a perfect human being -- which is exactly how Bum viewed Sangwoo after he helped him to escape a rape attempt. The likely specific term for what Sangwoo was to Bum is a Favourite Person (FP). To an individual suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder, their FP is everything -- their self-worth, identity and emotional dependency all rely on this one person, making them the center of their lives. In contrast to this sincere fondness, the only reason Sangwoo kept Bum alive was because of the man’s resemblance to his late mother -- the one person in his life who he truly loved. While his father was abusive and negligent, his mother tried her best to care for her son even while her own mental stability wasn’t so great either. Even though it was implied that he was responsible for the murder of both his mother and father in high school -- getting away with it scotch-free because of how perfectly executed his plan was -- he still shared a special bond with the woman, allowing her existence follow and continue to torutue him mentally as he grew older. When he saw Yoonbum, he felt as if she had been somewhat resurrected, or at least he could pretend so by dressing him up in his mother’s clothes and making him cook and do the chores; He also played the husband role by abusing and assaulting Bum just as his father did to his mother -- mostly just out of his own nature. Sangwoo had his own issues, “mommy issues,” and he initially needed to keep Bum alive so he could fulfill his own longing desires. Knowing the man’s character though, things wouldn’t end there and instead headed down a very gruesome and frightful path.

The very reasons that the two were drawn to each other we’re even more evident the longer they lived under the same roof. While Yoonbum continued to recall the perfect image he had of Sangwoo in his head, Sangwoo continued to manipulate the man in order to satisfy his own needs. A healthy relationship cannot be based on deceit, because one person will end up victimized instead of loved.

Oh Sangwoo is a sadistic sociopath with a history of kidnapping, abusing, raping and torturing innocent people, and because of his illness, he shows feels and shows no remorse for his actions and even proceeds to kill off his victims as they pleaded in objection. What some people don’t understand is that when Sangwoo met Bum, the only reason he treated him differently was not because he thought of him as special, but because he had a personal agenda that included making Bum think that was the truth and that he was indeed the favoured victim among many. It’s no surprise with the man’s manipulative personality that he would enjoy planting a lie in Bum’s head to make him stay and continue to do as he says, and this is confirmed whenever he returned back to his old destructive habits even after showing the man acts of affection. Yes, Sangwoo spared Bum’s life, clothed him and fed him, but as their bond grew, his narcissistic attitude was still more apparent than ever.

Upon meeting Bum for the first time, Sangwoo didn’t hesitate to aggressively break his ankles to prevent his mobility, he left the man within the dark confinement of his basement for a certain period of time before letting him out only after he had gained his trust. He made him sit in a chair to wash dishes and make dinner because he could no longer stand. Sangwoo also constantly dragged Bum down with derogatory words and statements every chance he could get, this included calling him a “retard,” and referring to him as a “disgusting” and “filthy” human being. As confirmed by the author, Sangwoo is also heterosexual, which is further proved by the homophobic remarks he made towards a significantly older man who was sexually attracted to him while murdering him with Bum’s aid. This fact alone is another one that should justify a strong point that demonstrates the true hostility of their relationship -- Yoonbum never gave his consent to have sex with Sangwoo, nor did he allow it to happen because “he wanted it.” He specifically used phrases such as, “No,” “Stop,” and “It hurts,” implying that sometimes there was no mutual agreement when they had sex and Sangwoo had actually raped him several times.

People with Borderline Personality Disorder have been reported to have difficulties seeing the faults in their partner -- this explains why Bum still held on to him. He chose to stay when he had the chance to escape, and with tears rolling down his face from excruciating pain he still told Sangwoo he loved him. In a scene where Bum is left alone with the police as they investigate the suspicions they have surrounding him, he questions them saying, “Could you kiss somebody like me? Could you love somebody like me?” As he believes nobody but Sangwoo could answer yes to those two questions, convinced that Sangwoo really does have feelings for him. It’s saddening to know that the poor man had successfully been lured into a trap, and because of his mental health it would be much harder for him to realize it.

To the readers that think, “Sangwoo and Yoonbum needed each other,” -- You’re not completely wrong. They did need each other in the way that they found somewhat of a saneness from each other’s presence, each using one another to each other’s benefit. But being together at the same time built on their insanity, as the presence of Sangwoo’s mother seemed to grow even more prevalent with Bum, who resembled her, also in the picture, and Yoonbum growing so unhealthily attached to Sangwoo that he constantly feared of abandonment and turned the sociopath into the only source of his happiness. They needed each other, but not for the right reasons. They were attached to each other, but there was no love, otherwise it would reflect throughout the story. One of the most debate-worthy scenes that challenge this fact is when Sangwoo is reported by an old lady in the hospital, the one that had ended his life, that he was calling out Bum’s name throughout the night as he lay in his deathbed. Those were his final words, and Yoonbum’s final word was also Sangwoo’s name before he was very well implied to have been hit by a car while he chased an illusion of the man he “loved.” Even I almost felt that this was solid proof that even through the tough and terrible of their relationship, deep inside, the two really were in love but could not express it in the right way due to their mental health issues -- after all, what someone makes of their final moments before death is much more meaningful than most of what they've done in their life entirely. But I came to realize that the only way I could support this relationship would be if they had met in an alternate universe where they did not suffer from such dreadful childhood trauma that made them into the hurting individual they had become before meeting each other. As difficult as it is for me to picture the two with different partners, it would be best if the two had not met at all as they only fed into the severity of their conditions.

[sweetsoundsofignorance]

Currently running around bugging people and I want to know your thoughts on this: if you had full creative control of the show, how would you run season 5? You can pick and choose whatever leaks you want to include.

Thank you for the ask! 💕 A very fun exercise, and there has been some excellent speculation from the fandom. I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s takes on it that I’m almost inclined to create bingo cards out of everyone’s nuttier speculations and play Riverdale batshit bingo for the season, a la Cabin the Woods.

I should say Riverdale speculation and leaks can leave me feeling overwhelmed at times, so I drift in and out when they are circling. Therefore, this rant is limited to the leaks/speculation/trailer gifs I have seen or heard about because I have no self-control. I’ve also not seen 4x17 or 4x18 (though I feel like I have through a mishmash of so many GIFs and recaps and speculations). In my mind, 4x17 is just *insert gif of Betty standing in the middle of the woods holding a bloody rock* Atm, no one knows how we got there.

Given the beginning of season five will be the tail-end of season four, perhaps start there? This got away from me, so it’s under the cut.

I imagine they will close four with the reveal of the voyeur and Chic/Charles plotline (with Riverdale you never know where they’re going to be selectively sloppy). In that case, I have fully adopted the following speculation/serenity prayer: see @sullypants theory here. It’s the perfect level of batshit Riverdale and it’s consistent with the hypnosis (cannot keep a straight face just typing it) plotline. I know, consistent and Riverdale should never be in the same sentence without some negative participle in between. So, that “cleans up” the Bughead infidelity but leaves Varchie in the weeds (sigh). It would ex out Charles/Chic. The fallout would break up Falice, possibly.

 FP gets busted for all the shady shit he’s done as sheriff and has to flee the country, so hi, Canada, but no wrestle mania with the grizzly bears this time. Or he gets eaten by a bear. I don’t care.

 Veronica gains some self-agency and leaves for college. Though I want her to get out from under her father, loyalty to family is so engrained with the Lodges that I don’t see it happening. Maybe we’ll get lucky and Hiram’s terminal illness kills him. If Toni and Cheryl break up, Cheronica may happen through their rum business, which takes off. I would not be remiss if Cheryl and Veroncia were endgame, but I know it won’t shake out like that, so. Also, if it is hypnosis, I hope Veronica and Betty would still be friends long-distance.

 Toni takes the reins for the Southside, ends the rampant Serpent misogyny, actually makes the neighborhood a safe space for the residents, and works to end the cycle of poverty. She manages the White Wyrm, and yes, there are still strippers because nothing wrong with that, but the Serpent Dance is barely a footnote. I am curious if they will shoot around Vanessa’s pregnancy, but if they incorporate it into the show, I would not be against Cheryl and Toni having a child together. If they did not break up.

 For Jughead, he got his MFA at Iowa, but in true millennial fashion, never made it past that (for a great fic on the plight of the underemployed over-educated millennial see @imreallyloveleee head underwater). He might have written a first novel that was semi-popular, received a few good reviews but overall lambasted by the bigger names. Head canon is that it becomes a cult classic in later years, perhaps a screenplay. Hard forever no to him being an alcoholic, but I can see some Sideways-level angst dealing with trying to get over writer’s block (plus anxiety block based on the mediocre success of his first) for his next novel and some bitterness about his first novel, which may be the driving wedge between Jughead and whoever ends up being his SO in this scenario.

 Jughead as an English teacher gels for me. I’ve written him as an English teacher. I like reading him as an English Teacher (*cough* *cough* @geekspen). Though they flopped with the Jug and Jellybean relationship in season four, I always imagined Jughead from season one and that brief moment in season three as a very present and considerate big brother type. Based on those brief interactions we have gotten, I would believe Jughead is good with kids, especially teenagers. He’s had experience dealing with dumbass adolescents, i.e. the Serpents, and (kind of) keeping them in line, mainly by out-extra-ing the morons (see declaring himself gamemaster by ordering Cheryl to shoot an arrow through a can on his head). I see him being that curmudgeonly teacher that gets along with those grab-bag students on the edge of committing a crime out of sheer boredom who linger in their English teacher’s classrooms during lunch and after school (that’s how we started our creative writing club in high school), and that leads me to a head-canon about him starting, yes, a creative writing club or running the Blue and Gold. I love full-circle shit like that. I think he would be an objectively bad teacher but a very good one in the context of Riverdale, if that makes sense.

 Bughead long distance did not pan out, and Betty being Betty immersed herself in her career – degree in criminal psychology, BSU at the FBI, the whole shebang. Reports of a giant man with red eyes and wings seen in the vicinity of places where people are disappearing. FBI!Betty investigates these at her alma mater until one happens in Riverdale, which drags her investigation thattaway.

 Veronica is unhappy with her SO for whatever reason (not exactly jazzed about her being with a douche but ok). She is successful but wistful. Her father dies. She uses it as an excuse to break up with her SO and return to Riverdale to help her mother manage the estate. Because Veronica is successful in her own right, most of the estate goes to her mother and Hermosa. She returns to Pop’s one night for nostalgia’s sake. She signed the diner back over to Tate years ago.

 Jughead is there struggling to write after a fight with his SO.

 Side note: I don’t like love triangles. Even less, I don’t like setups for more infidelity, even if it would lead to my ship ending up together. I understand that is often the reality (I’ve witnessed it), but I think it is bad writing. So, for any of the core four’s respective SOs, please no cheating on them. Break it off. Learn from your mistakes. Therefore, Jughead soon breaks up with his SO after meeting Veronica in Pop’s.

 Veronica sits with him. Cue some reminiscing. Perhaps the mystery starts in the speakeasy, of which Veronica is still the partial owner. This connects Betty and Veronica down the road. Because Jughead witnessed it, Betty crosses paths with him.

 Initially, Betty is reticent to let Jughead get involved with her investigation. However, Jughead is just as obsessed with the mystery (because he’s him), so they keep running into each other. He gets in the way a few times (more tension). Eventually, Jughead ends up discovering some important piece of evidence that Betty needs, so she gives in. Before he joins her investigation, he may be keeping his own personal murder board in the Blue and Gold at school after hours… Lots of sexual tension. I’d even be down for friends with benefits because *insert gif of Donna accusing Betty of being addicted to Jug’s vitamin D*. But Betty knows she isn’t going to stay in Riverdale and they’ve already tried and failed long-distance, so she keeps putting on the brakes. Jughead starts to get his writing mojo back, too, because I will never not believe Betty is his muse.

 Archie. Oh Archie. Deployed overseas for a time, though I cannot stand the idea of giving this kid anymore PTSD. He returns, and for a while, spends most of his time alone at the old gym and in the Andrews home. His old army buddy shows up out of work. He works with Toni to create a real community center for the Southside youth because I enjoyed that poorly executed plotline in season four. This also gives his army buddy a job. His army buddy is from New Haven, so he ends up being a Mothman suspect, given it started at Betty’s alma mater.

 Through his work with Toni, he gets dragged into Jughead’s orbit. Maybe they both try to reactivate the community center’s big brother program together. It’s just very difficult for me to imagine Jughead accepting/forgiving Archie, and though I cannot imagine how they would resolve it, I would like to see it.

[chiseler]

Dastardly Deeds

If you happened to find yourself wandering around New York in the late Sixties, especially if you were up near the Columbia University campus, chances are good you might have encountered the graffito “George Metesky Was Here” spray painted on walls and sidewalks and store fronts. Even if you had seen it, though, chances are equally good it made no impression. Most people who saw the cliched slogan likely thought little of it, assuming it had been left by some poor, desperate soul named George Metesky in a pathetic bid for attention.” But those people would’ve been wrong on two counts.

First, although Metesky was still alive at the time, the graffitos had been left by a radical activist named Sam Melville, not Metesky himself. And second, as pathetic and desperate as Metesky may have been, he had more important things to do than spray paint his own name on walls all over Manhattan.

Sam Melville, who detonated eight pipe bombs in government and corporate office buildings around Manhattan in 1969, is today remembered as one of the radical Left’s first  bomb makers of the late Sixties, presaging the likes of the Weathermen and the Armed Resistance Unit. He was eventually arrested, convicted, and shipped off to Attica, where he died in the 1971 uprising. Even though Metesky had no apparent interest in politics, radical Left or otherwise, he was still Melville’s hero and role model. After you learn a bit about Metesky’s story, you have to wonder why, exactly, Melville latched onto him instead of, say, an early 20th century explosives maestro like anarchist Mario Boda, but there you go.

Metesky was born in Connecticut in 1903. In his teens, he enlisted in the Marines and was shipped off to the U.S. consulate in Shanghai, where he served as an electrician. When his stint was up, he returned to the States and moved in with his two sisters in Waterbury, Connecticut. He also took a job as a mechanic with Consolidated Edison.

By 1930, Metesky had been assigned to ConEd’s Hellgate generating plant. While he was wiping down a generator one day in September of 1931, a nearby boiler exploded. Not only was Metesky blown to the ground, but he inhaled a plume of scalding, noxious gas which seared his lungs. He lay on the plant’s cement floor for hours, he said, receiving no medical assistance whatsoever. As he would later claim, breathing those industrial fumes resulted in a case of pneumonia which then developed into tuberculosis, leaving him bedridden and unable to work.

After Metesky collected six months worth of sick pay, ConEd terminated his employment. His worker’s compensation claim was denied because he’d missed the filing deadline. Three subsequent appeals of the decision were also denied, in part thanks to testimony delivered by three former co-workers, who, perhaps with some encouragement from ConEd brass, insisted Metesky’s injuries weren’t as bad as he claimed. Metesky, who was only 33 when his final appeal was denied, suddenly found himself sickly, unemployable, and very, very angry.

