Test Drive Meme #8 (NSFW)

[spoofer]

Test Drive Meme #8

I believe in the death of tomorrow

INTRODUCTION ⇄ FAQ ⇄ APPLICATIONS

CRASH LANDING

Exit one dimension, enter the next. It was chaos: pressure against your ears, light bending in an impossible, unimaginable way. The very molecules of your body vibrating against one another. If you have windows, the view outside makes no sense. Even if not, your hands, your face, your feet seem like an uncertain thing. It's the feel of reality itself tearing apart, reshaping, reconnecting, thread by thread.

And suddenly, there's a beach— or ocean, whichever you land in. Smoke. Fire. Salt water churning up, fizzing around, almost at odds with the layer of thick snow over everything.


Maybe you crash, in a ship wrecking into sand. Maybe you merely stumble out of a portal, a ragged wormhole in space. Or maybe you fall off the back of an incredible steed, some creature that carried you into this place. Either way, there's pandemonium around you. Incredibly, severe injuries are far and few between— nobody's screaming about the dead. But you might have to help pull someone free of wreckage, or move quickly to salvage burning belongings from the landing craft. Maybe it's the crafts themselves, that you're trying to salvage.

Likely, you don't know them, these other strangers who arrived here^[1]. Maybe you don't trust them— you just came out of a dying world, after all. But you all have one thing in common: you're here now.

When you get a second to breathe, maybe you'll see it. The snowy forest across the sand. Beyond that, the glint of a faraway city.

Dinner with a Succubus (NSFW)

Your first dinner party in Xistentia^[2] is a sumptuous and luxurious dinner that takes place at the private residence of one of the natives.

As you step in, the first thing you notice is the scent of indigenous flowers mingled with the floating traces of savory and sweet from the elaborate buffet set up on the side. Treats from around the Multiverse.



However, sectioned off from these public areas, there are spaces reserved for sexual activity. It's not so surprising, when you remember that the lights outisde, the power behind the city itself, runs off human emotional interaction— and desire is a powerful emotion indeed. These rooms feature every conceivable surface you might want to tangle on, from silk to lacquered desks, to rubber.

Chests hold sundry toys and other equipment. Rooms have beds sized comfortably from anywhere from one to five people, and there are peepholes. Everything is marked with painted symbols in a language that is known to no one person, but somehow universally comprehensible.

NETWORK

Xistentia now has its own 'friending app.' You can use it to make connections with new people! But beware, your daemon may well post without your permission, and things could get pretty embarrassing.

F.A.T.E.S. thought it was a pretty good pun: Synchr. Get it? Like sinker? Hook, line, and?


TEMPLATE
Select and copy the code below, paste into your entry. (The font is tiny for ease of copying!)

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<div style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Arial Narrow, sans serif; text-transform: uppercase; margin-top: -10px; text-align: center; color: #000;"><b>NAME</b> ▐ AGE</div>

<div style="height: 120px; background: url('https://i.imgur.com/m5GzmXX.png'); overflow-y: auto; margin: 5px auto; border-radius: 6px; padding: 10px">
</raw-code>** INSERT YOUR PROFILE CODE HERE **

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<div style="clear: both"></div></div>
<br />
<center><table><tr><td style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: times; font-size:40px; color:#2EB82E;">✓</span> </td><td style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: times; font-size:40px; color:#CC0000;">✕</span></div></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align: center"><big><big><big><b>YES</big></big></big></b><br />
<textarea><span style="font-family: times; font-size:40px; color:#2EB82E;">✓</span></textarea></td><td style="text-align: center"><big><big><big><b>NO</big></big></big></b><br />
<textarea><span style="font-family: times; font-size:40px; color:#CC0000;">✕</span></textarea></td></tr></table></center></center></raw-code>

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE

hells yeah

Footnotes

1. Some of these can be nameless, plot-device NPCs to facilitate interactions! But even in this case, please avoid gore in describing their current state of being. Anyone dead or catastrophically injured will have disappeared by the time your characters make it to Xistentia. There are no corpses or dying here.
   
   
2. If you decide to join the game, this party may be patched over into the sex-themed Gala detailed in the announcement. The IC log is already up, but friends-locked!

