APRIL CATCH-ALL; Mostly the view is beautiful

[burger_king]

WHO: Jughead Jones and YOU
WHERE: Mostly Maurtia Falls, but also other places
WHEN: Throughout April
WHAT: A lot of stuff, mostly mundane!
WARNINGS: Riverdale nonsense, teens being teens. See individual threads for individual warnings.

Prompts under the cut, hit me up at reveillez if you want me to write up a starter


01 - So in this room separated from the world

[ Annabeth hooking him up with a job at the library probably ranks as the third best thing to happen since he arrived. It's quiet, solitary work and between the shelving and cataloguing he has more time to work on his own projects than he knows what to do with. So what if he has to answer a question every now and then, or dig out some forgotten text book from storage if it means spending hours browsing the psychology section, digging out every book he can find on serial killers and then taking ample notes during whatever downtime he finds himself with. Research for a fun project, sure, but also a way to dull down the homesickness a touch — this is basically what he did back in Riverdale, only he didn't get a paycheck for it.

He can be found among the shelves, or at the check-out desk, engrossed in something gross. ]

02 - I'd sell you my own values for the sake of others

[ The last couple of years, Jughead probably spent more time in Pop's Chocklit Shoppe than anywhere else and although that particular diner is out of reach, everything else stays the same. He'll settle in at a booth after work with a cup of never-cooling coffee and his laptop, typing away until well into the night. This is when he does his best work, when everyone else has gone home to their normal lives with their normal problems. Maybe he doesn't have a school paper to write for or the half-written novel on Jason Blossom's murder, but there are other things. Other novels. Other stories. ]

03 - So hold this glass cos' it keeps cutting me

[ Some things never change but one thing has absolutely changed in the past couple of months - he never had powers back home. Practicing at the Meadows was a good idea in theory but an awkward plan in practice and so he's resorted to mostly empty parking lots around Maurtia Falls. He'll set out whenever he's got some spare time, lining up water bottles and taking notes on how many he can keep a certain color for how long, if he can switch it up, where his limits lie. Eventually he should move on to something bigger, perhaps, but for now bottles are fine. It's not like this power is good for much, anyway. Not saving the world any day soon.

Curious onlookers are welcome to join him or just ask what the heck he's up to out here on his own. ]

Comments

Derek

[burger_king]

[ It's late when he gets back to the apartment. Dark. He didn't mean to stay out this late, but he always does when he's not with Betty, always shuffles in long after dark, too tired to care about much of anything other than getting to his room and catching some sleep. This night is no exception and he opts to not turn on the lights as he feels his way across the communal space, illuminated only by the neon lights outside the windows. The door to his room creaks, quietly like a mouse, a familiar noise even now mere weeks after moving in.

He dumps his bag onto the floor by the door. Stops. ]

[calloused]

[ The night and its blanket of darkness suits Derek better than the day; he likes the freedom of being able to live in the quiet, cutting through streets without being seen, and he appreciates the fact that he's less likely to be caught scaling the outside wall of an apartment complex to break into a teenager's bedroom a week or so after killing a dude in front of said teenager's roommate. It's nice. Secure.

Derek's sitting on Jughead's bed as he enters, legs crossed. He'd snatched a book from Tate's bedroom and he'd been reading it in the dark, his sense of vision heightened enough to make it work even with only the sickly buzzing neon from outside, but he quietly dogears the page he's on and sets it down. He watches Jughead until he stops moving, and when Derek speaks his voice just hits the air without warning - no cleared throat, no rustle in the sheets. Just a dude. On a bed. Hanging out. ]

Not gonna turn the light on?

[burger_king]

[ If Jughead hadn't been ambushed by gang members as much as he has in the past few months back in Riverdale, he'd be visibly freaking out right now. Instead, he's just freaking out on the inside. He casually slips his hands inside the pockets of his leather jacket, hoping the movement will conceal the way he reaches for the switchblade he's carrying. No intention of using it if he can help it, but also how often do you get strange men in your bedroom? ]

The light is on. [ He says, weight to his voice, and in an instance the room is bright without him moving a muscle for the light switch. ] What do you want?

2

[fource]

[Quatre said that he'd get settled in, and part of that is exploring the community now that it isn't threatened by an ongoing missile crisis. It only works out that he recognizes someone off the video feed in the diner he picks.]

Jughead, right? [he asks cheerfully, pausing on his way past the table. Quatre is short in person, barely 5'1, though he's dressed and carrying himself as if he's coming out of an office for the day, a stack of newspapers tucked under his arm. He's coming here after work himself, which mostly means that he's got some dog hair on his trousers and a little bit of a flush in his cheeks from playing with animals all day (and it's still amazing that they pay him for this). He spots the laptop and his smile turns a little sheepish.] I hope I'm not interrupting. I just wanted to say hello.