Five years later, it’s safe to say that everyone at ConEd had completely forgotten about George Metesky. George Metesky, however, had not forgotten about them. On the morning of November 16th, 1940, he placed a small pipe bomb inside a wooden toolbox, strolled into a ConEd substation on West 64th St. in Manhattan, and left it on a windowsill.

It was a primitive device, just a short length of brass pipe packed with gunpowder with a sugar and battery detonator. Such bombs rarely detonate as planned, which may be a moot point, as Metesky’s was discovered before anything happened. That may have been at least partially intentional, as wrapped around the bomb was a slip of paper. In a block-lettered handwriting (which would become familiar to investigators in later years) he’d written: 

“CON EDISON CROOKS – THIS IS FOR YOU.”

The would-be bomb was shrugged off by the ConEd crooks, and ignored by everyone else. The same was true nearly a year later, in September of 1941, when another bomb with a similar design was found on the sidewalk several blocks away from the Irving Place building that housed ConEd’s headquarters. There was no note, the bomb did not explode, and few gave it a thought.

Despite two duds which made no mark whatsoever on the public consciousness (let alone ConEd), Metesky apparently had a grossly inflated sense of the impact he was having. That would explain the note received by a (very confused) NYPD shortly after the U.S. entered WWII in December of 1941. Metesky, an ex-Marine, wrote in that same block lettering:

“I WILL MAKE NO MORE BOMB UNITS FOR THE DURATION OF THE WAR – MY PATRIOTIC FEELINGS HAVE MADE ME DECIDE THIS – LATER I WILL BRING THE CON EDISON TO JUSTICE – THEY WILL PAY FOR THEIR DASTARDLY DEEDS... F.P.”

The “FP” signature was a mysterious new addition, but what’s not to love about someone who, apparently in all seriousness, uses the term “dastardly deeds”? The NYPD promptly filed the letter away in their “Crank Letters from Would-Be Cartoon Villains” drawer.

Metesky meant what he said about laying low in deference to the war effort, however, waiting an entire decade before planting his next bomb, satisfying himself in the interim by sending angry notes in ALL CAPS to ConEd and the cops. When he did finally get around to planting bombs again in 1951, two things had changed. First, his designs had grown slightly more sophisticated, meaning this next generation of pipe bombs actually exploded most of the time. And second, although at heart ConEd was still his target, the actual placement of the bombs had become decidedly more random. Also, whether it was intentional or the result of an increasingly unstable Metesky merely losing track, throughout the 1950s he bombed several buildings multiple times.

In March of 1951, the first of Metesky’s pipe bombs to actually detonate was dropped in a trash can outside the Grand Central Oyster Bar on the first level of Grand Central Station. No one was injured. About three weeks later he blew up a phone booth in the New York Public Library, followed by another phone booth in Grand Central.

Between 1951 and 1956, he blew up several phone booths, bathrooms, storage lockers and trash cans. He left bombs in the subway, the RCA building, Macy’s, and several movie theaters. He hit the New York Public Library twice, Grand Central five times, Radio City three times, the Port Authority twice, and Penn Station five times. He also finally got one inside ConEd headquarters, and tried mailing another to his nemesis, though it turned out to be a dud. 

In most cases he would place a warning call to the targeted building in question, letting them know there was a bomb on the premises so the building could be evacuated. Considering the minimal damage his bombs generally caused, it’s also conceivable he made the warning calls to let people in the targeted buildings know the loud “bang” they thought they heard in the bathroom was in fact a terrorist attack.

Sadly for Metesky, despite all his hard work the NYPD dismissed his reign of terror as merely the work of juvenile delinquent pranksters. The press didn’t treat him any better, if they took any notice at all. These were, after all, very small pipe bombs.

Perhaps out of frustration, in October of 1951 he mailed a letter to the New York Herald Tribune which read:

“BOMBS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL THE CONSOLIDATED EDISON COMPANY IS BROUGHT TO JUSTICE FOR THEIR DASTARDLY ACTS AGAINST ME. I HAVE EXHAUSTED ALL OTHER MEANS. I INTEND WITH BOMBS TO CAUSE OTHERS TO CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE FOR ME.”

You do have to feel sorry for Medesky. After being fucked over by ConEd, and after learning all the usual channels of redress were stacked against him, he was forced to take drastic measures. But try as he might, even then he was ignored. He was nobody. All he wanted was a little attention, for someone to listen to his gripe. He clearly wasn’t out to hurt people—he just wanted a little justice. You can sense his growing aggravation in a follow-up letter to the Herald Tribune, which arrived in late December:

“HAVE YOU NOTICED THE BOMBS IN YOUR CITY – IF YOU ARE WORRIED, I AM SORRY – AND ALSO IF ANYONE IS INJURED. BUT IT CANNOT BE HELPED – FOR JUSTICE WILL BE SERVED. I AM NOT WELL, AND FOR THIS I WILL MAKE THE CON EDISON SORRY – YES, THEY WILL REGRET THEIR DASTARDLY DEEDS – I WILL BRING THEM BEFORE THE BAR OF JUSTICE – PUBLIC OPINION WILL CONDEMN THEM – FOR BEWARE, I WILL PLACE MORE UNITS UNDER THEATER SEATS IN THE NEAR FUTURE. F.P.”

Finally, the NYPD and others began putting the pieces together. Yes, as a matter of fact, there had been more bombings than usual in the city these past months, hadn’t there? And if these letters were any proof, the man responsible was completely bonkers. Sounds like he has some kind of beef with ConEd, but hey, who doesn’t?

Still, it says something that in November of 1954, a bomb Metesky had sewn into the cushion of a seat in Radio City Music Hall exploded as a sold out house of over 6,000 people watched a screening of White Christmas. Three people sitting near the seat in question were mildly injured and taken to the first aid station, 50 other people in the immediate vicinity were asked to move to different seats, and the rest were allowed to continue enjoying the film and the state show that followed. Only after the audience filed out an hour and a half later did cops move in to start collecting evidence. Bombs had been going off all over Manhattan for three years, but they were still being treated like backfiring cars or manhole fires.

It was only in 1956, after an elderly bathroom attendant at Penn Station and an audience member at the Paramount theater in Brooklyn were seriously injured that Metesky’s bombing campaign finally received the kind of banner headlines he’d been after. After years of trying, he’d finally been recognized in the tabloids as “The Mad Bomber.” 

Suddenly under pressure from newspapers and the public, NYPD captain John Cronin publicly announced, perhaps tongue-in cheek, that he was launching “the largest manhunt the city’s police department had ever undertaken” to capture the Mad Bomber. He even created the NYPD’s first Bomb Investigation unit.

Although none of the hundreds of officers working the case were able to come up with a single solid clue, the campaign did have one immediate effect. Suddenly people all over the city began turning in neighbors and co-workers they felt had been behaving strangely. And the number of delusional types anxious to take credit for the bombing spree jumped precipitously. The cops found they were spending far more time and manpower fending off the cranks and crackpots than they were actually trying to find the bomber.

Essentially on a whim given nothing else was happening, Cronin contacted the assistant commissioner of the New York State Commission for Mental Hygiene, James A. Brussel, and asked if he had any ideas. Brussel, a psychiatrist and criminologist, agreed to take a look at the evidence to see what he could glean. Apart from the obvious—that the bomber was a paranoid with a serious gripe against ConEd—he also produced what is considered among the first )non-fictional) examples of criminal profiling.

Brussel came up with a 13-point list of attributes investigators should be looking for in a suspect, which in retrospect turned out to be surprisingly accurate. The bomber, he said, would likely be a male in his forties. He’d be of medium build, a good and meticulous worker, probably of Slavic origin. He was likely a loner with no wife, not much interest in women, living in Connecticut with an older sister. He was on the arrogant side, and probably didn’t respond well to criticism. And oh, when he was arrested he would likely be wearing a buttoned double-breasted suit.

(It’s unclear how he came up with that last one.)

At Brussels suggestion, the NYPD distributed the profile to all the local papers, asking them to give it a big push. The thinking was, if there was anything in the profile Brussel got horribly wrong, the Mad Bomber, being an arrogant paranoid, would feel compelled to step forward to insist on a correction.  So on Christmas Day, 1956, the profile was plastered across the front pages of every paper in town.

The next day, the New York Journal-American (in cooperation with the cops) took it a step further, running a front-page plea directly to the Mad Bomber, asking that he turn himself in, promising not only that he’d get a fair trial, but that the paper would publish his side of the story.

The ploy worked about as well as could’ve been hoped. The very next day, December 27th, Metesky’s response arrived at the Journal-American’s offices:

“My days on earth are numbered – most of my adult life has been spent in bed – my one consolation is – that I can strike back – even from my grave – for the dastardly acts against me.”

He also included a detailed list of all the places he’d planted bombs thus far (some of which hadn’t been found yet), and stated he had no intention of giving himself up. The note, as usual, was signed “FP.”

Now that they had him on the hook, the cops and the Journal-American decided to play him a little. They ran his letter along with another plea that he explain a bit more clearly how his beef with ConEd arose.

Unable to resist now that he finally had an audience, Metesky immediately wrote back, explaining he’d been left permanently disabled because of a workplace injury while employed by ConEd, and that they’d refused his worker’s compensation claim.

“When a motorist injures a dog – he must report it – not so with an injured workman ��� he rates less than a dog – I tried to get my story to the press – I tried hundreds of others – I typed tens of thousands of words (about 800,000) – nobody cared – [...] – I determined to make these dastardly acts known – I have had plenty of time to think – I decided on bombs.”

A quarter century after the fact, having finally found an audience eager to hear his story, Medesky couldn’t stop himself, and penned yet another letter. He wrote at length about the circumstances surrounding his injury and his fight for worker’s comp, including the exact date the accident took place. The letter contained pretty much every bit of information any detective worth a damn would need, save for Metesky’s full name and a map to his house.

Well, despite ConEd’s best efforts to block access to their employment files, a clerk named Alice Kelly took it upon herself to do a little digging through the worker’s comp cases, eventually stumbling upon Metesky’s file, which had been clearly labeled “permanently disabled.” The real tip-off, though, were the letters from Metesky included in the file, many of which used the term “dastardly deeds.”

Around midnight on January 21st, 1957, a group of NYPD  and Waterbury officers showed up on Metesky’s front step. He seemed to have been expecting them. He let them in, answered their questions, gave them a writing sample, showed them his workshop and all his bomb making tools, and explained that “FP” stood for “Fair Play.” When the officers sent him upstairs to get dressed for the drive to the station where he’d be booked, Metesky—and you saw this coming—returned a few minutes later in a buttoned-down double-breasted suit.

Over the course of seventeen years, Metesky planted 33 bombs around New York, 22 of which detonated. A handful of people were injured, but no one was killed. Given his motivation, you have to believe he was looking foerrward to a trial in which he’d be able to air his grievances with ConEd in a public forum that would undoubtedly receive a mountain of press coverage. And looking back now, you have to believe both the press and a jury would be sympathetic to the poor schlub’s plight. No doubt ConEd realized this too.

Before the proceedings got underway in the spring of 1957, though, a judge declared Metesky legally insane and unfit to stand trial. So there went his public forum. On April 18th, 1957, Medesky was remanded to the Matteawan Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Given the state of his health, it was expected he wouldn’t last six months.

In December, 1973, having been determined to no longer be a threat to anyone, the still very much alive 70-year-old Metesky was released. He returned home to Waterbury, where he lived a quiet life until his death in 1994 at age 90. 

While he was institutionalized, the Journal-American retained a worker’s compensation attorney in an attempt to get Metesky’s claim re-opened. The hope was they might be able to force ConEd to cough up the decades worth of back pay Metesky was owed. The appeal was denied.

by Jim Knipfel

[underneaththesurface]

The murder of Jason Blossom

Estelle: Good evening, Riverdale. I’m Estelle Ollier.

Omi: And I’m Omi Klyde.

Estelle: And this is Underneath The Surface, where we dive into the history of our town, Riverdale.

And today, we'll be talking about the murder of Jason Blossom.

Omi: The murder that sent this town in a downward spiral...Well, more than it already was.

Estelle: Well, let's just say that it sure gave a couple of families some unwanted attention.

Omi: Their meddlin' days were numbered!

Estelle: (chuckles) And this is how it happened:

Estelle: On the morning of the 4th of July 2017, the twins Cheryl and Jason Blossom drove out to Sweetwater River for an early morning boat ride.

Later that morning, the local scouts' group found Cheryl by the shore, crying.

She claimed she dropped her glove in the water, and when Jason reached for it, the boat tipped over. That was the last time she saw Jason.

Omi: This sounds like a much more abysmal version of Kim Kardashian losing her diamond earring.

Estelle: Maybe if Kim had lost it before people started dying.

Omi: Maybe the Blossoms and Kardashians could learn something from each other.

Estelle: (gasps)

Estelle: I'd rather not think about that.

Omi: Oh god, not like THAT!

Estelle: This is going to be a looooong night (chuckles)

Omi: Don't get me started on reality tv...I could talk for days.

Estelle: I'll just move on.

Omi: Yes, go on.

Estelle: About a month later, two teenage boys who wish to remain anonymous found Jason's body on the river shore, with a bullet wound in his forehead.

The coroner discovered that Jason had been a victim of animal scavenging. But he also found ligature marks, and signs that he was frozen.

And last but definitely not least, it turned out that Jason died on the 11th of July, instead of the 4th.

Omi: Yikes.

Estelle: Y-yeah, that changed the story.

Estelle: The results led the investigation to Cheryl, who voluntarily went with them as she claimed she expected them to find out she was guilty.

Omi: That girl’s been through Hell.

Estelle: Yeah, I guess being a Blossom is both a blessing and a curse.

Omi: I guess so. What happened next?

Estelle: In the principal's office, Cheryl admitted that Jason wanted to leave town and never come back and that she helped him come up with the plan, so their parents wouldn't go looking for him.

They made it to Greendale, and Jason left, saying he'd reach out in a month. But he never did.

She also mentioned hearing a gunshot the same day, and sheriff Keller let her go.

The next day, Archie Andrews admitted he too heard a gunshot that day. However, he claimed he didn't see who fired the gun.

When sheriff Keller asked why he was there and what he was doing, and if he was with someone who could've seen the shooter.

Archie answered that he was writing songs and that it was just him and his dog.

Omi: Was it really, though?

Estelle: Mmm, I heard things but I'm not sure it qualifies as evidence.

Omi: Same, that's fair.

Estelle: Fast-forward to several days later, on the last movie night at the Twilight Drive-In, someone broke into the Kellers' home, and stole all the evidence in the Jason Blossom murder case, including the documented files, background checks, and the video and audiotapes of police interviews. For sheriff Keller, this meant that Jason Blossom's murderer must be from Riverdale since the burglar must've known he wasn't home at the time.

Estelle: In September, sheriff Keller received a text from an unknown number, stating that Jason planned to run away with Polly Cooper as his parents disapproved of their relationship.

Polly never made it Greendale, however, as her parents sent her to Sisters of Quiet Mercy.

They had a getaway car parked on the side of the highway, along with Jason's belongings.

But by the time they reached the vehicle, it had been set on fire, destroying any potential evidence or clues.

