#lex has AMAZING art!!!!

[stevethehairington]

do you LOVE stranger things fanart?

do you LOVE gorgeous colors and incredible textures and fantastic lighting?

do you LOVE new and fresh ideas and super creative concepts?

if you answered yes to any (ALL) of the above then you should ABSOLUTELY STOP WHAT YOURE DOING RIGHT NOW AND GO FOLLOW MY BESTIE @artbean for all the beautiful, incredible, wonderful, mindblowing art of all your faves and so much more!!!! ✨️💜✨️💜

[lexicled]

mentopolis might be the coolest shit ive ever seen and its a goddamn tragedy that its only 6 episodes

[theheraldsrest]

Hey! I really really love your blog! If I may request, during downtime, how would the members of the inner circle react to find the Inquisitor drawing/sketching them?

“Companions react to Inquisitor drawing/sketching them”

After our *cough* little thing with Bull, let’s have some fluff, shall we? Thank you anon for the ask!

-Lord Lex

Cullen

“You did this? It’s certainly…it’s…how did you even…it’s amazing.”

-So surprised, no words. It makes him feel a little special that you’d choose to sketch him but also very embarrassed. In return, he tries drawing you. Might not be as good and there are a few rough sketches that were thrown in the fire, but he wanted to return the favor. 

Josephine

“Oh! Look at the detail and the softness! I wouldn’t have even thought it was me from how stunning it is!”

-Absolutely gushing over it. Josey’s always had a fascination for the arts and to be the subject of the piece from someone close to her? Adores it, even asks to keep it. She has it tucked away in one of her favorite books. Will always compliment your art even when talking to dignitaries.

Leliana

“I commend you on your artistic talent. Though, I’d ask you not to sketch me. Perhaps one of the ravens would make better practice?”

-Like Josephine, Leliana has an eye for art. She loves looking at the little details in your sketches and finds it a surprise that her face is amongst the papers. As much as she appreciates it, she’d rather her face remain a secret. She is your spy master, after all. Though, if she becomes Divine, she keeps the sketch as one of her favorite pieces of her. 

Vivienne

“Darling, as much as I’d like to say you're wasting your talents by leading the Inquisition instead of honing your skills, you are equally talented in both. Most usually fail to make me look this stunning.”

-It might not show on her face or in her words but she loves it. Several times people have been commissioned to paint her yet none come even close to your level of detail. More points if it’s of her smiling or laughing, the lines on her face as well as the wrinkle around her eyes gives her a sense of…normalcy. If she becomes Divine, she commissions you to do her portrait, no one else.

Varric

“You drew me? I think that’s gotta be one of the scariest pieces of your art I’ve ever seen! When you're done, can I keep it?”

-Though it doesn’t sound like it, he brags about it constantly. Even when he’s making fun of his slightly crooked nose or how his eyes might seem smaller than other dwarves, he’s complimenting the skill you put into the very minute details of his face. Varric will try to pay you for it even if you refuse, later trying to commission a drawing of Hawke when they come around.

Cole

“Oh, it’s me! Not really, but it’s Cole. But you’re trying to draw me…I can still remember his face, then.”

-He’ll stare at it for hours, his shoulders down. It’s been sometime since he’d been able to see his own face, forgetting that he even had a face. To see you draw that face, the real Cole, just from looking at him makes him happy. Will ask to look at it every now and then, just to make sure it’s still the same.

Solas

“I must say, you are quite talented and steady with your hands. It does allow others to see how the artist sees. You certainly make me seem…at peace.”

-From one artist to another, he gives you high compliments with very few complaints. It is unusual to see him drawn in such a way since he’s so used to seeing only the mosaics. He meant to get rid of it when he left the Inquisition, but just couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Cassandra

“Inquisitor, though your craft is very beautiful and I admire how you can make these pieces, I must ask you not to sketch me.”

-Don’t get her wrong, she loves seeing your sketches but it’s mostly out of formality (and somewhat embarrassment) that she asks not to be your subject. If she becomes Divine, it’s one of the only pieces she prefers over the paintings. Though she does ask you, if you have the time, to draw something for her. When you give her a perfect picture of her brother and her, it’s one of the few times she truly hugs you.

The Iron Bull

“Holy shit. I’m alright when it comes to sketching, but you make it look pretty damn easy while so complicated! You even got my scars and the detail on my patch! Damn, boss!”

