topic- betty cooper
select a topic for a meta meme + @sweetlycourageousSo I feel a LOT of ways about this one! Mostly because the show left so many fucking black holes in the plot in concerns to these two, but let me explain how MY Toni in particular feels about Betty Cooper, agnostic of any particular Betty player or otherwise, based off of the show and the way that I’ve played my Toni overall and comments that the actress herself has said about how Toni views her.In general, Toni struggles to understand Betty. Why? Because their lives are such utter opposites, she, in earnest, can’t understand what could ever get Betty down. She’s grown up with all the things that Toni has ever wanted in the most selfish means, with a (loving) family, a constant roof over her house, clean clothes, nice school, and the opportunities to chase after and do all the amazing things that she’s ever wanted to do. And to boot? She’s got the attention of the only person that Toni has shown any interest for in the show. I believe that what Toni said in that diner was partially to protect herself, emotionally. She knew Jughead would eventually go back to Betty, who she sees, in some twisted, natural order way of thinking, deserves him more. Why?Because Betty gets everything she wants!My Toni in particular is really hard on herself, because life has been hard on her. Her parents are nowhere to be seen, her remaining family doesn’t seem to care about her, and she has to be working all hours of the night if she’s working at the Whyte Wrym. She doesn’t have anything nice for herself other than her shoes, so that money is probably going somewhere if she still leads a life of poverty and homelessness despite the hours works. Given that, she sees Betty, and of COURSE she understand why Jughead would want her more.But I don’t think she’s salty about it. Again, this goes back to the, ‘I’m not good enough for anything I want’ kind of thinking she has. Which is why she never said anything to her too, despite the girls getting close enough for Betty to turn to her in that one moment to ask about how to watch over Jughead. That said? I think apart of her feels Betty only talks to her when she wants something, so she’d be a little inherently suspicious whenever the blonde comes her way. And that stems from them having so little in common, and, from the show, Betty’s never really asked into anything around Toni or her life. The only actual interaction is Betty feeling jealous of Toni, but never actually digging in to understand anything about her. This ALSO goes back to the scene in the trailer, where Betty was quick to say that OF COURSE the Black Hood was a Southsider.That, too, kind of feeds into Toni’s feelings that Northsiders just will never GET the Southsiders. The interest in making things better within her eyes is strictly one way, and given the protest (and how nobody really came up to comfort her afterwards) went, she really sees people like the Coopers as being complicit in the face of inequality. Now what I don’t really like is that the relationship between them is kind of down to this whole ‘about a boy’ situation. But that’s what the show has made it, because Betty’s interest in Toni only extends in-so-far as Jughead is involved, whereas Toni has shown a genuine care for Betty’s wellbeing, as evidenced when she tries to advise her against doing the Serpent Dance, and honestly I feel that’s too bad. I see a LOT of Betty players coming to me asking for friendships between them and Toni, and honestly, I’d love that, but if we’re being canon here, Betty does not give a flying FUCK about Toni as a person. Now what’s interesting in terms of the show vs the comics? Is that I feel, contrary to the comics, the whole ‘heart of Riverdale’ thing has actually been given to Toni. Why do I feel this? Toni’s clearly very involved with helping the needy and the underprivileged within Riverdale, spending a lot of time (off screen) around the elderly, kids, and also running the charity programs that the Serpents take part in. Betty hasn’t been mentioned as doing any of this, which was a weird flip of how the comics handled Betty Cooper vs Toni Topaz (who, in the comics, was the mechanic and the competitive eater). It’s cool though, I mean I love that they gave that to Toni to give her a more interesting voice in the show. But what’s sad is that Betty genuinely cares about Toni in the comics and versa, and they’re shown to be great friends. To the point where Toni is out there volunteering to take up coaching soccer on behalf of Betty after Betty is in a car accident, and she’s there visiting Betty, and at her rehab and all this really? Fucking awesome shit? The show misses out on? Like where is the Betty that cares about her friends? Riverdale is missing that mark, HELLA.Anyways, THAT’S MY FEELINGS ABOUT IT, hope this explains things.