Omi: What a coincidence...

Estelle: Mhmmm.

Omi: Alexa, play Things We Lost In The Fire... Wait, is that copyright? Do I have to sing again?

Estelle: Oh my God... Maybe play a snippet?

Omi: Lit... Like that car was. Ok, I’ll play it.

(things we lost in the fire starts to play)

Estelle: I'll try to chime in at a good moment.

Omi: (turns song off at the chorus)

Ok, I think that’s as far as my dad’s money can take us.

Estelle: (laughs)

Estelle: Ok, time to be serious again.

At the sheriff station, as he was about to start investigating the remains of the vehicle, the Blossoms let him know that Polly escaped the Sisters of Quiet Mercy on the same night that the car burned down, making this their new suspect.

Omi: Oh?

Estelle: Somehow, very short-lived, though.

Estelle: Meanwhile, during the investigation on the burned down vehicle, two fingerprints showed up, belonging to Betty Cooper and Jughead Jones.

Jughead's prints were on file from an incident that took place in 2011, where he attempted to burn down Riverdale Elementary School.

Omi: Queenie told me bout that, but I never thought it was true, damn. How did our lovely detective couple manage to involve themselves in this case?

Estelle: I guess, Betty got involved because of her sister.

Omi: True.

Estelle: Jughead, I don't know.

It didn't help him since they took him to the station.

During interrogation, Keller brought up Jughead's school records, stating that he was bullied a lot by the football team, whose captain was Jason, giving Jughead a motive to murder Jason.

Omi: Oh damn.

Estelle: Didn't look so good for him.

However, Keller later released Jughead after Fred Andrews claimed that Jughead was working for him the day Jason died.

Omi: Mr. Andrews always comin' in clutch.

Estelle: It felt a little too convenient if you ask me.

But that's also how I felt about the lie that Jason drowned since he used to be in our water polo team.

Omi: the Jones and Andrews have always been close. Wouldn’t surprise me if it was a coverup-LEGALLY I’m not saying it was though...

Omi: Wasn’t he one of the better swimmers, too?

Estelle: Yeah, so I don't understand why that was considered plausible before they found him.

Omi: It was an easy answer without taking the background into consideration.

Estelle: That applies to half the murder cases in this town.

Omi: Exactly...

Estelle: So, sheriff Keller returned his attention to Polly, who was pregnant and living at the Pembrooke at the time.

She confirmed that she and Jason intended to run away.

She then informed the sheriff that Jason was involved with the Southside Serpents, as he made a one time deal to deliver drugs for them in exchange for money.

Later that day, sheriff Keller received a phone call that two guys attacked an Andrews Construction employee.

The owner, Fred Andrews, mentioned that Clifford Blossom had his wishes to halt the project.

His son Archie, however, suggested that it may have been two members of the Southside Serpents, the location used to be part of their territory.

Omi: Is that so?

Estelle: It was one of the places the Serpents used to hang out, I heard.

Omi: Ahh, okay.

Estelle: I heard sheriff Keller let it slide, though. Which is weird to me.

Omi: Keller isn’t always the most...vigilant sheriff though.

Estelle: True, but his son also worked there. Makes me wonder if he'd let it slide then...

Anyway, let's move to the first real suspect of this case.

Estelle: On October 5, Keller received an anonymous tip, and he and his deputies obtained a warrant to search FP Jones' trailer.

In the trailer, they found the murder weapon in a lockbox, and they arrested FP Jones.

In the interrogation room, sheriff Keller informed Jones that the gun matched the bullet they found in Jason's body.

Omi: How did Jones react?

Estelle: According to FP, Jason approached him at the White Wyrm and explained his situation and that he needed money and a getaway vehicle.

FP made a deal that if he made a delivery for the Serpents, he'd give him money and a getaway car.

However, FP kidnapped him in Greendale, and he held him hostage in the basement of the White Wyrm.

Earlier, he learned that Jason was a Blossom, and he hoped to get a large amount of cash for his return.

But before he was able to make the call, Jason attempted to escape, and FP shot him, hid his body in the freezer, and later dumped his body in Sweetwater River.

Omi: Do we really believe that FP shot him?

Estelle: It is a little strange that he immediately chose to shoot him.

FP was a football player in high school, he'd know how to tackle him.

Omi: That seems like it would do more harm than good. One would think that, yeah.

Estelle: But sheriff Keller got a confession, and I guess that's all that mattered.

Omi: I wish this town would do better background checks.

Estelle: Sheriff Keller asked if FP also broke into his home, to which he admitted he was.

After the interrogation, FP's son and his friends approached sheriff Keller, claiming that someone planted the gun inside the Jones' trailer.

Omi: Oh?

Estelle: But like I said, sheriff Keller got a confession. And that was enough.

Omi: (sarcastically) Of course it was.

Estelle: The next day, the station received a 911 call that someone found a Serpent named Mustang dead in his hotel room.

In his hotel room, they found a duffel bag with a large sum of money, with the initials "H.L." on it.

At first, sheriff Keller assumed it was Hermione Lodge who gave him the bag until the daughter brought up that her father - who has the same initials - was in business with the Serpents.

Estelle: Well. Now we know why they gave up the Drive-In.

Omi: I was about to say... He’ll buy up this whole town when no one’s looking I swear.

Estelle: The world is just a Monopoly board for him. Even in prison. And, surprisingly, sheriff Keller let this slide.

But then, later that night, Alice Cooper handed Keller a USB flash drive.

The flash drive contained a surveillance video of Jason's murderer.

Despite his confession, it was Clifford Blossom and not FP Jones.

Omi: He’s got too many of those Get Out Of Jail Free cards, doesn’t he? Killing his own child? Disgraceful...

Estelle: Mhmm. And let me tell you why he did it.

Estelle: Jason wanted no part of the business, and Clifford feared that Jason running away could lead to his arrest, as his maple syrup business was a cover-up for transporting heroin. So, he had Mustang took Jason to the White Wyrm and later shot him.

Clifford then murdered Mustang and staged it as a suicide.

Arriving at Thornhill to arrest Clifford, they found Clifford in the barns where he hung himself.

Omi: Well, that was a rollercoaster.

Estelle: (laughs) I spent so much time trying to make sense of it for tonight. It's impossible.

Omi: I’m still not processing it. Like...what??? How the??? What??? That’s insane!

Estelle: It's like an episode of Dynasty.

Omi: I haven’t gotten to that show yet... Is it really?

Estelle: (sighs)

Estelle: Yes.

Omi: I'll put in on my list then.

Estelle: Back to the drama in our town:

Now that the real murderer was revealed, some people started to wonder what this meant for FP Jones.

Omi: Well, they obviously let him out, right? Or did he have a different but equally as essential role to play in this?

Estelle: Well, he was still guilty of tampering with evidence, obstruction of justice, mishandling a body, perjury, etc.

So, he still remained in custody.

However, Sheriff Keller offered FP a deal that the DA and Mayor McCoy were willing to offer him leniency if he handed them the names of the drug dealers.

Estelle: Basically, throwing his own people under the bus.

Omi: isn’t that like, against serpent law?

Estelle: It's one of their most important ones, so I've heard.

Omi: same. Damn...and he’s still the leader?

Estelle: Which is why he declined the offer, and had to await trial, possibly facing twenty years.

Omi: well that’s good at least...the not breaking rules part.

Estelle: Yeah you might go to prison and won't be out until you're well into your sixties but-

hey, at least you didn't snitch on your buddies.

Omi: that just seems like a lose-lose situation

Estelle: I know he made the better choice given his environment, but-

yeah.

Estelle: Well, I guess we reached the end of this episode of Underneath The Surface. I'm Estelle.

Omi: And I'm Omi.

Estelle: Don’t forget to tune in next week, and join us for our next topic: the horror on Wabash Avenue.

Omi: See y'all then!

[mca-attack21]

Deadly Definitions 12

Hello, welcome back to Deadly Definitions. Find the first 11.5 parts here:  Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4   Part 5   Part 6   Part 7  Part 8   Part 9   Part 9.5   Part 10   Part 11  Tags: @l4life @ahoy-ladies-67 

Four days had gone by since you found the video and handed it over to the Sheriff. Four days since Clifford Blossom hung himself. Four days since the Blossom’s drug run came out into the open. And now, everyone was condemned to face the aftermath.

On Monday, Betty post an article to the Blue and Gold webpage that shed truth on all that had been going on in Riverdale and in defense of FP. It was some of her best work. Meanwhile, the Sheriff was drilling FP trying to get names of the Serpent drug runners. At the same time, Veronica’s mother was starting to prepare for her husband’s return. You and Jughead were trying to figure out your next move.

On Tuesday, you, Archie, and Betty had been called down to the Principal’s office. You and Archie still hadn’t really talked and the truth was that he was worried about you. His worry only grew when he found that you weren’t at school. The purpose of the meeting was simple. Principal Weatherbee and Mayor McCoy wanted you and Archie to perform at the 75th anniversary Jubilee with Josie and the Pussy cats. They also wanted Betty to give a speech to inspire town unity. Betty asked why Jughead was being left out, after all, he did the most in solving Jason’s murder. The mayor gave a very political answer and then dismissed both Archie and Betty.

As they left, Archie asked Betty if she had seen you or if she had any clue where you were. She didn’t, but she noted that she hadn’t seen Jughead either. Archie wondered where the two of you were.

The answer to that question was at the police station. FP was technically your guardian and seeing as he was looking at being in prison for a long period of time, you and Jughead would have to find a new guardian or be placed in the foster system. You immediately called Archie’s dad in tears. 

When he showed up he talked to Keller and offered to take you and Jughead in. The problem was that social workers were already involved and everything had to be official. He didn’t meet the requirements to host one of you let alone both of you. There were two foster families on the southside that agreed to take one of you in, that not only meant that the two of you would be split up, but you would both have to attend Southside High. Upon hearing this you had enough and ran out of the station.

Why was this happening? You didn’t want to leave, this was your home. You had already lost so much, you didn’t want to lose Archie too. You knew that if you went to the Southside that everything would change. You wanted to scream, to punch something, to hide away from everything. And so, you started walking towards the river. 

Meanwhile back at school, Cheryl was being odd even for Cheryl. She was giving away things and saying goodbyes. Veronica confronted her and told her that everything would get better. But Cheryl wasn’t sad, she was at peace, which completely threw Veronica off. Betty had called Jughead and discovered what had happened that morning. He informed her that he would be arriving back at school any minute. 

Archie called you for what seemed like the hundredth time. At this point you either didn’t have your phone, it was dead, or you were purposefully ignoring him. He went to send you a text but Veronica pulled him away along with Jughead.

“Veronica, what’s going on?” he asked.

“It’s Betty” was all she said before they got to the crowded hall. They pushed their way through and saw that someone had vandalized her locker. There were many copies of her article along with a hanging voodoo doll. The whole thing was covered in blood that read ‘Go To HELL SERPENT SLUT’. Jughead quickly stepped in between her and the scene. 

“Betty,” he whispered.

She ran into his arms trying to rip the papers down, “It’s just some jerk with a can of spray paint” he cried.

“Betty,” he said as he held her firmly, “I don’t think that’s spray paint,” he said as he forced her away. 

The entire group locked themselves in the blue and gold office and comforted her. After a while, Archie asked Jug if he knew where you were. That is when Jug informed everyone about what had happened at the Sheriff’s station that morning. They were all in shock over the news. Betty and Veronica called their mom’s about taking you in. Veronica’s said no because of Hiram's return and Betty’s said they couldn’t with Polly and the babies. Everything was happening so fast. 

Archie was going to leave and look for you so you wouldn’t have to go through all of this alone. But before he could, Veronica received a text from Cheryl. ‘Thanks for trying, I’m going to be with JJ’ it read.

“Om my god” she gasped showing the message to her friends.

“Where would Cheryl go to be with Jason?” Betty questioned.

“Sweetwater River” Archie realized and they all raced there.

------------------Meanwhile-----------------------

Sweetwater River had always been the place you came when you needed to clear your head. There was something so serene about it, especially in the wintertime. You walked around for a while, trudging through the snow, your only regret was that you weren’t wearing warmer clothes. You went to the lookout and noticed that there was someone on the ice. You quickly realized that it was Cheryl Blossom. You made your way down to the bank and called out to her. She simply ignored you and started pounding on the ice.

You had no choice and carefully walked out to her. “Cheryl, what are you doing out here?” you asked.

She was absolutely distraught, “I’m going to be with JJ.”

“Come on Cheryl, let’s go back to the bank and we can talk about this,” you instructed calmly.

“I don’t want to go back, I just want this to be over,” she cried.

“It’s okay Cheryl it’s all going to be okay, we just have to get off the ice” 

“No, it’s never going to be okay again,” she sobbed.

“Cheryl I understand what you're going through, I was thinking the same thing when I lost my parents, but it gets better I promise.”

“It can’t” she cried.

You were going to continue, but you felt the ice shift ever-so-slightly under your feet. At this time you could hear Archie and the gang calling out for Cheryl. This was scary as you didn’t know how it would force her to react. 

You refocused your attention on her, “Come on Cheryl, let’s go” you tried ignoring your friends.

“I can’t go back,” she whispered.

“Yes, you can. Jason would want you to. He would want you to live your life. Please come with me, do it for Jason,” you tried starting to get desperate. 

Cheryl paused for a moment, it felt like an eternity, before she nodded her head in agreement. You sighed in relief and put your arms around her guiding her back when you heard the cracking.

There was no time to react before both you and Cheryl were underwater. It was so dark and cold. You had an arm around Cheryl and worked against the current to force her back to the surface. It was all happening so fast. You tried to focus on the light was coming from the hole where the two of you fell in. You pushed her up as someone was pulling her out of the water. It was a struggle as the current felt like it was getting stronger, or maybe your body was just starting to go numb. You tried to fight your way back over to the surface but it was becoming too hard. All you could focus on was how cold it was. And then you couldn’t focus at all.

-----

“Oh my god, Cheryl’s on the ice” Betty said as they got to the shoreline where they could see.

“Who is that with her?” Veronica asked.

“It’s Y/n” Archie whispered fear sinking in.

“Shouldn’t we go get them?” Veronica asked wondering why they were just standing there.

“We can’t V, it’s not safe” Betty answered.

“She’s right, we don’t want to risk putting too much weight on the ice,” Jughead agreed. 

They watched in utter silence as the scene unfolded before them, only able to hear fragments of sentences. 

“Okay, they’re coming back,” Veronica acknowledged. 

They were relieved momentarily, but then they watched in horror as the ice cracked submerging both of you. 

Archie sprinted out to the hole and laid on his stomach shoving his hand through to grab Cheryl. He ignored how cold it was and how his muscles ached from the action. Jughead was soon by his side helping him pull her out. As soon as she was, she was coughing and freaking out. Jughead ordered Betty and Veronica to take her back to the shore, wanting to minimize the weight on the ice. Archie went back for you but the current was starting to pull you away. He scooted himself forward and reached again desperately, just barely managing to grab your jacket. It was enough though and he was able to pull you closer and get a better grip before pulling you out.