Comments

[novelizes]

[ with betty? how was that possible? betty had been with him. unless there was more to the story. jughead wants to know now, but refrains from asking over the daemons. for all he knows, they're still being watched somehow and there are some things he wants to keep between himself and his friends. ]

Yeah, when she showed up,
she'd come from the same time as me.
Which didn't make sense given I hadn't seen her for 2 weeks

Anyway, I'll come to you. You might get lost.
Tell me where you are or what you see.

[overarches]

it's like we dropped out of the real world and right into a comic book.

[ is it too much to ask for some trippy comic book superpowers? ]

i'm in the city, not far from your apartment.
betty found me first and tried to give me the rundown..
i still feel lost and it has nothing to do with a lack of gps.
i'll turn around and meet you out front.

[novelizes]

I'd like to meet the person who writes comic books like this.

[ or maybe not. they might be a bit crazy in the head. but it's not like jughead hasn't read the books of people with questionable sanity or morality before. ]

I'll be down in a sec.

[ and he stores his daemon in his pocket before grabbing his jacket ( the one the serpents gave him ) and heads down. when he gets outside, he adjusts his beanie and glances around for a familiar head of red hair. he's still wondering about the comment regarding betty having just been with archie and is trying to figure out how that might be possible. the best answer that he can come up with, considering all this muti-verse stuff, is that archie is from a different point in time than him and betty. which, past or future, is yet to be determined.

chafing his hands before breathing into them and then shoving them into his pockets, he leans against the side of the building, waiting for archie to show up. ]

[overarches]

to give them a piece of your mind or to watch the show?

[ he supposes the answer doesn't matter much, one way or the other. he's curious though about the nature of this place and if it's better or worse than riverdale. jughead's not the type to put a spin on something. his opinion's typically spot-on. archie trusts his judgement. he doesn't trust the devices they're communicating through and he has to wonder if that's some grand conspiracy theory or if there's merit to the suspicion.

it's a short walk to return to the building. he hasn't ventured terribly far, not for fear of getting lost but because jughead happened to catch him before his exploration really took off. spotting his friend isn't difficult. he doesn't stick out as much as he used to ( archie will never say that out loud ) and the beanie is a dead giveaway. when archie comes into view, there's a familiar looking golden labrador padding behind him. it isn't vegas, it's his daemon. he takes the small comfort for what it is. ]

Hey.

[novelizes]

[ noting the dog padding along beside archie and also knowing that vegas would not have been brought here, he automatically assumes it must be archie's daemon. it makes sense, considering he's seen some people's daemons to be animals. it also makes sense that archie's companion would be a mirror of his trusty pet. he pushes off the wall behind him to stoop down and pet the animal before looking up at his best friend. ]

Hey. Damn, Archie, you look like hell. What happened to you before you got here?

[ it's a question made out of worry, but not just that. he wants to know how archie had been with betty before arriving here when he'd been with betty. like any other time when questions arise, jughead is seeking answers, wanting to know the truth. it's crucial in this place where so many questions go unanswered.

sitting up again, he draws closer, hands back in his jacket pockets as he gives his friend a once over. ]

Tell me what happened and then if you still have questions, I'll answer them the best I can.

[overarches]

[ as many times as they've been here before - meeting out front with vegas in tow - it doesn't quite feel the same as being in a town they both know like the back of their hands. it still makes him smile, seeing jug lean down to pet the daemon, like perhaps fred andrews is going to pull up in a beat-up truck and ask do you boys feel like pizza tonight?

he doesn't and archie's left with a loaded question, wondering how exactly to explain the events of the night before. he has no poker face, so there's no point in trying to lie, not that he would. ]

Betty said something about people being pulled from different points in time. [ he throws it out there like a top, lets it spin, not sure where it will land. he's asking a question he hasn't yet voiced. in every time travel movie, you aren't supposed to mess with the past by telling people too much about their future. still, these are his best friends. they deserve to know. ] Right before I got here, Betty and I were investigating a case that had been closed for years. It was never solved. A family was murdered in their home in the middle of the night and officially, the police never found the killer. Unofficially, the one surviving son and a few members in the town took justice into their own hands. We were trying to find where they buried the body in order to save someone else's life.