[burger_king]

[ If they hadn't already had such a fruitful conversation, Jughead would be weary about this guy - too clean and proper, that's usually not a good sign in his world. Luckily he knows Quatre just well enough to lay those assumptions aside. ]

Hey. Quatre, right? [ He meets the greeting with a lopsided smile. ] Settling in okay?

[fource]

[He smiles in confirmation when Jughead says his name, though it drifts away with a sigh and a heft of the newspapers in his arms; they're dated between the 18th and the 27th.] It's been... eventful. A little hard to focus on getting used to the world.

[It's too serious a topic to make a joke about scoping out the diners. He frowns, asking in sincere concern] Were you alright, that... day? Days?

three!

[specialise]

[ you know what's really great about empty parking lots? the privacy. it's not the reason why raven's in this particular one. rather, she's stalking carparks and the parking along the sidewalks to suss out the types of cars driven here — which one is the most popular? which ones fit perfectly between the lines? which ones might support a bad leg? like jughead jones, narrator extraordinaire, raven's out here on research purposes, too. she just doesn't do it like a normal person would. ]

[ perhaps he can hear someone approaching with the way her left leg, wrapped in an ugly metallic brace, seems to drag a little against the ground, unsettling the gravel ... or it's the sound of her boots. her red jacket almost matches the shade he's going for with the water. ]

Are you poisoning the water supply? [ playfully said, accompanied by her arms crossed, eyebrow arched, and a very amused voice. if he's planning to poison the water supply ... good. she could use a challenge. ]

aaaah..!

[burger_king]

[ He does hear someone approaching and although he's not really doing anything illegal the noise alone has him straightening up, turning towards the sound. Whatever nervousness he might've had melts away when he recognises her, leaks out of his shoulders as he relaxes. ]

This would be a really ineffective way of doing it. [ One bottle at a time. He gives her a lopsided smile. ] Been awhile, RR.

😍 i hope you're ready for more bad jokes, JJ

[specialise]

I was waiting for you to be doing something suspicious before I knocked you on your ass again with my amazing jokes, JJ. [ if raven had any intentions of keeping a straight face, it's completely destroyed by the smile she wears. she shrugs her shoulders. it's nice to be around people who not only linger in empty carparks doing suspicious things, but people who aren't unappreciative of really bad jokes. she can't be a genius at everything ... ]

Seriously ... [ with a wave of her magical hand, she gestures toward the bottles and the weird shit that's happening before her. ] Water you doing?

Tate

[burger_king]

[ Living in cupboards and then living in a trailer means that Jughead has never really had a lot of stuff. Even here it fits easily into a backpack, getting snugger with every paycheck but never really entering the category of a lot of stuff. Moving into an apartment seemed like a done deal and then he remembered stuff like furniture and plates and cups, all the little things you don't think about when you live in a home someone else has already furnished. It adds up, even if they don't need much, and so he's spent way more than the fifteen minutes he anticipated on getting the apartment together.

He closes the kitchen cupboard on the small collection of thrift shop bowls he picked up on the way home — because eating cereal is a thing he likes doing and no one needs the sadness of owning nothing but a single bowl — and then turns to Tate. ]

I need a break.

[burger_king]

I could hook up the laptop, except we don't have wi-fi either.

[ Both things they really need to get hooked up soon - at least the wi-fi. TV he could probably do without, but a reliable internet connection is very much necessary for so many reasons, the podcast being the most pressing of them. Just one more thing for the list of shit to deal with that never seems to be getting any smaller.

He sighs. ]

Wanna get out of here, grab some take out?

two

[couldbebeautiful]

[Veronica tends to sit outdoors when she goes people-watching, sitting on a bench and writing about people in her diary. Still, sometimes she needs a snack too, so she ducks into a diner somewhere in Maurtia Falls and orders a tray of French fries and a Coke. She glances around, notes with some dismay that most of the tables are full already, then sees a familiar face.

She walks on over, and raps her knuckles on the table's surface to call Jughead's attention.]

Waiting on anyone?

[burger_king]

[ He flinches only a little at the interruption, smiles when he realises who's doing the interrupting. ]

Nope. Just doing some writing. [ He pushes the laptop to the side, making some room for her if she wants to join on the opposite side of the booth. ] You alone?

[couldbebeautiful]

[She does, taking the seat across from him and depositing her French fries and Coke in front of her with little ceremony. There's a notebook half-hidden by a pocket in her jacket, and the back end of a pen peeking out of the notebook.]

Mind if I ask you what you're writing about? [If he tells her not to ask, she'll back off—some things have to stay private, she knows. She picks up a French fry and bites into it, absent-minded.] I'm alone, yes. I thought you might like some company.