As he got you out of the water he was freaking out. You were unconscious and so cold. He lowered his ear over your mouth, listening to see if you were breathing. You weren’t. He didn’t hesitate to start CPR, terrified of screwing it up. Jughead had no choice but to stand there and watch.

“Come on, Y/n!” Archie cried out as he started doing chest compressions again. This wasn’t happening. Jughead turned away, he couldn’t watch. But suddenly he heard you start coughing up water and gasping for air before passing out again. 

As you started to come to, you were freezing and very confused. You faintly remember being picked up and carried. You remember hearing Archie apologize repeatedly as he stripped off your wet clothes and slipped one of his shirts over your head. He went downstairs grabbed a space heater, blankets, and hot cocoa. When he returned, he took his shirt off and put some sweatpants on before joining you. He was holding you tightly and you were thankful for the warmth that radiated off of him.

“Archie?” you sniffled.

“Y/n, hey, how are you feeling?” he asked rubbing his hands over your arms.

“Cold” you tried to joke.

“I’m so glad that you’re okay,” he replied.

“You saved my life,” you whispered.

“And you saved Cheryls” he reminded.

“Is she okay?” 

“Yeah, she’s with Veronica now.”

You wrapped yourself around him and he readjusted the blankets around the two of you. 

“Thank you,” you smiled.

“Here, I made you hot chocolate,” he said as he handed you a mug. 

You took it and sipped it slowly. Before handing it back to him to set down. You cuddled back into his side mesmerized by him. 

“I love you Archie,” you whispered as you were being lulled back to sleep allowing the exhaustion take over. 

“I love you too Y/n,” he said kissing the top of your head.

At that moment he knew that no matter what happened with the jubilee, the social worker, and anything else that life decided to hurl at you, that the two of you would be okay. You had each other and that is all that really mattered. 

[seelaa26]

6. I Warned Myself

“Do you remember when you said to not tell anybody? ‘Cause if you do, I’ll be the first to put my hands around your throat. I warned myself that I shouldn’t play with fire but I can tell that I’ll do it one more time”

As usual, I always arrived at the lab about ten minutes before my shift started so I had time to leave my things in the locker and go to the break room to make me a coffee, and if I was not alone, socialize with my colleagues. Sara was usually the first one to arrive, so we met in the break room, but this time, it was Catherine who was there.

-¡Hey, Cath! –I greeted with a smile as I walked toward the coffee machine to make myself one- Coffee?

-¡Hey Laura! –She greeted back a few seconds later- No. Thank you.

Catherine was sitting in one of the chairs and with her phone she was trying to call someone but apparently that person didn’t pick up the phone which led her straight to the voicemail.

-Are you okay? –I asked without knowing how she was going to take the question- Can I help you with something?

-Don’t worry, it’s just.. –she blew and put her hands in her head- Lindsey had a ballet performance today and I couldn’t make it in time, so the teacher called her father and now he’s with Linds and I don’t know.. I’m not calm knowing the mess Eddie is.

-Why don’t you take the night off then?

-I can’t, it’s Nicky’s night off and we’d be two people short –She breathed and tried to calm herself- Besides, we’ve got a 445A in a business building.

-What? A bomb?!

-Yes –She nodded before looking at her phone again for the last time- Sara and Grissom are already at the crime scene so we should be probably get going.

We picked up our field kit and we both climbed into the SUV that Catherine was driving. Apparently, the crime scene wasn’t far from the lab but still, we had to cross busy streets.

-You know, this is my first case with bombs.

-Yeah? You like them?

-No, I hate them –I explained myself- Besides leaving the scene in a mess, everything’s burned and in a thousand pieces. It’s a lot of work and usually I don’t mind it, but I just hate everything that goes BOOM.

Suddenly, a car coming from our left almost collided with us. Catherine stopped on the side of the road since we were both scared and with our hearts beating way too fast.

-Are you okay? –She asked putting her hand in my arm- I’m so sorry Laura. I just, I didn’t saw the red light and kept driving..

-Cath, Cath.. –I did the same and held her hands to calm her down- It’s okay. Nothing happened so don’t waste time thinking about it. Do you want me to drive from here?

She nodded so we switched places and a few minutes later we arrived at the crime scene. We met up with Brass in the front of what used to be the doors to the building. He filled us in.

-We’re all clear to go in, but here’s what we got. Couple of head wounds. Elderly guy had his arm torn off. The only fatality so far is Jake Richards, a security guard. Body’s still inside.

We turned our flashlights on as we walked through the lobby. Grissom and Sara were kneeling down besides the body. We made our way toward them and put our kits down as we looked.

-How big you think this bomb was? –Brass asked.

-It’s not the size of the bomb –Sara answered- It’s the overpressure in the air around it.

-The Van Gogh Effect in stereo, both ears –Grissom pointed his flashlight at the dead man’s head- A perfectly symmetrical amputation. Means he was looking directly at the bomb when it went off.

-Smell the sulfur? –Catherine sniffed and took a small sample scraping of the black stuff on the body - Light this, please.

-Gunpowder –I concluded when the black powder on the knife exploded- Well, we know the propellant.

-The dirty little secret of bombs is how easy they are to make and use –Grissom stood up- Our murder weapon’s here someplace in a thousand pieces. We have to find it and put it back together again.

-Bombs explode. Weird thing is their components survive the explosion. If we can piece together this bomb, we’re closer to finding who did this.

Using a magnetic device, I started gathering the minute pieces of metal in the debris. Sara and Catherine started bagging other pieces of metal and Warrick took photos of the whole crime scene. A few hours later, we returned to the lab and Catherine, Sara and I looked at all the bomb pieces we gathered spread out on the table in front of us.

-So all of this stuff is from a five-meter radius of the point of origin? –Sara asked surprised.

-Yep –I nodded- Graphic explanation of why I hate bombs.

-How could the victim possibly be in one piece?

-Vacuum effect –Catherine explained- The air is being pushed out so fast when the bomb detonates there’s a calm at the center.

-Did you figure out what this “FP” stands for? –Sara picked up a gear piece.

-I ran it through the ATF’s bomb database but no profile.

-So our bomber’s a newbie. Does he fit Grissom’s wack job from the bomb site? Dominic, the security guard?

-It’s too soon to tell.

Apparently, a security guard from the building in which the bomb had exploded had approached Grissom to offer his help. He was a fan of bombs. Speak of the devil.. Grissom walked into the room carrying something.

-I found something interesting –he showed it to us- Looks like a balance wheel from a clock. Bomb was time-delayed. This is a piece of a timing device.

-What about the orange stuff? –Sara asked.

-Heat of the explosion must have melted whatever it is all around the wheel. What’s orange and melts?

-I would have to investigate that –she answered with a smile.

-Hey, guys –Nick walked into the room and looked at Grissom- Can I steal you for a minute?

-I thought this was your day off.

-We’re kind of busy here, Nick.

-Yeah, I know and I’m sorry, but I don’t think this can wait.

Grissom and Nick left together, Catherine joined them a few minutes later and neither of them returned. Obviously something had happened and sooner or later we would know. Meanwhile, Sara and I discovered that the piece that Grissom had found belonged to a snoozewell and we discovered which one was, so we called Brass to track the sales of the specific snoozewell. It didn’t take long for Brass to appear in the lab with one of his ironic one-liners.

-Don’t you love the smell of sulfur in the afternoon? –he asked leaning against the door frame- You might want to take a tour of Dominic Kretzker’s house.  I tracked down the sale of SnoozeWell clocks. 926 credit card purchases in the last three months in Clark County; 7 to Dominic Kretzker.

-This guy either has serious problems getting up early or he is the person we are looking for –I mumbled as I approached Brass- You comin’ Sara?

-No, I’m going to stay here and help Warrick with the “FP” initials.

We headed to Grissom’s office and once we informed him, we set out to visit our suspect. Brass told me how intense he was, but I didn’t check it until I saw that he was waiting for us on his porch. He had a police scanner and that’s how he knew we were coming.

-What can I do for you guys?

-Dominic.. this is the type of device that was used to set off the Hansen bomb –Grissom showed him a picture- We have proof that you purchased the same make of clock. Want to show us that clock of yours?

-Okey Dokey –he said with a welcoming smile- Come on in.

We walked into the room. Dominic walked over to the table where there was a file box filled with stuff on the floor. He put the box on the table and picked up the alarm clock. He gave it to Grissom.

-The timing device is still intact.

-Yeah, ‘cause I haven’t made the bomb yet.

-Look what I found, sulfur –Brass handed us the piece he found with globs of melted orange on it- Is this from the Hansen bomb?

-Sure is.

-You keep your key piece of evidence that could nail you? –I asked surprised.

-That’s sentimental. Historical. I collect souvenirs.. that’s my building, you know. I mean.. that was my place of employment –he started to get nervous- If I had anything to hide, I’d hide it.

-Well, maybe so but you’re under arrest.

Brass cuffed him and put him in the car.

-I can’t tell whether he’s brilliant or..nuts –Grissom said to me as we watched them get into the car.

-Yeah, me either but I’ll tell you one thing; I like him, he says “Okey Dokey”.

***

Back at the lab, Grissom and Brass interrogated Dominic, while I went to see Sara and Warrick, to check how they were doing with the initials. On my way, I was stopped by Catherine.

-Hey Laura, can I talk to you for a second?

-Yeah, sure –we stood to one side of the hallway to not block the way- Everything okay? Have you been able to talk to your daughter?

-Yes, Eddie finally picked up the phone. Lindsey has a ballet class in a few hours and she wants mom to take her so.. she’s not mad. Thanks for asking –Catherine gave me a warm smile- Look, a prostitute has been found dead by strangulation in her home and someone from the team was with her last night.

All my systems automatically thought of one person. Showing up at work on a day off and wanting to speak to Grissom urgently.. Warning signs. Just as quickly as I knew it was him, that quickly I was disappointed. Nick and I didn’t meet because he already had plans with a friend when he really had a date with a prostitute. He lied to me and that’s what hurt.

-Nick –I guessed and Catherine nodded as a confirmation.

-Ecklie, the day shift supervisor, is assigned to the case but they will pass it on to me. I wanted to talk to you because I may need help.

-Count me in, but why me? –Catherine didn’t answer, she just looked at me- Because I’m the rookie, right?

-We need everyone working the bomb case.. –She explained and then suddenly, she greeted someone with her hand and headed that way- Oh, hey, Conrad, Grissom’s at interrogation but I need to speak with you.. about Nick Stokes.

Ecklie seemed like he wanted to talk, but since he didn’t know me he looked askance at me indicating that he wasn’t going to talk if there was someone unknown there. I took the step and introduced myself.

-Let me guess, about his involvement with a dead hooker?

-Come one, the hooker was a person. Her name was Kristy Hopkins.

-I realize that, thank you but his prints were all over Kristy Hopkins’s house. Let’s see wine glass, bedside table, bed frame..

Ecklie was giving us a visual image when Nick appeared on the scene. He stopped as soon as he saw that we were talking with Ecklie. We exchanged a look and after taking a deep breath, he approached.

-Nick, I don’t think you guys should be talking –Catherine advised.

-It’s no big deal. What’s up, Ecklie?

-I need a DNA sample from you, Nick. We found a condom, used.

-I assume you’re trying to prove Kristy Hopkins and I were sexually active last night. My DNA will match, no warrant necessary. I have something else for you –Nick handed Ecklie a piece of paper with writing on it- A license plate number. Vehicle belongs to Jack Willman. Had a fight with Kristy outside the Orpheus last night around midnight.

-Well, I’ll look into it but come one.. your fingerprints, your DNA.. that’s what’s going into evidence. I don’t want to believe a CSI could commit murder. Hell, I don’t even want to believe that a CSI could sleep with a hooker.

-You know what? –Ecklie’s way of talking pissed me off, so I had to say something- Nick’s private life..

-Is no longer private –he interrupted me- I’m sorry if you guys don’t like where the evidence is pointing but show me otherwise. In the meantime, I have a protocol to follow.

-Look, I’m going to get O’Riley to track down this Jack guy for questioning, but I am out on a limb for you here, Nick –Catherine said, and then she and Ecklie left together.

Nick put his hands on his waist and turned to look at me. His gaze was saddened and concerned. Mine was hurt and pissed off.

-Can we talk? –he asked me as my phone rang.

-Gotta go –I read the urgent message from Brass- There’s been a second bomb.

***

We made a quick little briefing after visiting the second crime scene, because it was raining, we collected the most important things and returned. Sara discovered that the orange stuff was actually orange polyester from a jacket. I ran a search looking for disgruntled employees in The Hansen Building and I found Norman Stirling, a former manager. Warrick investigated the initials and found out that they were made by an electric etcher. The manufacturer said that this etcher was only used for training purposes and Las Vegas School District was the one who bought it and Stirling’s son goes there. Last by not least, the second bomb was not remote, so Dominic was ruled out as a suspect because he was in custody. Grissom let him free to go with an advice; “Next time try not to be quite so trusting. You don’t need to be a hero”.

While Brass was in charge of finding and bringing both the father and the son for interrogation, I received a message from Catherine telling me to meet her at the DNA Lab. When I arrived, she was already there.

-How you doing, Greg? –I greeted him.

-Worried about Nick –he answered me and then looked at Catherine- It’s not your case, much as I want to help, no can do.

-That’s my case for the next twelve hours. Ask the Sheriff.

-I would never doubt your word –Greg opened the freezer and took out the envelope. He removed the slide and put it under the microscope- Nick’s little soldiers, all yours.

-Thanks Greg –Catherine looked through the scope and indicated me to look too- When did you say this sample was frozen?

-10.15 AM, why?

-What do you see, Laura?

-These guys are all heads, no tails –I answered.

-Kristy’s time of death was 6.00 AM. It takes about seven hours for bacteria to eat away at the tails..

-.. Placing the time of ejaculation at 2.00 AM –I finished.

-It doesn’t disprove Nick’s presence at the time of the homicide.

-You could be a little more supportive –I told Greg and then realized something- Do we have the murder weapon?  

-No, we don’t –Catherine denied with her head- She was strangled. If Jack killed her, it had to be something of convenience. I’ll go to the crime scene and have a look around.

-Catherine –I stopped her and gain her attention- What happens if we don’t solve this in twelve hours?

-They are going to arrest Nick –She answered honestly- If Nick’s arrested, it’s not going to matter that he’s cleared later. It’s automatic dismissal.

***

Catherine left to find the murder weapon and with the bombs case we were waiting for the father and son, I took advantage of the break to make a coffee. I really needed the caffeine. I put the phone on the table and went to the coffee maker. I leaned against the table while I waited but then I heard someone enter the room and close the door. I knew exactly who it was.

-Can we talk now? –I didn’t ever bother turning around- I’d like to explain.

-You don’t owe me an explanation.

-I know, but I want to –he made a small pause- Look, I don’t want you to think that I lied to you because I didn’t.

-What do you want me to think then? –I poured the coffee and turned to look at him- Nick, the fact that you slept with a hooker and she appeared dead hours later.. I’m confused, because I was starting to know you and that doesn’t sound like the person I thought you were.