[ there are some truths he hasn't gathered the courage for yet. betty kissed me, i kissed her back. i could have died. ]

It was pretty touch and go there for awhile. We didn't find anything in the grave. [ but the tightness in his jaw, the aversion of his gaze - he's holding something back. ]

[novelizes]

[ he can see it in archie's face that something is wrong. sure, the story he tells could be enough to make even him display emotion, because it's certainly something that would have them all freaking out. however, he gets the sense that there's something more and he's wondering if he should prompt archie to continue. it's the whole stance that archie takes that tips him off, reminding jughead of the way he'd been the day he'd confronted archie about their cancelled roadtrip. it's something that would affect him, he's sure. and doesn't know how to address it.

shoving his hands in his pockets again, he jerks his head to the apartment upstairs. ]

Sounds like things got pretty crazy. Are you hungry? We've got food upstairs. And you can tell me more about what happened.

[ a pause as he looks over his shoulder, blue eyes locked on archie's face. ]

You're pretty transparent, Arch. There's more to this story.

[overarches]

[ how long can he stand here omitting the truth before jughead puts all the pieces together? generally speaking, he's more adept at reading people ( he's naturally suspicious whereas archie is trusting ) and he's going to be even better at noticing that archie's hiding something because of how long they've known each other. it won't matter much in the long run, he supposes, since he has no interest in lying to his best friend. ]

Yeah, I'm starving. [ he admits, not exactly sighing in relief, yet he's glad to catch a break. it's when jughead turns on him, pausing to cast knowing eyes in archie's direction that he knows he's not in the clear. he has a reprieve but it has a time limit. archie nods reluctantly, feeling somewhat like a man walking to find out what form of punishment fits his actions. ] I'll tell you everything, Jug. Everything I know.

[ as much as he wants to leave out a few details, he gets the sinking sensation that isn't an option. ]

[novelizes]

[ there is no escape for archie. jughead pins him down with a glance before leading the way inside because he knows there's more to the story and quite possibly more than archie's willing to share. but as far as jughead is concerned, he's owed the truth. archie has lied to him before and it almost ruined their friendship. if they want to make sure that doesn't happen again, they have to be honest with each other.

the apartment that jughead leads archie too is a relatively small one. he doesn't make a whole ton of money working for the theater, but it's enough for the cozy little place. it's about the size of his dad's trailer anyway, though there's evidence that betty lives here too. like a vase of flowers and relative cleanliness. twinkle lights illuminate the living room and the kitchenette is spotless. immediately, jughead gestures to the couch, insisting that archie sit and relax. ]

I'll order a pizza. You want the usual? Then you can explain while we wait for it.

[overarches]

[ yeah, he feels that pin in his chest like he's being nailed down. there's no need to feel as if his back's against a wall, it's jug. they've scraped through downright awful situations.
he knows he can't skirt the truth. ( but what if the truth destroys them? ) archie chokes down the fear, acknowledging that it'll be worse if it comes out some other way. better he hears it from him than someone else. he could play that game, hope nothing ever changes, that cheryl or veronica never show up and ask him how he feels about archie kissing betty, but he'd rather not risk everything.

his daemon trails after them not unlike the real vegas and archie follows after jughead, as dutifully as a dog. he raises his eyebrows at jughead when he gestures for him to sit like they aren't about to have an uncomfortable chat. he notices the touches to the apartment that can't have come from jughead alone but says nothing of it, if only because betty already told him they were staying together.
he crosses the living room to the couch, plops down on it in the same nature he would if they were in fp's trailer. ]

Yeah, sounds good. [ both of them will eat anything, it doesn't matter. he waits for jughead to put in the order and tries not to look too pensive. he's not the gloomy one. once he's returned to archie's side, he turns brown eyes on him, not quite imploring him to let it go but it would be nice. ] Where should I start? If you were with Betty when you got here, how much do you know? What's the last thing you remember?

[novelizes]

[ those eyes. they've always had an affect on him, despite what jughead might tell himself otherwise. like puppy eyes, but more soulful, and jughead can't help but sigh in mild irritation mixed with affection. the affection is underlying, barely noticeable for anyone who doesn't know him, but archie does, maybe even better than betty. so he'll undoubtedly hear it.

however, jughead's not completely swayed by the look. just as archie knows him better than probably anyone, jughead knows archie. he knows the other boy's need and desire to be loved, knows about some of his darkest secrets ( like grundy, but he does't want to think about her ), and knows just the kinds of things that make archie tick. so when archie deflects, asks about what he remembers, old fears come back.

they're the kind of fears that have plagued jughead for a while. that he'll lose betty, lose archie. that he'll never see jellybean or his mom again. this time, it's the memory that betty had loved archie first. he recalls what archie had said about being with betty before arriving, about a life-and-death situation. and he wonders.

jughead's always had an active imagination. it helps to fuel his writing, after all. the logical leap his mind automatically takes doesn't seem like a strange one to him, but he keeps his expression neutral as he settles down in the chair across from archie. ]

Betty and I were at the trailer and the Serpents came by to give me a jacket. After Homecoming.