( 01 )

[ripstides]

[ the only reason percy ever finds himself in the library is because of annabeth. ( blegh, books. ) 1) she’s usually here, and 2) he has to read a lot more and study if he wants to get into college. he doesn’t have her knack for memorization and he’s definitely not here to try and work on that now. nope. he’s got a medium-sized paper bag in one hand that’s wafting with the delicious scent of french fries and burgers. probably a smoothie and a salad are better lunch options around delicate textbooks for a number of reasons, but that’s just boring.

he’s looking for her when he sets the bag down on the check-out desk to free his hands. she’s not there but someone is. huh. ]

Hey… [ he doesn’t see a name tag. welp. ] Have you seen Annabeth? [ knowing his luck, he probably just missed her. or this guy has no idea who annabeth even is. ]

[burger_king]

[ Other library workers would probably tell this guy to get his deliciously smelling bag out of the library before he makes a mess, but not Jughead. No, he understands the need for a good burger, perks up at the scent long before Percy addresses him. ]

She's on break. [ He straightens, attempts some level of being on the clock. It's not that convincing. ] Maybe I can help you?

02

[aka_pistachio]

[ Traveling is weird but she made it. All on her own. She's doing everything on her own, lately, for the first time in her entire life. Even when she finally set off on her own on the tour, without Wes, she wasn't alone like this.

She's pretty sure she recognizes Jughead from the video chat, and so she unceremoniously slides onto the booth, sitting across from him. Her expression is overly serious, as it usually is. But also she's nervous as fuck and trying to hide it under an impassive façade. ]

Hey. So the mozzarella sticks are good here, huh?

[burger_king]

[ Of all the diners in all the world, she had to walk into this one. He looks up when she slides into the booth, moderately startled by the sudden company — back home it could only be a handful of people, but here? He's pretty sure he's had a pleasant conversation with more people than the actual population of Riverdale by now.

It's weird, but not unwelcome and he shoots her a lopsided smile when he realises who it is. ]

Eh, I'd give them a five out of ten. Coffee's cheap though, and the burgers are acceptable. [ The important parts. ] Settle in okay?

Matthew

[burger_king]

[ Ever since that altercation with Adam, Jughead has been careful not to spend any more time in the main house than he has to. He arrives by the side door, he leaves by the side door and the rest of the time he's in Betty's room - except for right now, when he's sneaking back through the building after getting something to drink in the kitchen. He moves quickly, quietly, hoping to get back to Betty's room undetected, or at least without running into Adam. ]

Perfect!

[dreamkid]

[ Wellll Matthew is decidedly not Adam, so that's something. He doesn't catch Jughead as much as he steps out of his bedroom while texting and nearly walks right into the other guy, stopping just short of a collision. ]

Oh! [ He blinks and lowers the phone. ] Hi. You're, um. [ He stops, squints, and tilts his head, clearly trying to remember if he knows this person who's sneaking around in his house. Maybe... not? ]

o1!

[khajidont]

[ Jaime happens to be in the same section of the library as Jughead, but not out of personal interest in the same vein as him - it just so happens that you have to do a lot of bumming around in the Psychology section of any library when you're a Psychology Major. They both wind up with their hand on the spine of a book simultaneously (it's a thick, dry looking text, about ten years worth of specific selections from a Psychology academic journal compiled into one tidy package) and, as he usually does, Jaime retracts his hand first, looking a little surprised that there's even any competition for this title. ]

Oh, sorry. [ He gestures towards the book. ] It's all yours. I got plenty.

[ It's true - he's cradling a perilous stack of books in the crook of his right arm. ]

[burger_king]

[ It took him about half a day's work to realise that working at a library means having way too much time on your hands, which means that after about a week you start digging into the weirder, tougher books on the shelves. It was more out of curiosity that he reached for it - the subject is way outside of his area of interest - and so he pulls away as soon as he notices that someone else wants it. ]

No no, it's fine. You take it - I work here, I can get it whenever. [ Speaking of... ] Do you want to borrow a cart or something?

one!

[hellosirs]

[ There's a small boy standing a few feet away from Jughead in the psychology section, balancing a towering stack of books against his hip with one arm, and brandishing a magic wand at the shelves with his free hand. The wand is unmistakably childish, it looks like the sort of thing you'd buy at a toy store, it's made of lacquered wood and has a yellow star at the end and everything. When the kid aims it at a certain book on the top shelf, a ghostly blue hand emanates from the star and reaches for the book... but the kid's so wrapped up in the spell that he doesn't notice the stack of books he's holding tipping over, until they tumble to the ground in a noisy avalanche of True Crime novels and nonfiction books about the criminal justice system.

Angus recoils at the mess and commotion and stares at Jughead, absolutely mortified. ]

Ohmygosh. I'm sorry, sir! I'll... hang on, I'll get this cleaned up...!

[burger_king]

[ He's been here a couple of months now so it's not as mesmerising as it used to be, but the display of power usage is still intriguing enough for him to take a break in shelving and watch. It looks like a disaster waiting to happen, but you never know, maybe this kid has some special gravity defying powers-

Oh. Oh nope. Nothing like that. ]

Hey, are you trying to steal my job from me? [ Normally he'd probably let the kid clean it up if he really wanted to, but he feels a little bad for laughing. Also, he's weirded out from being called sir. ]

You okay?