-I wasn’t her client and I’ve never used that kind of services.. –he breathed and gave a step closer- I knew Kristy because of this job, I helped her a couple times before and..

-Helped her? –I interrupted her- Nick, are you aware of what you’re saying?

-I know, you listen, please –he gave me puppy eyes and I couldn’t resist them even though I tried- What I told you yesterday was the truth, I met this friend of mine and we watched the game then, when we were leaving the place, I ran into her then I drove her home and.. well, you know what happened. We had this chemistry, you know?

-Yeah, I know.

I nodded slightly and kept my gaze steady to make him understand that my answer referred to what I had begun to feel for him. Luckily or not, I could tell that he understood, but I couldn’t read further.

-I’ve been wrong about a lot of people in my life and I’ve played their game, but that has helped me learn to know when someone is double-edged.. and you’re not –Nick raised his head and looked at me surprised- I never thought you killed her. I know you didn’t. You don’t have to worry about my thoughts of you, they haven’t changed. I doubted, yes but I still think you’re good person, not a killer.

I smiled at him and for a moment I could see relief in his eyes. Then I got up to leave, but when I was at the door, he spoke.

-Thank you, I really needed to hear that.

***

Catherine sent me a message saying that she had found the murder weapon. She compared the cord from the curtains with the markings found round Kristy’s neck and it was match. Now, all we needed to do was look for fingerprints or a piece of evidence that indicated that Nick didn’t kill her.

-Hey Cath, that was fast! –I met her at reception.

-Yeah, everything for Nicky –The clock from reception chimed, she looked around at the sound and checked it. She realized how late it was- Lindsey. The ballet class.

-Catherine, go. C’mon.

-I..I have to examine the murder weapon. Nick’s case is running out of time.

-I’ll do it right now, don’t worry –She looked again at the clock- Go.

-If you have any doubt, call me! –She said while she was leaving- I owe you one.

-No, you don’t!

I walked down the hallway with the evidence bag in my hand, ready to apply everything I had learned, when Grissom crossed my path.

-I was about to page you –he said- Norman Stirling and his son are at the interrogation room. I was wondering, since you’ve been with us for a few months, if you wanted to do your first interrogation.

Dilemma. Grissom had just offered me to conduct my first interrogation and I really felt prepared to do it but then I looked at the bag in my hands, and I couldn’t. Proving Nick’s innocence was more important than taking another step in my career. So, I had to refuse. Running against the clock, I looked for fingerprints on the cord, but there weren’t any. Then, I had an idea.

-Kristy Hopkins was strangled with this sash –I dropped the cord out onto the table in front of Greg- It’s fingerprint-free, but the force of the pull would have scratched off epithelials from the killer’s hands, right?

-Abraded, yeah.

-And you can extract DNA from epithelials?

-If they’re fresh enough- Greg took a swab from the cord and put the sample under the microscope- Epithelials are affirmative. I’m just going to need something to compare to.

-I read on the file case that Jack Willman has a prior for sexual assault, so his DNA is on file.

***

Nick was pacing the floor when I walked in the break room. When he saw me, he stopped and bit his lip. He was very nervous.

-Where’s Catherine?

-She had to leave, but don’t worry, I examined the murder weapon.

Nick nodded and tried to calm himself down. I was surprised.

-What? You’re not worried that the rookie examined the piece that can send you to jail? –I joked.

-No, I trust you.

Nick was playing with his hands and even though he was almost going to have a breakdown, those words came out naturally and calm. He was telling the truth. He trusted me and knowing that just made me grow my feelings for him.  

-Jack Willman killed her.

Nick sighed and smiled as he walked towards me to give me a hug.

-Thank you.

His arms around squeezed me a fraction tighter and we both breathed more slowly. His embrace was warm, and his big, strong arms seemed very protective when wrapped around my body. The world around me melted away as I squeezed him back, not wanting the moment to end.

-Hey.. I’m just doing my job.. Besides, if they’d send you to jail I wouldn’t have my promised dinner.

-Laura –Grissom’s head popped out- The kid confessed everything. He put another bomb at Summit High School, we are going now to deactivate it. Though you wanted to come.

-Right behind you –I nodded.

-By the way, about that dinner.. –Nick made a pause- Anytime.

I smiled at him and followed Grissom. When we arrived, Grissom stopped the car and we ran out with the other officers. The students were running out of the school. As the last of them leave, Dominic exited the building carrying the package. He had the bomb in his hands.

-Dominic, stop! –I yelled- Stop right there. Put it down!

-No, it’s all right –he smiled- Everyone’s safe.

-No, no, no –Grissom yelled back- Drop it. It’s active!

Suddenly, Dominic stopped smiling and from his face I could tell he heard the clock timer ticking. Dominic looked down at the package in his hands. As we watched, the bomb exploded and we were thrown back by the impact of the explosion. Grissom checked on me a few seconds later, when we were able to sat up. Dominic gave his life for the students. He was the hero he always wanted to be.

[serpentwithatardis]

Crazy Little Thing Called Love Part 2 (FP x Reader)

Prompt: A few months have passed. The reader is acting strange, snapping at students (besides the serpents). A Jughead concerned (who is now extremely supportive of their relationship) asks his father only to discover his father has gone back to heavy drinking and broke up with the reader. He manages to get them back together and they discover the reader is pregnant.

A/N: Sorry for the hiatus!! I just finished school for the year so it has been stressful, but now I am on summer holidays so please send in requests!!

It had been a few months since FP and (Y/N) had started dating, and even though Jughead had since moved out of the trailer, he could clearly see the difference in both his teacher and his father. His teacher was more carefree, more happy and more friendly and his father, well what a change in him. He had thrown out all his alcohol and acted kinder towards his son and towards the general public. Jughead considered moving back in with him and his teacher, and he just prayed it would last.

It seems my prayers have gone unanswered, Jughead thought to himself as (Y/N) yelled at a student for simply making a spelling mistake in assignment. This whole week, (Y/N) had been in a horrible mood, snapping at children for small things, such as walking too slow and asking questions in class. The only people she wasn't yelling at were the Serpents, in fact she remained sweet and caring towards them. "Dude, what's wrong with Ms (Y/L/N)? Did something happen with her and your dad?" Jughead shrugged and began to respond when an angry yell sounded out across the almost silent room. "ANDREWS!! STOP TALKING!" (Y/N) yelled, silencing the Serpent's quite chatter. Archie muttered a sorry and returned to work. "Ms (Y/L/N), why are you just calling out Archie? Those dirt bag serpents have been talking all lesson and you haven't told them off once!" Reggie muttered with a roll of his eyes. (Y/N) stood up angrily. "Do not talk about your fellow students like that Reginald Mantle. Go stand outside for the rest of the lesson." she yelled angrily, pointing to the door. Reggie walked out with a look of disgust on his face. Jughead looked at (Y/N), concerned, as she composed herself, he was determined to find out the cause of this.

"Dad?" Jughead asked as he tentatively knocked on the door. He got no reply, so he slowly opened the door. The trailer was dark, with only small streams of sunlight. Empty beer bottles were littered all over the floor, along with cigarette ash and food wrappers. FP was laying on the couch, eyes bloodshot from a mix of alcohol and tears. "Dad?" Jughead said, concern seeping in to her voice. FP was startled out of his stupor and offered Jughead a shaky smile. "Hey Boy, how you doing?" he said , his voice shaking. Jughead walked towards his father slowly, enveloping him in a hug. He rubbed his back as FP sobbed into his shoulder. "I lost her Jug, I lost her." he mumbled. Jughead pulled out of the hug. "Lost who?" But it suddenly all became clear. (Y/N)'s foul mood, and his fathers return to drinking could only mean one thing. They had broken up. "Oh, Dad, what happened?" he asked. FP collapsed on the couch. "I wasn't good enough for her. She was off getting awards for teaching, and I was getting caught in gang fights.  I could see it in her colleagues eyes, the disgust when they saw me out with her. Jug, I was bringing her down. So I sat her down, and I told her that I couldn't be with her anymore because I fell out of love. She got mad, and there was yelling and then she stormed out." he said, voice cracking at the end. "Dad." Jughead said, sadness evident in his tone. "Why did you lie to her?" "Easier than admitting the truth." Jughead shook his head and stood up. "Dad, I'm gonna fix this. Just you wait."

"Ms (Y/L/N), can you come with me?" (Y/N) looked up from the papers she was marking. "Of course Jughead." she replied. She stood up and joined him. They walked up to the roof in silence. "Jughead, Wha-What is this?" she said in shock.  The rooftop was decorated in candles and roses, and fairy lights were strung across the edge of the roof. FP was standing in the middle of the roof. (Y/N) shook her head and began to walk away but Jughead held her back. "Hear him out." Jughead pleaded. "Please." (Y/N) took a deep breath in and clenched her fists as she walked towards FP. "What do you want, Forsythe?" she seethed, her words dripping venom. "Look. When I broke up with you, I lied. I never fell out of love, I don't think I-I ever could. I was afraid, afraid that I wasn't good enough for you. I saw the looks you were getting, and I, I didn't want to drag you down." (Y/N)'s stony gaze softened, and she placed her hands on FP's chest and punched him lightly. "I don't give a shit about what other people think. I only care about you. About what you think. About what Juggie thinks!" she sniffed and wiped her tears. "When I am with you, I do not care about anyone else. It's only you and me, the whole other world disappears." "You really wanna go out with some low-life serpent thug like me?" FP muttered. (Y/N) nodded with a big grin, and leant in for a kiss. FP grabbed her waist and dipped her down, kissing her with passion. They broke apart when they heard Jughead cheering. "YES! THAT WAS ALLLL ME!!" he yelled. (Y/N) and FP chuckled and held each other close. 

Suddenly, (Y/N) broke out of the hug and ran to the edge of the roof, falling to her knees. She began to throw up as FP and Jughead ran to her in shock. They both rubbed her back as she finished throwing up. FP wrapped her in his jacket and gave her a handkerchief to wipe her mouth. "Are you sick?" Jughead asked. "Um, not exactly. I've actually been throwing up the past couple of days. " "Oh crap, do you have the flu?" FP asked. "No. I went to the doctors today, after I missed my period." FP froze next to her. "You-You, um." Jughead coughed. "Missed your period? What-what did the doctor say?" (Y/N) took FP and Jughead's hands in her own. "I'm pregnant." FP grabbed her face and kissed her while Jughead simply gaped and gave her a massive hug when FP released her. "I love you and this baby so much! You have made me the happiest man on earth!" FP said, tears running down his face. Jughead kissed (Y/N) on the cheek and hugged her tightly, thanking her for giving him another sibling. "I love you too FP!" she said and she kissed him back, silently thanking whatever Gods were up there for the crazy little thing called love.

[rcyharper]

can you explain why you don't like new 52 roy? i don't know much about him so i'm curious

I’m gonna paste an edited version of an old answer I’ve given before. It’s kind of long so I’ll put it under a cut.

The gist of it is that the New 52 basically changed everything about him. His origin, his heritage, his history, his relationships with the Titans and Arrow family, his personality, his addiction, and so much more. They literally changed everything and none of it actually helped his character– most of these changes were made to prop up Jason Todd and Roy’s relationship to him. They were made to justify him being labelled an outlaw- a label pre-RP Roy would have never taken.

They completely disregarded his Navajo heritage. They removed his band tattoo on his bicep and replaced it with tattoos of a scorpion and a skull. His Navajo tattoo actually had meaning to him– we actually saw the story of where and why he got it, and we know how much and what it means to him. It’s important to him because it ties him back to his culture and it was the tattoo he got when he was officially officiated as a member of the Navajo Tachini tribe. His N52 tattoos generally have no meaning or point. They’re just… there. We never saw how or why he got them or what they mean to him. To me, they’re just there to make him look more “rebellious” to try to justify him being labelled an outlaw. His Navajo heritage gave him a unique perspective on life, whereas N52 Roy is just like any other guy. Him being Navajo also gave him a home he could always return to when needed, and his perspectives about family, death, life, etc. always added a unique layer to the character. Also, him growing up in a tribe came with a love of the outdoors and growing up with archery– that’s the reason he loves archery and is so good at it, it ties him back to his home and it’s something that was always a part of him. Granted, Rebirth did bring back his Native heritage but it was only in the GA issues he was in (which some writers, aka old Lobdell, didn’t bother to read and hence ignored.)

Another change the N52 made that I hate: his relationship with his fathers. Roy has three fathers: Roy Harper senior, Brave Bow, and Oliver Queen. They’re all inspirations to him and he looks up to all of them, but N52 made him hate 2 of them and erase the other one. Basically, what they did with each of them:

Like I mentioned before, N52 erased his Navajo heritage, so with that, Brave Bow was erased as well (he was brought back in Rebirth though, though they changed his name to Big Bow.)

Roy Harper senior, his biological father, was a forest ranger that died in a fire when Roy was 3 years old. He died saving a man (Brave Bow) who took Roy in. Roy senior was a hero Roy always looked up to and strived to be like, but N52 changed his father into a generic stereotypical absentee father who’s an alcoholic. Just another asshole father, how original…

As for his relationship with Oliver… while yes, Oliver and Roy did have their infamous fight pre-FP, but they never hated each other. This is a huge misconception among people. If people actually read the story where the fight happened, they’ll see that it ends with them being on okay terms, but moving in their own way. After spending some time apart doing their own thing, the two become closer than ever once they reunite and start getting closer again. They’re very much a father and son who love each other as any healthy father-son does. N52, however… changed that. It made them hate each other way into the present day, and removed a loving bond between the two that made them so close. it didn’t help help either of their characters and just made them both seem to be like assholes because of the things they’ve done. 

I have a lot more problems with Roy and Ollie’s relationship in the N52, I’ll get to them in a later point. But like I said, this point was about how N52 absolutely destroyed Roy’s relationship with his fathers.

Another thing I despise about N52 Roy is… Lobdell always wrote him as someone who needed to be taken care of. Someone that couldn’t be independent, which is just… the exact opposite of Roy’s character. Pre-FP Roy, after making his mistakes, goes solo to find himself and make amends. He, solo, worked on becoming a better person and making the world a better place so people wouldn’t go through what he did, and later, he was a single father who raised a daughter alone and he was a good father. N52 Roy always implied that Roy had to be babysat by Jason and couldn’t be left alone, or that he was too much of an idiot to handle himself (oh, how Lobdell loved to remind us that his Roy is dumb.) N52 kept portraying Roy as always needing to be with Jason or hating being separated from Jason and Kory… making him be so dependent is so against his character. He was completely independent when he went solo. He even refused to rejoin the Titans at first because he wanted to do things solo and find himself, and most importantly… he was a single father! A responsible father who independently raised a daughter… that’s why him being dependent is literally the opposite of his character.