[ the jacket which he's wearing right now. he pauses, tilting his head and arching a brow under his beanie before continuing. ]

Something happened between you and Betty, or am I wrong?

[overarches]

[ when archie said he’d tell him everything, he meant it. he’s not trying to deflect because it’s not a permanent tactic. jughead has the qualities of a detective. maybe some day he’ll stop writing about crimes and start solving them officially. archie doubts it, considering how deep he is in the serpents, but he’d be good at it. it’s why he doesn’t try and lie now. he’s asking what jughead remembers so he knows what time they’re all from, how much he’s lived through that his friend hasn’t.

it’s a lot. more than he can tell while they’re waiting for pizza to arrive.

he doesn’t know about fred andrews, the black hood, how things are more tense between the north side and the south side than they have been in years. not knowing will consume his mind, his waking moments, his every breath. he’s inquisitive. he’s paranoid. he watches jughead settle in the seat across from him and tries not to take it personally that he’s keeping his distance. ]

Homecoming feels like a lifetime ago. [ in truth, it hasn’t been that long. so much has happened in such a short time that it only feels that way. the next question makes it hard to breathe because if he answers that, how are they going to come back from it? he sets his hand on his thigh, smooths his palm towards his knee. ]

You're not wrong. [ and if jughead wants to strike him, now's a good time. he'll let him get one in, maybe two. ] But it's not what you think, Jug. Not really. The two of you were broken up, [ although if archie's being honest, he never thought that would be permanent. ] and Veronica made it pretty clear that whatever she did, or didn't feel for me, she didn't think she was ever going to be able to say it out loud. [ and she hadn't asked him if he was okay with never hearing it or not, she'd just left. ] It wasn't about any of that. The Black Hood was killing people and hurting others. He made Betty do a bunch of stuff that hurt her and everyone around her. So, when we went after him, I told her we were going to end it once and for all.

We kissed in the heat of the moment. Just once. [ he doesn't tell him everything, not that he ended up in a coffin with betty burying him alive prior to arrival. he doesn't want jug to feel bad for him and think he's using it for that specifically. ] If you want me to leave, I will.

[novelizes]

[ it's nothing against archie that he chose the spot he did. he figured he'd give his best friend some space to decompress, allow archie to relax a bit. then archie begins talking and jughead doesn't know how to feel. he stands, but doesn't move from the spot. his hands ball into fists at his side and though he doesn't hit archie, there's a part of him that wants to.

that part is overridden by logic. archie has clearly gone through a lot. apparently they all have if he'd broken up with betty for some reason. he can't possibly fathom why he would, but he doesn't think archie is lying. he trusts his friend that much. still, it hurts, feels like a betrayal and he reaches up to tug on his beanie. something to do with his hands as his mind races.

he hasn't felt this torn up since his father got arrested and the social worker said he'd have to move. ]

You and Betty...

[ he can't even say it, so he swallows hard. the words still spin in his head and he wants to lash out, but also pull archie into a hug. being so conflicted makes him sit back down again and he settles his elbows on his knees before holding his head. ]

Damnit, Archie, I should be pissed at you.

[ but he and betty broke up? and from the sounds of things, betty was really hurting while dealing with a lot of shit. he can't blame either of them for acting in the heat of a desperate moment. ]

Damnit.