And then there’s his addiction… N52 changed his addiction from heroin to alcohol (it was changed back in Rebirth but still.) Addictions are not and should not be treated like they’re interchangeable. The original drug addiction story, Snowbirds Don’t Fly, was an award winning story that changed the landscape of stories that could be told in comics. It was that good, and changing for just a generic addiction story is pretty ridiculous. The original story showed that Roy was the one who kicked his addiction away, all because of his will and drive to kick it away. He was the one who wanted to get rid of his problem. With some help from people around him (aka Dinah), he kicked it away and was determined to be a better person because of it. He wanted to become an educator and volunteer to help people dealing with addictions like his, and he wanted to help fight drug dealers and help fight the drug problem. That’s why he joined the DEA– he wanted to help people who went through what he did. Roy appealed to a specific demographic of teenagers that fell low and fell into drug addiction– something that hasn’t been done before with any other character– and he served as a role model as someone who overcame it. N52 just got rid of all that and not only changed his addiction type, but had him be completely be saved by someone else (who he shouldn’t have any relation to in the first place). N52 focuses on him relapsing and being tempted back all the time, which is against what the character stands for. The whole point is that he’s someone that wants to move on past his mistakes and become a better person and let others see him for who he is as a hero, but N52 keeps throwing his addictions back at him and him being literally labelled an “outlaw” is something pre-FO would never accept because it goes the entire idea of him wanting to move past his past and being something better, letting people see him for the good he’s done. He’d never accept being labelled as some sort of outcast, because that’s not what he is.

And then there’s his relationship with… Jason… first, even if they were in a team together, there’s no way in hell Jason would be the leader over Roy. That’s just ridiculous. Roy has led the Titans, Checkmate, and the Outsiders. He’s more level headed, nowhere near as damaged, and has so much more experience. Not only has he led all those team, but he led them well. Even Dick said he was a great leader and that he should lead the Titans in his absence. Roy’s character was completely changed to justify him being on a team with Jason that labelled him an “outlaw”. Roy was 19 when he met Jason, who was Robin at the time, and probably no older than 12 or 13. In that same story, Roy discovered he was a father. There’s just so many levels of maturity and experience Roy has above Jason. Jason being the one to take the shots makes no sense at all.

I also hate how all his relationships and history are disregarded to justify him being an outlaw and to prop up his relationship with Jason. Just some of the relationships that were gone include:

His relationship with the Titans? Completely gone and watered down to prop up their friendship. Lobdell takes every opportunity he can to insult Roy’s relationship with the other Titans to show Jason as his one “true” friend. Even when he wasn’t writing Roy in Rebirth, he still decided to include someone stupid line about how Roy was drinking because he was with the Titans, even though there was literally nothing in the Titans book actually indicating that, even more proof that Lobdell doesn’t bother to read other books and just makes up his own stuff. As a side note, relating to what I said about how Lobdell handles his addictions earlier, he seems to be the only writer show throws them back at him when he’s (aka N52 and that one crappy RHATO annual, and even a line in a book Roy isn’t in that makes, and most of it doesn’t make any sense when you look at what Roy is actually doing in Rebirth.) They literally were never thrown back at him in Rebirth except for one line in a comic written by Lobdell that Roy wasn’t even in. In just one and the one issue he wrote Roy in Rebirth, Lobdell managed to throw his addiction back at him and managed to undermine his relationship with the Titans to imply that Roy hasn’t been happy since leaving Jason which completely ignores what’s going in the book Roy is actually in. Ridiculous. I mean, even when Lobdell the Wally/Speed Buggy book, it ended with Wally celebrating with the Titans, and it had every Rebirth Titan there except Roy. It’s like this guy just wants to erase that part of Roy’s history.

His relationship with Oliver? Completely scrapped and changed. I talked about just some of the problems i had with it earlier, but one of my biggest problems with it is that their father-son relationship was completely thrown out in favor of making it a… weird co-worker type relationship or whatever it was. Instead of making Roy a kid who Ollie took in and had to raise, they made him what was basically an employee/associate of Oliver’s who had a falling out because of business issues with the company. His problem with Oliver was the reason went into in addiction, but the N52 completely changed that to say oh, it was that kind of but it was also actually because of Jason’s death, someone Roy barely even knew when he died. His relationship with Ollie was completely damaged and destroyed to justify Roy’s position as an “outlaw” and to make him more relatable to Jason. (Rebirth thankfully changed it back to a father-son relationship)

Also, Roy recovering from his addiction? Instead of being by Dinah and Hal and the Titans, nope, they replaced all of them with, you guessed it, Jason Todd and fucking Killer Croc of all people… again, his relationship with people that were family to him was all completely scrapped for the development of Jason and Killer Croc, again to try to justify him being labelled an outlaw since he can apparently only seek help from outcasts and to prop up Jason even more.

Basically, what I’m saying is that all of Roy’s relationships with the Titans, the Arrow family, and any other character that had meaning to him were completely and utterly undermined for no reason other than to prop up Jason Todd and his relationship with Jason. None of these changes actually benefitted Roy himself (other than the horrible attempt to label him an outlaw), they just made him worse- but they all benefitted Roy.

Roy’s personality also changed a lot. Pre-FP was lighthearted, but he was also serious because of what he’s been through and he was smart and great at what he does. N52 changed him into a literal idiot (like I said, Lobdell loved reminding us of this) who can’t handle himself alone and has to crack a dumb joke every second and doesn’t take things seriously and has to be babysat by Jason. Even when they tried portraying to do things like build tech, they still wrote him as dumb. Roy’s always been someone that was good with tech, since he obviously built his arrows, weapons, so many high tech bases, etc. But the N52 chose to portray that intellect by portraying him as a mad scientist... that’s literally what they refer to him as multiple times, or a “rockabilly genius”. Basically, they wrote him so that he could only build tech, but he gets so carried away with it to the point where he either destroys a lot of crap while doing it or if he’s unsupervised, he’ll spend all their money on it. They wrote him as someone who was so irresponsible and had to be kept in check, whereas Roy is actually someone who builds things when he needs to. He’s someone who prefers to spend his time either with his family, training, or volunteering somewhere. He doesn’t spend his entire time building things for no reason, he has to plan something out, know why he needs it and adds it in. Technology is a hobby for him that he occasionally spends time on, it isn’t an obsession and it’s nowhere near being his main focus. He was extremely dumbed down to serve a role of being the dumb guy who’s good with tech.

And it’s not even just relationships and history that were changed. They just changed him so, so much. His attitude towards life and how to deal with bad guys and killing, and his views on being a superhero were all changed from someone who genuinely wanted to be a hero to help people to someone who tried going hard and edgy and it just doesn’t work with what the character represents and is about. It all goes back to trying to fit him under the outlaw label– they changed his views and how hard he goes, what he is and isn’t willing to do, his tolerance on killing, etc. All of that changed to try to fit him and being an outlaw.

Another thing I’m not a fan of is one of the consequences of the bad attempt of labelling him an outlaw, which was his status in the hero community. Pre-FP Roy worked so hard on himself, to prove himself as Speedy and then Arsenal and then Red Arrow. He cares so much that other heroes see him for who he is and not his past and respect him for work, and he more than earned that respect. When he took on the Red Arrow name and joined the league, it meant so much to him because of him finally deciding to take on the family name and legacy, and to be up there fully after all he’s done. N52 made him an outcast in the hero community, made the league and all other heroes look down on him instead of being his friends. He looked up to the heroes and wanted to be treated as an equal among them, and he was-- he was just like any other hero, but that was all thrown out to, once again, justify him being an “outlaw”.

Another consequence of trying to label him an “outlaw” is that he just… doesn’t look like Roy Harper. Like, at all. I’ve already talked about how they replaced his Navajo tattoo with edgy tattoos to make him look edgy in the beginning of this, but it goes even beyond that. The extremely long and messy hair and the way he dresses so badly is just… not Roy. Roy is definitely someone who takes care of himself. Like I said before, he cares about how he presents himself and the type of image he sets, so this whole “don’t care” attitude they tried reflecting in his clothing and hair just didn’t make sense for the character because he does care, he’s not a rebel. Plus, there’s also the whole infamous trucker cap thing that they had him wear… not only does it make for such an awful look, but it’s also not practical, and Roy is someone who works a lot about the practicality about how his suit works, and he cares about being the best possible superhero he can be, and he doesn’t like wearing a cap beyond his Speedy days, let alone a stupid trucker cap. Also, the way he was drawn just didn’t look like him. Side note, but most of the time, he was drawn a lot smaller than he is for some reason, and for some reason the shape of his head was just… off. He just doesn’t look like himself at all. His whole look is just too messy and that isn’t Roy. 

Roy just doesn’t fit the “outlaw” label– he never has, and the fact that they had to change so, so much about his character to try to justify it is proof of that.

And finally… most importantly… Roy being a dad, and the erasure of Lian Harper. When Roy’s a dad, he was something to fight for. He has a reason to be a superhero and do what he does, to be responsible and to be more mature than he already is. Him being a dad completely changed him and gave him a reason to strive to become a better man than he already was, all for his daughter. He helped so many characters because of how his fatherhood changed him. Him being a father gave him so much happiness and brightness in his life despite the mistakes he made before. On top of that, Roy became a father when he was young. He risked his life just to see Lian and take her in. He could have easily ignored her and left her with Jade, but he chose to actively seek her out and risked his life to do so. He wanted to be a father. He wanted to raise his daughter right and be an inspiration for her, and to me that just shows the kind of man he was.

Being a father is one of Roy’s biggest character traits. It isn’t just some random thing, it was part of his characters for literal decades. It’s so much of who he is and holds so much of his development, and the erasure of it just changes so much about him for the worst.

Roy’s a character that meant something. He had a unique story with a unique background and perspective on life. Despite the mistakes he’s made, he still fought hard to strive to become a better man and hero. His relationships with the Titans and Arrow family and were such a huge and important part of his history. All those characters mean so much to him and they’re all his family, and they were closer to him than anyone. He was a Titans and Green Arrow character, after all. He was a role model that readers and characters would look up to and be inspired by. He was a character that showed despite the mistakes he made, there was always room for redemption and the path to becoming better and learning from your mistakes to become a more inspirational and better man.

And the N52 just threw that all out the window… and for what? Nothing good.

[writingstufff1]

An Unnecessary Secret - Chapter One

Jughead x Veronica

A/n: Happy New Year everyone! I actually got this done a lot quicker than I thought I would so I decided to do some extra editing. I will be putting this up on ao3 as well if anyone wants to read it there. Any advice would be appreciated as usual! Enjoy xx

Word Count: 3207

Jughead was late. He had promised he would meet Toni at Pop’s to look at her latest photography project. His alarm, unfortunately, had not gone off. The reason it had not gone off was that he had been too distracted by Veronica and had forgotten to set it. He cursed inwardly as he scrambled around the trailer trying to find a clean shirt. Toni was going to kill him. He was literally going to be murdered. He grabbed his laptop bag and left the trailer with his shoelaces still untied.

“Well Jones, I was starting to think you had forgotten,” Toni said teasingly.

“I’m so sorry Toni, my alarm didn’t go off this morning”

“Don’t worry about it, just have a look at these,” she told him, handing him a folder. “Thanks for helping me with this, by the way, Jones”

“It’s no problem at all T,” he said, taking the folder from her. “Besides, I always enjoy looking at your work. Even if it’s 90% photos of Cheryl”

“Shut up” she laughed.

Jughead pored over the folder for at least two milkshakes worth of time. He had comments for every photo and by the end, Toni was looking bored.

“You know what Jughead, I actually have to meet up with Cheryl. Maybe you can keep it for a while and just email me your thoughts?” she asked.

“Yeah, for sure Toni, I’m really impressed so far though”

“Thanks, Jughead”

She stood up to leave. “You should really talk to Veronica, she’s been staring over here for the last half hour” she added after a few seconds.

He looked up in surprise to see Veronica quickly look away. Shaking his head, he continued to leaf through the folder. There were hundreds of photos. He wondered how long it had taken Toni to put the project together. No doubt it had been in the works at least a few months. He reminded himself to ask her to put forward a few of the photos for the Blue and Gold. He spent the next hour typing out his comments before deciding to take a break. The second he closed the lid of his laptop Veronica appeared in the seat opposite him. 

“Jughead, I need to talk to you”

Jughead nodded and put his laptop back in his bag. “Sure, what’s up?”

“I just wanted to thank you for checking on me last night,” she said.

“Yeah, no problem, anytime”

“I also wanted to invite you to the party Reggie is having tonight”

Jughead was shocked. This was an unexpected turn of events. Not that he hadn’t been to parties before, he was long past his phase of having no friends. Plus, he was a part of the Serpents now and parties were practically in the job description. No, it wasn’t that, it was the fact that Veronica Lodge was personally inviting him.

“Oh, there’s no need for that”

“Nonsense, it’ll be fun” she assured him.

“Are you sure Reggie is okay with that?” he asked, hesitantly.

“Yes, absolutely. So, come pick me up at nine o’ clock at the Pembroke”

Jughead watched her walk away in disbelief. He wondered what on earth he had gotten himself into when he had decided that he should be nice to Veronica.

Jughead found himself overthinking an outfit for the first time in his life. He wasn’t sure how laidback the party was going to be and considering he was going with Veronica he supposed he should wear something fancier than usual. He was stuck between a white shirt that made him look like he was going to a dance and a black shirt that made him look like a waiter. A knock on his door made him spill his drink on the white shirt. Waiter it is. FP opened the door and Jughead whirled around. 

“What do you want?” he snapped.

“Nothing Jug, I was just wondering why you were talking to yourself”

“Sorry Dad, I’m a little stressed about this party”

FP chuckled and put his hands on Jughead’s shoulders. “Well you look great, have a good time”

Jughead had been waiting for fifteen minutes outside the Pembroke before Veronica made her way down. The doorman had looked at him like he was crazy when he had told him he was there for Veronica. He had kept Jughead waiting a few minutes while he spoke with Hermione about the party. Jughead decided to go wait at his bike. Veronica eventually opened the door and came outside. She was wearing a red dress that Jughead had never seen her in before. He didn’t know how he knew that.

“Well Jones, are we ready to go?”

“For sure, Lodge,” he said, pushing off his bike.

“Lord, I hope you do not expect me to get on that death contraption”

“Veronica, that is exactly what I expect you to do,” he said, handing her a helmet.

Veronica sighed and put on the helmet. “This better not ruin my hair”

Jughead laughed and got on the bike. Veronica sat behind him, she hesitated to put her hands around his waist. Jughead just put her hands around him. It only took them a few minutes to get to there but Veronica seemed to enjoy being on the bike. She tightened her grip around his waist and screamed in excitement. When they finally arrived at the party, Veronica took Jughead’s hand to lead him to the drinks. She handed him a cup of beer and laughed when he was surprised that she poured one for herself as well.

“What? Didn’t take me as a beer girl?”

“No, I guess I thought you were fancier than beer from a keg at a Reggie Mantle party, Lodge”

“Well, Jughead, you should know by now that I am full of surprises,” she said, grabbing his hand again to lead him around the party.

“That you are,” he murmured as he followed her.