[overarches]

[ instinct shows him the signs of danger like a series of photographs - the seat shifting under a transfer of weight, jughead’s hands fisted at his side, the rage that must be trembling within him. archie wants to look down but he holds his gaze as long as jug’s still willing to look him in the eyes. it’s plainly written all over his face: go ahead. he doesn’t like the crushing, bruising sensation of knuckles slamming into his cheekbones, his lip, but he thinks some part of him deserves it. how could he do that to jughead? how could they? he knew him well enough to at least suspect that jug was only doing what he believed was right, trying to protect the woman he loved, and hadn't archie told him not to drag betty into it?

archie stands, slowly and with his arms out. he’s wide open. ]

Then be pissed at me! [ waiting is worse. bracing for impact, waiting for the fallout. jughead is a better person than he is, less likely to go off like a wildfire at an insult. the only thing that chains him back is his own good sense. loyalty. jughead sits back down, folding in on himself, and archie doesn’t know whether to be seated or show himself out the door. he wants to go to him. his first impulse is to comfort his friend, to set his hand on his shoulder and offer some kind of consolation. but he can’t because he’s the reason he’s hurting in the first place. ]

I'm sorry. I am so sorry. I can't take it back, Jug. All I can tell you is that it will never happen again. [ the kiss hadn't been driven out of a passion, out of a desperate need to be together. it had happened because they were scared because not knowing if they would survive the night probably made betty wonder if there was anything she would regret not doing, emotions were running wild, and archie responded because he was scared, too. ( and maybe if he was going to go down fighting, he wanted to know what it would have been like. ) ]

[novelizes]

[ jughead remains curled up in himself for a few beats more as the sound archie's apologies reach his ears. part of him, the part that's always angry ( about the treatment from the northside, about being separated from jellybean, about his father's drinking and imprisonment ), does want to kick archie out, maybe even give him the punch that archie seems to be waiting for.

logic, however, rules that out. because if jughead is anything, he's a thinker. and though it hurts to realize it, he figures it makes sense the two would kiss in a life-or-death moment. that urge to find out if anything was ever there before everything came crashing down. he's suspected that betty still has some feelings for archie, and archie... well, archie is archie.

finally uncurling, he looks up at his best friend with dry eyes. there's still a scowl on his lips and he thinks about the requirements for saving their world. how they have to be intimate in order to power whatever magic that's being used to protect and save. which means betty and archie kissing might have to happen again. that is, if they ever want to get home.

it rankles, knowing that, but something inside jughead realizes the necessity of it. his gaze flicks down to archie's mouth for a split second and then he sighs, shaking his head. ]

Do you know what we have to do here to save our world, Arch?

[overarches]

[ the silence is awful. in the andrews’ household, they talk everything out. every resentment, sorrow, and awkward moment. it’s enough to drive any private person up the wall but by now, archie doesn’t know anything else. not hashing it out, hiding things from the people he cared about, it put him in a bad place once. jughead’s loyal and more than that, he isn’t a cruel person. he expects him to react emotionally, explosively, but there’s something underneath it that he’s suppressing them for.

there’s a weird knot in his stomach that comes from looming over his friend and so he sits down carefully, perched on the edge of the couch. the comfort of being in good company is gone, not because he’s being thrown out but because he thinks he deserves to be. ]

Yes. [ he replies with a nod. ] Whatever it takes to save the people we care about. [ but also, yes, he understands the concept of what the daemon had told him. why he was here, how he’d agreed to show up because the world was coming apart at the seams ( and he’d believed he was going to die, anyway. ) ] But not that and not with Betty.

[ archie isn’t so oblivious that he can’t connect the same dots jughead is drawing lines across. he intends to keep his word, regardless of the pressure from everything else. ] I already told Betty that I'm going to do anything it takes to save Riverdale. [ the world, he guesses, but archie doesn't have personal ties to the world. ] But I won't get between the two of you.

[novelizes]

[ meanwhile, jughead is used to silence. the quiet of the diner on late nights, the silence of the trailer while his father sits in jail. the emptiness of the school when no one is around to know that he slept in the janitor's closet. silence has been his companion on more occasions than he can count. but he knows it doesn't suit archie. archie is made for boisterous noise. and for all the troubles they've had, including this new news, archie is still his best friend.

when archie sits, jughead stands again. but this time, it's not to curl his fists at his sides. it's to settle next to the redhead, leaning back into the couch with a pained sigh. ]

Arch- You have to realize. We might not have a choice in this. It's just the three of us and I know you wouldn't come between me and Betty. Not willingly. Still, we need to consider our options here. This place is crazy. Crazier than Riverdale, and even though I know half the place hates me, I still want to save it.

[ he glances over at his best friend, taking in his features one at a time. from his ruffled hair to the curve of his brows and down to downcast brown eyes. his gaze doesn't stop there because this is archie, the boy he skinned his knees with, the boy who he got slivers with in the treehouse they shared. he'd do anything for archie and he's said it before. ]

Maybe we can work something out between the three of us.