They joined a game of beer pong at Reggie’s insistence. Jughead and Veronica were playing against Reggie and Midge. Jughead discovered he was actually pretty good at the game considering he had never played before. He tried to ignore the obviously flirty vibes between Veronica and Reggie and instead concentrated on beating him. Or winning the game. Midge caught his eye after another flirty comment from Reggie and rolled her eyes. Jughead returned the gesture but felt as though he was betraying Veronica by doing so. Jughead won another cup and he and Veronica celebrated by hugging excitedly. 

“Whatever, everyone knows you are way too good for this freak anyway, 

Veronica,” Reggie scoffed before turning and leaving the room.

“What the hell was that about?” Veronica asked, confused.

“I have no idea,” Jughead responded, equally puzzled.

“You know what, it’s late I should probably get home. Jughead can you give me a lift?”

Jughead nodded and they made their way out of the party. There were no complaints from Veronica to his surprise as she put on her helmet and got on the back of the bike again. They were almost halfway to Veronica’s when Jughead decided to make a quick detour.

“Wait, Jughead, where are you going?” Veronica demanded in his ear.

“Pop’s, I mean you are the owner and I could really do with a milkshake after the weirdness of that party”

Veronica laughed, and he could feel her breath on the back of his neck. He parked the bike and after taking the helmet from her, they went inside. She started to go behind the counter but Jughead grabbed her arm to stop her.

“I’ve got this. I used to work here you know and I can handle a milkshake and some fries”

“Thanks, Jug, it’ll be nice to have someone cooking for me for once”

“No problem. I think it’s better this way considering the last time you made me a milkshake there was a bit of a disaster,” he teased.

“Jughead!” she exclaimed, hitting him lightly in the arm.

He held up his hands in mock defeat and backed away. Veronica laughed at his surrender. She settled into one of the booths and put her feet up. Jughead set about making the fries first and once they were cooking he made the milkshakes. He set one down in front of Veronica and made himself comfortable. He looked at her lying there with her eyes closed.

“Whatchya thinking about Lodge?”

“Betty actually”

Jughead swallowed hard and kept his face neutral. “Why’s that?”

She opened her eyes and sat up quickly. “I have an idea! We should go visit Betty in New York”

She looked excited as she waited for a reply. Jughead couldn’t say no to her. 

“Well, I can’t think of a single reason why not,” Jughead said, smiling although it felt more like a wince. 

“Yes, this is going to be so great, we can do it like a road trip in August. It’ll be so nice for us to visit Betty, and I need to do some shopping so you two can get some alone time,” she said, winking. 

“Yeah, sure, whatever makes you happy,” Jughead answered, standing up. “Listen I’m going to check on the fries”

Veronica spent the rest of the time in the diner scheming and making plans for the road trip. Jughead sat in silence, eating. He tried to pretend he was excited but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. He supposed he was going to have to tell her about the breakup eventually but there was a light in her eyes that he hadn’t seen even in the last few months of her relationship with Archie. He figured he would reveal it when she was sufficiently distracted by some other project. So, he just smiled and nodded at the appropriate places.

The ride home was quiet as both of them were tired and Veronica was still a little tipsy. She was leaning her head against his shoulder. Jughead felt weird. First, she invites him to a party, then on a road trip and now she’s leaning on his shoulder as he drops her home. He had not expected his summer to go like this. They had never been the touchy sort of friends. Or even friends period. He shook it off the feeling as the bike came around Veronica’s street corner. 

“Well I’m glad you got home safe,” Jughead said, helping her get off the bike.

“Thanks for the lift Jug” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck.

Jughead almost stepped back in shock. He hadn’t been expecting a hug. His arms instinctively encircled her. 

“No problem, Lodge. See you tomorrow”

Veronica practically skipped up the steps to the building. She waggled her fingers at him before disappearing inside. Jughead shook his head at her antics and made his way home.

Veronica awoke the next day with a pounding headache. She groaned and tried to roll over but the other side of the room was where she had left the blinds open mistakenly last night. She started to get up to close them when her phone started ringing. The noise was deafening and she had no idea where she had left her phone. She practically fell out of the bed and threw her clothes around the room looking for it. After successfully locating under her dress from the previous night, she answered it to turn off the noise. She made a noise that sounded more like a groan than a greeting. 

“Wow, that bad is it?” a voice laughed on the other side of the phone.

“Jughead, what in god’s name do you want at this time in the morning” Veronica snapped, unimpressed with his amusement.

“Well actually, it’s nearly noon and you wanted to meet to discuss the road trip this morning”

Veronica cursed and leaned her head back, rubbing at her temples. She was in no state to make any plans.

“Oh shit, sorry I forgot about that”

There was a silence while she considered whether it was worth it to meet with him. Catching a look at herself in the mirror she decided there wasn’t a chance in hell.

“Can I cancel for today, I can barely open my eyes,” she told him apologetically. 

“Yeah for sure, see you soon Lodge”

Veronica ended the call and put her head in her hands. There was only one solution to this, shopping. Veronica took a pill and feeling a lot better, applied her makeup as immaculately as usual and curled her hair. Looking in the mirror one would never know that she had an awful hangover. She ignored her father calling after her as she left the house and elected to get breakfast out. After a few hours of retail therapy, she was feeling ten times better. She had almost finished her shopping when someone crashed into her and caused her to drop all of her bags. 

“You moron! What the hell is wrong with you?” she demanded, starting to pick up her bags.

“What do you mean what’s wrong with me-”

“Reggie?” Veronica cut him off.

“Oh, hey V, sorry about that,” he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Veronica just laughed. “So, what’s up?”

“Oh, nothing much. Actually, Ronnie, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something”

“Yeah, go for it”

“Would you be interested in going out sometime? You know for food or something?”

“Yeah, I’d actually really like that Reg,” she said, tapping his shoulder.

Reggie smiled. “Great”

“I have to go unfortunately but text me the details” she called over her shoulder.

Before going to bed she called Jughead to tell him what had happened. She wasn’t sure why her first instinct was to call him but decided not to dwell on it. He answered after the second ring.

“Veronica, hi. Didn’t expect two calls in one day”

She laughed. “Yeah, well I have some exciting news”

“Pray tell”

“Reggie asked me out today,” she exclaimed excitedly.

There was silence for a few seconds. “Jughead? Are you there?”

“Yeah, that’s great Veronica.” He paused. “You know, I’m kinda swamped here but good luck with that”

Veronica grinned. “That’s okay. See you soon Jug”

The call ended abruptly. Veronica frowned and put her phone down. The call must’ve been cut off. She decided to text Reggie asking about the plans. Once they were solidified she lay down to go to sleep. She surprisingly wasn’t as excited about her date as she thought she would be. She assumed it was because she wasn’t entirely over Archie. 

“Well, maybe Reggie can help me with that,” she thought before drifting off to sleep.

When Reggie picked her up in his Dad’s car Veronica was excited. It felt different from getting picked up by Jughead on his bike. She had carefully selected an outfit that she knew Reggie would approve of and when his eyes raked over her body as he opened the door, she knew she had made a good choice. The dinner was expensive and Veronica didn’t order anything more than a salad as she wanted to impress Reggie. She had fun, although, Reggie wasn’t as funny as she’d remembered. 

“I enjoyed tonight, V,” he remarked as he dropped her off.

She smiled up at him. “Yeah me too, Reg”

He stepped closer to her. “We should do it again sometime”

“Yeah, maybe,” she heard herself replying although she felt uncertain.

He leaned in closer and moved to kiss her but Veronica moved her head so that he kissed her cheek. She put it down to nerves that she didn’t want him to kiss her. He smiled and moved back respectfully.

“Goodnight, Reg,” she said, softly before turning and entering her building.

Veronica tapped her fingers lightly against the counter of the diner. The place was almost entirely empty other than a few bulldogs and a mother with her baby. She was tired and bored but she had to wait to tell Jughead the good news. She looked at her watch again. Jughead was not following his regular schedule. It had been two days since she had last seen him in the last booth at Pop’s. He had ordered fries from Pop instead of her so they didn’t really get a chance to talk other than a hello from Veronica which he acknowledged with a grunt. Her date with Reggie the previous night had been fun and she was excited to tell Jughead about it. Cheryl and Toni had already heard all about it and Betty wasn’t returning her calls but she still wanted to talk about it more. The bell at the door rang and Veronica looked up from her hands to see the brooding boy she was looking for.

“Jughead! Thank God, I’ve been waiting for you all day”

“Veronica,” Jughead said, startled. “I thought you would’ve been gone by now”

“Wait, what? Jughead are you avoiding me or something?”

“Or something”

“Is this because I blew you off the other day when I had a hangover?” Veronica demanded, making her way around the counter to stand in front of him.

“I just assumed the road trip and everything was off since Reggie is your latest distraction”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know, I just thought-” he started.

“Yeah well don’t. Besides, I’m pretty sure Reggie doesn’t want anything more than a fling”

Veronica wasn’t sure why she said that but it came tumbling out of her mouth before she could stop herself.

“Right, well fine I guess it’s back on then,” Jughead said trying not to show his relief but he couldn’t help the smile that crept up on his face.

Veronica clapped her hands excitedly. “Excellent. Now I assume you want some food”

Jughead nodded and she set about making food in the kitchen. She came back out and handed Jughead a glass of water before returning to the kitchen.

“So, tell me, how is Betty?” she called out.

Jughead nearly choked on his water. “Have you not been talking to her?” he sputtered.

“No, not really. She told me she was trying to concentrate on her internship,” she paused, narrowing her eyes. “She’s obviously still talking to her boyfriend, right?”

Jughead considered telling her the truth then and there but he was actually starting to look forward to the road trip and wanted to delay the inevitable. “Yeah, of course, we talk most days.” He did not meet Veronica's eyeline.

Veronica moved on then and started to talk about all the plans she had for the road trip. It turned out she had a lot of opinions on what snacks were appropriate for a road trip. Jughead gladly engaged in a conversation about food as he would most days. He left soon after that to go check on his Dad in the White Wyrm, leaving Veronica to lock up.

Veronica felt as though something was off after their conversation. She couldn’t quite put a finger on how she knew Jughead was hiding something, she just knew that he was acting strangely. Veronica Lodge wasn’t the kind of person to let something like this go and vowed to get to the bottom of the mystery.

[ges-sa]

New Post has been published on https://ges-sa.com/borderlands-game-of-the-year-enhanced-review/

Borderlands Game of the Year Enhanced Review

Almost a decade ago we first got introduced to the world of Borderlands and many gamers were hooked. Now with the anticipation of Borderlands 3 we had the opportunity to look at Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition and how it stacks up after almost ten years.

Any gamer by now should know the Borderlands name and the loveable little robot Claptrap or CL4P-TP if you don’t here is a little synopsis. The first Borderlands takes place on the planet Pandora, the planet is rich with minerals but once mega-corporations land they find very little value and abandoned the planet leaving behind workforce and former prisoners which now became bandits. After deciphering some alien artefacts mythical vaults were discovered that is presumably filled with untold treasure. Now Corporations, the military and Vault Hunter return to the planet in search of these riches themselves. You take the role of a Vault Hunter looking to unfold these mysteries and to find a vault, but things go astray and along your path you have to do quests and defeat bandits for the good of the planet.

Differences in Borderlands: GOTY edition

The first question on your mind will be why a remaster version of the first Borderlands game now? This is a great question and the best answer will probably be, because they can ;p

But to be serious, the first Borderlands game was epic, it brought to life a whole new universe and a game style and graphics unique to anything that was available at the time. With the Game of the Year edition the first notable difference is the graphics. The graphics has been improved to support 4K resolutions and even if you do not own 4K yet there are still great texture and shading improvements done that support the game’s cel-shaded style. The game does looks great and you will not even think that the first version is ten years old.

Some of the gameplay has also been improved with better managing of inventory and a revised mini-map to assist with your journey. The inventory is now more similar to that of Borderlands 2 which also makes it better for console owners. You can also do some more customization on your character and loads more weapons have been added. 4 player local co-op is also possible now with the only drag being that every local player needs to have an online-enabled account. Another great setting that is added is the ability to change the field of view. The last change that is also introduced is that health and ammo pick-ups are now automatic meaning for more running and gunning than stopping and looting.

For performance, the game was designed to try and deliver 60 frames per second all the time. To deliver this dynamic resolution is in place on all systems. On the PS4 you might see slight drops of the resolutions every now and then but nothing drastic.

Conclusion

I’m an avid Borderlands fan and have played every version available on different systems as well. This is a great way to experience the first game if you haven’t already and even for the gamers who have enjoyed the first version this is a great nostalgic trip down memory lane to have and to prepare us all for Borderlands 3.

A review from the perspective of somebody that hasn’t ever played Borderlands(any of them)…

To the shock of Leon(and the rest of the team and maybe the world), I have never actually played any of the Borderlands games(Yes I know, shock, horror). So when the opportunity came up to give it a go(and it was on PC) I took it(and a motion sickness pill, not a big FPS player).

I was bombarded by the unique graphics of the game, gone was the super photorealistic graphics and it was replaced by Cel Shaded models(almost thought it was a JRPG). I did pick up a bit of a dip in the frame rate, but I see that is a common problem with a very quick fix for the problem.

My favourite character to play with at the moment is Mordecai, long range with a hint of melee. I also fell in love with Claptrap, the things that he says. What really intrigues me is the story of Borderlands and I am busy making space so that I can play Borderlands 2 and the Prequel. I still need to try the 4 player Co-Op feature but as of now I really just love to play the single player game(might even try the 3rd person Mod).

Overall I must say that I really missed out on an awesome game and I would re-recommend it to any Co-Op FPS players. It’s fun to play, has a really good soundtrack, the graphics have been upgraded to 4k and it’s the Game of The Year Enhanced edition! This is your local mad scientist signing out….Now I wonder what claptrap would say here…

Reviewed on: PS4 and PC

Available on: PS4, XBox One, PC, OSX

Price: PS4 – R475, PC – R429

Publisher: 2K/Gearbox

Likes:

Love the Cell Shaded Effect

Claptrap!!!