[ it already sounds crazy in his head, but he pushes on anyway. riverdale is at stake; the blue and gold, the real vegas, fred andrews, all of their friends. will he really let a bit of jealousy stand in the way of protecting that? is he really so bitter and cold that he'd shut either of them? no, he doesn't want to be that way. ]

I know it sounds... you know. But we've done crazier things, haven't we?

[overarches]

[ how many times is he allowed to break jughead’s heart? that summer had been the first; he’d let his best friend think he’d traded up for a varsity jacket and the popular kids. the second was when he and veronica went behind his back to search fp’s trailer from top to bottom and what should have been the last was when he played the middle man for betty, splitting the two of them down the middle with a few carefully constructed sentences. when are they going to wise up? that’s about the only thing plaguing him, ricocheting off the corners of his mind in an echo, before jughead joins him on the couch.

he stops staring at his shoes and twists his body to face jughead. he doesn’t like what he’s hearing. that’s pretty much life these days. archie feels like there’s a puzzle in front of him nearly finished, yet no matter how he turns the remaining pieces, they won’t fit together. he’s missing something. the weight of jughead’s gaze isn’t lost on him. he’s looking at archie like he hasn’t seen him a thousand times in a thousand different ways.

he shifts on his seat uncomfortably, unsure what to say, or what he’s hearing exactly. he’s used to being looked at but this is jug. ]

Like, moving in together? [ he fills in with too much emphasis. he’s not naive, not in all aspects. sometimes he misses cues. archie has a sneaking suspicion of what’s being brought up, skirted around, but it is crazy. if he says something else before jughead can fully elaborate on his thought process, then archie doesn’t have to pretend that he didn’t hear him. ]

No. [ it’s too late to cut him off, once he’s asking if it’s even the wildest idea they’ve ever entertained. ] Jughead, don’t. I love you, and I love Betty, but it isn't like that. [ he can't fathom what it might be if he allowed it to happen. they're his best friends and they deserve to cling onto whatever happiness they have left. and maybe he knows archie well enough to know that when he gets scared, he shuts down and pushes as hard as he can. he's about to shove them both over a cliff. ]

[novelizes]

[ for archie, he's willing to risk it. not because he's a thrill seeker or the kind of person who lives dangerously. to jughead, life would be good with the friends he loves, a good book, and his laptop to write in. but that's not possible right now, not when their world came crashing down in the most literal of senses. now he's in a place where making brash decisions is the norm. he knows it's a bit soon for him and betty to be living together, but the thought of her being on her own had been too much for him. just as the thought of archie being on his own makes him clench the seat cushions of the couch.

and to top it all off, he knows archie is trying to push him ( and betty ) away. it's a tactic jughead recognizes well because it's what he does far too often. if what archie says is true about him and betty being broken up, it must've been because he'd pushed and betty hadn't resisted. it's a scary thought that he doesn't like acknowledging, but the truth is sitting right next to him.

heaving a sigh, he allows his shoulders to slump. his hands come up and adjust his beanie before he returns his gaze to archie, who is now looking at him. how can he explain that archie shouldn't push because he'll just push back and neither will want that to happen. ]

Is that how you really want it, Arch? Yeah, Betty's staying here but you can too. I couldn't leave her to fend for herself and I can't do that to you either. You gave me a home, remember? Those were some of the most awesome days of my life.

[ sharing a room with archie, hearing him breathe as he slept, staying up too late playing video games, and practically eating fred out of house and home. sometimes, jughead wishes they could go back to that. ]

I love you both too, dude. But if you really want to draw that line in the sand, I'll let you.

[overarches]

[ gambling with their hearts is a game with high stakes. too high. this isn’t the only instance recently where he thinks jug is behaving stupidly, but this may be when he calls him on it. what’s he thinking? is he thinking at all? is he planning on running this by his girlfriend? not wanting to be around them isn’t why he’s resisting, he has no issue with crashing on the couch or the floor. it’s the other thing. he’s the impulsive one. the guy that doesn’t think twice before rushing into situations because his feelings constantly jump in the driver’s seat.

his pulse is too fast for someone calmly disagreeing with a friend, for someone that doesn’t feel anything. he cups his knees with his palms, steadying himself. there’s no shaking the inquisitive gaze of an investigator. jughead knows what twitches to look for, what questions to ask, how to wait archie out. likewise he recognizes when he’s being watched and what signs not to show, if he can help it. ]

I know. I’d do it again. [ that connection between them hasn’t changed. his door will always be open, no matter how many times fred andrews brings out the old and true speech about how each jones is on a twisted road and cannot be saved from themselves. ] It's not about staying here. I don't have an issue with crashing on the couch until I can find a place. [ he exhales like he has to get all the extra air out and take new oxygen in to get the next part out. ] But is that all you're asking me to do?

[novelizes]

[ maybe he is being stupid, thinking stupid things. even jughead is capable of letting his heart rule him rather than his head, even if it's not as often as archie might. there are two people he's been known to be reckless for and one of them is sitting right next to him.

of course he'll talk with betty, but he has a feeling she'll think along the same lines as him. he trusts their love enough to play a little fast and loose with their hearts, and if what archie says about the kiss is true, then there's a possibility that she still has feelings for the redhead. not that jughead would blame her because she'd harbored feelings for archie for so long before jughead became a constant.

at least, this is how things are going in jughead's mind. he's often questioned himself what he'd do if archie showed up, and always came back around to the same answer. betty would always come first in his heart, but archie is never far behind. ]

I know you would. You've got a big heart.

[ and that's no lie. he assumes that's why archie has been around the block a bit. because archie desires to be love and be loved in return, regardless of the cost to himself. jughead never wants to see that fade. ]

Arch. [ his tone is frank, and he makes sure that he's turned enough on his seat to look archie square in the eye. ] Screw that, live with me. [ he's throwing back the same words archie had said to him and with a purpose. ] With us. We can always find a bigger place or the couch has a pull out. And if that's all you want, I won't ask for more.

[overarches]

[ awkward isn’t the right word, neither is unsettled. peculiar, maybe. jughead jones has been many things to him over the years - a friend, a brother, the scorned - but never someone that he’s thought about romantically. they’ve always been close, disregarding the one summer they aren’t quick to dredge up. there’s really no arguing that their feelings are intense, that their lives are bound together. he frowns in spite of himself, too puzzled to make something out of nothing.

is this new for jughead? is it simply point a to point b for him? if betty still has feelings for archie, then the most obvious solution is to share. he wonders how that seems rational to jughead, if there isn’t more to it than that. he’s seemingly unfeeling when he wants to be and overly protective of the few things he cares about when he doesn’t. archie has questions, none of which he’s brave enough to voice because curiosity implies interest, and interest will change things forever.

he doesn’t run from jughead. there’s nowhere to go and there’s nowhere else he wants to be. archie recognizes where the statement comes from, that those are his own words come back to him. he belongs with his friends and that makes him smile, uncertain as he may be about the other part of the invitation. ]

I'm in love with Veronica. [ he insists for clarification's sake, as if there's never been a single person in the universe that's loved more than one person at once. it isn't a no precisely, but it is a reminder. as open as he is with his heart, he can't give something away that doesn't belong to him anymore. ] That hasn't changed.

[novelizes]

[ in love with veronica? that makes jughead blink a bit in surprise. no, not surprise. more like... oh, it's finally happened. he knew they were dating, or rather had something going on between them, but a lot has apparently changed since homecoming. it's not that he doubts archie's words either. but he knows how easily archie gives away his heart and how easily it can be broken ( grundy comes to mind, but he quickly shoves that thought away ). he hopes with all his heart that archie won't get hurt this time, that he can trust veronica to hold his best friend's heart as gingerly as she holds her pearls. he wants to believe that it'll work out, too, because archie deserves to be happy with someone like he is with betty.

but jughead is cynical. there will always be that dark part of him that questions everything, that doesn't trust what he hears or sometimes even what he sees with his own eyes. and he ca see the way archie is looking at him, like... like archie isn't sure but is also very, very certain.

so he shrugs. his shoulders lift and fall unevenly as he rolls his eyes. ]

And I'm in love with Betty. That hasn't changed either.

[ heaving a sigh, he slumps back into the couch again. ]

Forget I said anything. I mean, I'm clearly messing with your head, and I don't wanna do that. All I mean is that... Christ, Arch, we gotta stick together now more than ever.