Dislikes:

Some frame rate drops(but can be fixed)

Personal dislike is that I need pills for the FPS game play(not a game fault, but human error)

[movedthefuckouttahere]

AU: WISHLIST IDEAS

SINGLE PARENT AU : ( cause who wouldn’t want that? Finds it hard to find that special someone that will love both their kid and them. But also doesn’t try, because came out of bad relationship. ) - to be honest I want this for Archie. Cause single dad Archie would be adorable. or anyone really. hell, Betty as a single parent. Whoever.  EX-MILITARY WITH PTSD : ( which will be tagged, trust. But also ex-military who locks themselves away from society. From the city, technology. Basically a hermit. ) - Honestly for Jughead cause yes af.  SECRETLY MARRIED AT 18 : ( until it’s not so secretive and opens up pandora box. but also the struggle at being married young, still in school -- and parents not having a clue about it. ) PARENT AU ( young parents of adults : ( either way the Idea of them having their first child together. But also you gotta go through the up and downs in parenting. ) 

FUTURE AU : ( okay but one of them leaving to New York to start a new life, leaving Riverdale and all those who live in it, behind --- friends, family, and lover ( if you want ) --- Doesn’t keep in contact with anyone in their past ( though perhaps a few ) until deciding to come back, because they miss Riverdale and everyone in it. But when returning it’s going to be a struggle, when you broke some hearts and left behind those who waited years for a single text/call --- email. ) TWIN AU : ( I love same muses. Sue me )  PAPA FP : ( I mean... I just want all the AU’s with FP fathering young children, like... I mean, tbh it’ll be quite a struggle... knowing that even when Jughead was younger, it was still pretty rough. Just to explore this kind of verse. FP fathering whatever muse : could be Jughead, or him taking in one of the kids under his wings, because he’s not a bad person. And would never toss a kid aside. )

ILLEGEAL DRAG RACING : Taking place while in college, and of course keep that part of their life a secret, underneath wraps. GOOD A+ student, well known around, loved by everyone, goodie-goodie and all. But secretly has a rebel side to them, going against the law and doing some illegeal street racing, — a hobby they like to keep to themselves. Because not having to please anyone, or be someone you’re not. Freedom. Until someone discovers their secret. ( two people coming together, both having something in common, rebellious sides to them both. doing something illegal — HONESTLY, THIS CAN END ANYWAY ) also I can see this for Betty, bye af. her building cars / fixing them )

MAFIA AU :--- i have nothing to say, but I want it.

CRIMINAL AU : ---I think I mentioned this when i was still a new baby on here

THE HUNGER AU :( of fucking course )

FUTURE ( MARRIED/ OR DIVORCED - with kids ) : angst y’allllll

[creativeashproductions]

Opposite Direction [Part Three]

Title: Opposite Direction [Part Two]// Teen Wolf and Riverdale

Summary: Escaping a program similar to the Black Widow program you begin a new life in a town where you’re aware isn’t exactly normal. Working in the Beacon Hills Sheriff’s Department places you in the eyes of Stiles but when Black Widow finds you with Captain America will you return the favour to her?

Characters: Reader x Stiles Stilinski , Sheriff Noah Stilinski (mentioned) , Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Archie Andrews, Ms. Grundy (mentioned), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), Steve Rogers (Captain America) and Sheriff Keller.

Words: 2665

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf or Marvel. Nor do I own Riverdale when it does appear. This means I do not own the characters from these shows/movies either.

Warnings: Swearing, injury, past mention of Archie and Grundy.

Requested: @fandomnationwhore

Author: Caitsy

A/N: This is the end of Opposite Direction. I have to say I’m pretty damn proud of this short series. I’ve just moved back to my university so things are about to get hectic. Thank you for all the support you give our blog. We love you. Seriously.

Masterlist

Prompt List

ASK US A QUESTION LIST

Your eyes landed on the cell you used for your legit job in Beacon Hills to see that you had a message from an unknown person. There were few people that had that number seeing as other than work you didn’t talk to many people. Flipping the phone up in the air to catch as you shoved a piece of food in your mouth you unlocked it.

From: Unknown Hey Y/N, it’s Stiles. Um just wanting to know if your alive? You haven’t messaged my dad or emailed anyone. Your cards haven’t been used and you have no social media so uh…let me know?

From: Pest Stilinski It’s Stiles by the way.

From: Pest Stilinski Wait I said that already.

You rolled your eyes at the pain of boy that obviously didn’t see the wrong in breaking laws to find things out.

To: Pest Stilinski 1. I’m alive even though I don’t see how that concerns you. 2. I’m on leave. Your Dad knows if he needs me to contact me. 3. Did you seriously have to hack my stuff?? You’re a pest.

From: Pest Stilinski Oh thank god! It’s just out of nowhere you decided to leave without a word to me. You should really make a facebook account so I can make sure you’re safe.

To: Pest Stilinski I don’t see why I have to tell you and even if I made an account what makes you think I would send you a follow?

From: Pest Stilinski Friend request.

From: Pest Stilinski You’re thinking of twitter and Instagram. That’s where you follow people and Facebook is send friend requests.

You rolled her eyes placing your phone back on the small desk in the room you were staying in for the last little while. The house was now staged to fit the ‘normal girl’ act you were putting on for the town of Riverdale and if you were honest you had designed it to fit what you would have had if you were an everyday person.

In the week and a half you had been off duty you were itching to do something but following Steve’s orders were the biggest. You needed to prove to them that you weren’t the same person they fought before you faked your death. You could be afflicted with the team for sensitive missions.

“Guess it’s time.” You muttered sliding your arms into the dark denim jacket. You used to wear a leather jacket before it was destroyed and it was pretty cliche.

Everybody has to wear the leather jacket. It’s something that goes hand in hand with fighting and angst ridden people.

You silenced your phone from vibrating as you set out to stake out the suspect in the murder of Jason Blossom. You were pretty sure that one of the serpents had killed him in retribution for his family. FP Jones was the prime suspect with an unidentified accomplice.

“Steve? I’m going after Jones tonight.” You muttered into the phone to leave a message. You had managed to find a way to show Steve it was you. You would call three times quickly before staying on for the fourth time.

“Jones? As in Jughead?”

You blinked stunned that Betty Cooper had managed to successfully sneak up on you. You were rusty.

“No. I meant Jessica Jones.”

“No you didn’t.” Betty retorted with anger, “Either you meant FP or Jughead and I want to know why.”

“I don’t know what your talking about but I hope they chain you up.” You snorted twisting the key to lock the door only to see little knicks on it, “So is it a thing that you break the law often?”

“What are you talking about?” Betty nervously said.

“Trying to break and enter into my home?” You spat, “I think I need to make a call.”

“You can’t prove that it was me.”

“That muddy footprint can and fingerprints help also.”

“Please don’t.” Betty began to plead already seeing colleges react to the criminal record.

“No.” You stated firmly, “I do not let things go like this. Cheating on a test or making fun of a friend is different then violating my privacy.”

You dialled the police on your cell without looking as Betty gulped and looked around for an out to this situation. She had managed to get into your house only to discover the normalcy in it as expected from a new resident. There were boxes still and paint buckets were in the living room. Nothing was out of the norm and it irritated Betty but it seemed her suspicions weren’t true.

“Hi. I’m Adaline Kingsley and I came home to my home being broken into. I’ve only opened the door but it has knicks on the doorknob which is strange because it’s new. There are muddy footprints on the entry way but I haven’t gone in any further. I have the suspect beside me and I won’t let her out of my sight.” You explained to the dispatch.


“There’s an officer on the way.”

You kept your eyes on the girl as the patrol car rolled up flashing their lights to see you and Betty standing on your dilapidated porch. You scanned the new arrival to see that it was Sheriff Keller.

“What seems to be the problem, Ms. Kinglesy?” He questioned climbing up on the porch.

“Betty Cooper here broke into my home.” You stated staring at the girl.

“Is this true Betty?” Sheriff Keller asked shocked.

“Um…yes sir.” Betty sighed.

“Why don’t we go talk to your parents about this Betty. You should know better than to do this.”

“Sorry.” Betty muttered playing with her sleeve. Sheriff Keller gave you a tight smile before walking Betty next door with a stern talking to.

“So how did a teenage girl manage to break into the house?” Steve questioned from behind the door. You jumped again for the second time that night.

“Jesus!”

“You really are rusty.”

“It’s been a long day.” You groaned walking into the house ensuring to avoid the areas of footprints, “You hungry?”

“There’s food on the table. I managed to hid it in the stove and hide before she caught into the kitchen. She’s very determined, would be amazing police officer.” Steve replied turning the faucet to wash his hands off, “How’s the mission going?”

“Well other than Betty i’ve managed to build friendships with the other ones.” You replied setting your jacket on the back of a chair, “It’s shockingly easy to gain trust from them. All I had to do was join the cheerleading team and I became great friends with Veronica.”

“Lodge?”

“Yeah.”

“Nat did some research about this group. Veronica is the daughter of the incarcerated Hiram Lodge and his loyal wife Hermione.” Steve said pushing a file towards you, “Archie’s parents are nearly lawfully divorced, Fred being a construction company owner and Mary being a lawyer in Chicago. Kevin is the son of Sheriff Keller and has more…modernized relationships.”

“He’s gay.”

“So different from my time.” Steve muttered shaking his head, “Okay, Betty has an older sister that was sent away to a home for troubled youth. With some digging we found out that a lot of teen pregnancies are dealt with there. Polly is pregnant with Jason’s child giving Betty’s family motive.”

“Jesus.”

“Jughead Jones, odd name by the way, is the son of Forsythe Pendleton II. Parents are divorced with his mom living in Toledo with their daughter. They call his FP and he’s the leader of the Southside Serpents.”

“Wow. Is this tofu?”

“I needed a change. Wanda said it’s extremely good.” Steve hummed making a face when he tasted it, “But I fail to see the greatness in it.”

“Garbage?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think that FP Jones is the murderer?”

“No. He’s a drunken gang member of a gang that deals low level drugs. I don’t see him actually shooting the gun.”

“Do you think Hydra is involved somehow?”



“That’s the interesting part. I don’t.”

“So I’m free to go back to Beacon Hills.”


“No. I want to stay in the town for the remainder of the month.” Steve said scooping more rice onto his plate with a fury. You were confused at his response before he smiled a little, “I know you didn’t get the typical high school experience.”

“I don’t want that experience.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“Have you seen teenagers? They tear into each other emotionally if not physically sometimes. I swear I saw a freshmen girl flip out because seven more people were wearing the same colour.”

“High school is better than taking on an army of Hydra.”

“No.” You furiously shook your head, “Not at all. The only evil in this town so far is the Serpents and this preppy boys murder.”

Steve sat there for another hour as you ate planning out how you would finish out the month and the amount of paper work that was in your future.

“You know as a member of the Vipers I never had to do paperwork.”

Steve gave you a cold look at your words before he grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and slid his thick muscles into it. It was kinda like watching a sleeping bag being stuffed into the casing which somehow seemed like it had shrunk? Steve cleared his throat as he gripped the nondescript ball cap in his hand with an awkward smile.

“I’ve never had such a relaxed supper with a female before.” Steve chuckled, “Call if you need anything kid.”

“Take care Steve.” You whispered watching as the only adult concerned about you walked out the back door, “I should get a run in.”

The music was only lightly played into the earphones to lessen the potential hearing loss and keep you able to hear everything around you. It was your favourite time to run with it being dark and lonely outside to keep everyone one. That and every parent in the damn town refused to let their children out once the sun started to go down.

That didn’t stop you from seeing Archie Andrews running in the street with nothing other than his boxers on. Sweaty ones that too.

“Jesus christ.” You wrinkled your nose, “I feel like a fucking criminal. How am I almost the same age? Seriously, he makes me feel like an adult with a toddler in front of me.”

“Adaline!” Archie exclaimed shocked almost stumbling in his bare feet, “What are you doing out so late? It’s not safe.”

“Dude, this is the time I like to run. Besides I don’t have a helicopter parent.” You stated, “Oh and Grundy isn’t home at the moment.”

“W-what?!” Archie screeched almost, “I don’t know what your talking about.”

“Uh huh. See you at school.” You grunted. Shaking your head at him.

The next week or two were slow without any action going on. Seriously you were thinking bailing the entire mission before the first bite happened. Firstly it was winter when Grundy fled Riverdale without any prior behaviour indicating she would. Next you saw the Coopers were a little more cocky and with their heads up their asses just a little. Thirdly, Jughead Jones was the son of an incarcerated Serpent being charged with murder.

“Did you hear? Apparently Kevin is dating a Serpent.” Tina whispered to Chloe, another one of the cheerleaders. The entire squad was animated about the gossip.

“They should mind their own business.” Veronica huffed fixing her necklace of pearls again.

“That’s the thing I hate about high school.”

It was odd that you could almost feel that a plot twist was on it’s way in the form of words you overheard between Kevin and his boyfriend. There was a jump drive hidden away in a jacket in the woods and you were betting that the Riverdale Crime Fighters would be getting their quick.

“Alright Natasha. How do you want me to do this?” You urgently whispered into the earpiece resting in your ear.

“Didn’t you do this?”

“Yeah but after we did the item was destroyed via viruses.”

“Remember how you found the jump drive before you insert into the right side of the tablet. It’s the one that won’t show any detection of use on the item. It will take a few minutes so be patient and vigilant.” Natasha calmly said.

“Okay. I’m just waiting for the-“

“This is it guys.” The familiar voice of Veronica said echoing through the woods.

“Shit.” You grumbled rushing to finish the program.

“Wait. There’s a light near the jacket.” Betty hissed dropping low into the grass, “Someone’s here and I think I know who it is.”

“A maniac with a gun?” Jughead retorted, “Seriously we should get out of the woods.”

“No.” Betty said quickly.

You returned the jump drive back into the hole at the bottom of the pocket before slinking off out of the area. You knew they had seen a sliver of you and would immediately peg you as the person. That’s why you returned to your car before watching the short clip depicting something you wouldn’t have expected.

Jason Blossom was murdered by his own father before FP cleaned the mess up and went on to hold a secret.

“Damn.” You grunted forwarding the intel to Steve and Nat before driving off to the one place you needed.

The Sheriff’s office.

“I already know what’s on this.” Sheriff Keller said tucking the jump drive into the evidence bag and out of sight, “I would like to know how I’ve managed to get two jumpdrives the same night.”

“What do you-“ Veronica began.

“Adaline Kingsley.” Betty breathed shocked.

“She’s actually Y/N Y/L/N.” Sheriff explained moving a sheet up on the desk.

Dear Sheriff Keller,

My name is Y/N Y/L/N but you would know me as the high school student Adaline Kingsley living on her own. I’m not a criminal, anymore actually, as I was recruited by Steve Rogers to find out in Jason Blossom was killed by Hydra. It came to our knowledge soon that it wasn’t but by the time I was being released from the mission I found out about the jump drive. I’m sure somehow Betty Cooper will get her hands on this but I plead with you to leave my name out of everything. I was part of a bad group before I faked my death. I wouldn’t even be telling you this if it was a month before now but Steve’s made me to do this thing where I own up for my actions. This is me doing so. The number I gave you Sheriff is if you ever need my help. For free. Take care Riverdale teens because the storm’s only just beginning.

Steve’s number to corroborate my information: (xxx)-xxx-xxxx

Sincerely,

Y/N Y/L/N.

“That’s a plot twist I didn’t expect.” Jughead muttered gripping Betty’s hand in his, “It’s so obvious though.”

You felt at home sitting back in front of your desktop computer with a file opened concerning a teen that had burglarized a house last night. Beacon Hills hadn’t had any action in the time you had been gone but you were sure that Stiles had calmed down on his advances. Too bad because he was growing on you not to mention your short high school experience had shown that he was a lot more mature than you remembered.

“Hey.” Stiles said beside your desk, “Dad wanted me to give you this.”

“Thank you.” You smiled at the man before taking the envelope with Riverdale stamped in the return address.

“So would you like to get a coffee? Talk about how you know about Scott?”

“Sure but how about dinner?”

“li…like a date?” Stiles gulped shocked.

“Yeah. A date Stiles.” You smiled at the blushing guy in front of you, “Unless you don’t want to.”

“Hell yes!”

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