-Bull is used to doing quick sketches, usually of small details to make sure he could track someone or to remember something easier. Never had he really seen himself drawn so picture perfect that it completely baffles him. He looks at all the details with a smile on his face.

Dorian

“I can’t believe you managed to get my good side! In all honesty, though, this is remarkable. And not just because it’s me.”

-He had studied some art pieces before and never really found any he liked, but he has now found one of his favorite artists. Constantly asks if you’ve done any new pieces just so he can look at the heart that goes into them. Ask if you could teach him to sketch as such so that he can add better drawings to his research notes.

Sera

“What the fuck! That’s me! How the fuck! How did you do this! You even got my eyes to be lined up! How the hell did you do that?!”

-We all know Sera’s drawing style. She keeps saying the same things over and over again because she’s at a loss for words. Except for cuss words. Along with the rooftop hangouts, she insists that you two just draw together sometimes. Some of the goofiest drawings come from these times, especially one of a cartoonish Coryshit falling from a very detailed tower.

A little speech bubble near it says “Oh shit, I shat myself!”

Blackwall

“I…I’m honored to be one of your subjects. Not to blow my own horn, but this looks stunning. You really are something special, hm?”

-Blackwall has done a lot of sketching himself and finds your art a breath of fresh air. Other than looking at bits and pieces of his reflection, he usually tries to avoid seeing himself. So when he sees your drawing of him, he almost doesn’t recognize himself. You both trade sketches of each other just for fun and even sketch together.

[asktadckrew]

✨ASK THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS!!✨

LORE: located here:

Alright so they're on Earth right

Well they're still in their circus forms

BUT HERE'S THE KICKER 🦶🦵🦵

They've evolved

Zooble has a mouth that only shows up when needed

Gangle looks like this (this is not my art and it never will be btw):

Also they live in apartments! In groups of 3 Caine makes the rules still

Gangle, Zooble, and Kinger live together

Ragatha, Jax, Pomni, and Kroli live together

Caine and Bubble together cuz bubble is Caines son (its canon don't even)

That's it I think

Fun Facts!!:

Ragatha is transgender!! Trans queen!!🏳️‍⚧️

Ragatha acts like Pomni's Mother

Caine and Moon are Bubble's parents

Pomni is Russian

Jax and Pomni have a pet snake named Kroli (rabbit in Russian is кролик, which is what Pomni named him after)

COUPLES:

Gangle x Zooble

Jax x Pomni

Caine x Moon failed us

Kinger is crushing on Caine oml

Characters:

Gangle

Zooble

Kinger

Ragatha

Jax

Pomni/Princess Lizzie

Fidget

Whimsy

Rae

Lex

Melpomene and Thalia

RULES!!!:

1. NO RUDE THINGS

2. No things TOO suggestive

3. No being mean to Gangle, that's Jax's job

4. No being a bigot (especially towards Zooby)

5. Pls don't forget about Kinger and Fidget

The End!?

Be safe and have fun!!

[disillusioneddanny]

DP x DC Fic Recs

A list of DPxDC fics that don't have the following tropes:

Danny gets adopted by the Waynes

Danny is rejected by his parents for being Phantom.

The lovely @spite-sapphic-starlight started a really wonderful list that you can read here

But lets just show a little more love for the fics that don't fit those tropes.

also disclaimer: this is not any hate to those tropes, i love them dearly and have written quite a few of them myself. but apparently that's all DPxDC seems to be known for so we should take some time to highlight some truly amazing fics.

Born to Make History by Halfagone and Nightshiftshenanigans

It's a Jason Todd/ Danny Fenton Figure Skating AU with a no powers AU and it's absolutely beautiful.

I’m Falling for you (Now we’re both Falling) by Milaley, ziazippy5379

Danny is a paramedic who moves to Gotham because he wants to help people and the pay for paramedics is good. He meets former police officer Dick Grayson who spoiler happens to be his soulmate. Danny's parents struggle with the fact that they are the reason he's a halfa but they don't reject him.

A Second Life by Die_Erlkonigin6083

Danny is reincarnated and wakes up to find himself a little boy who is the clone of Dick Grayson who decides to raise his clone as his son. This isn't really an adoption AU since Danny was created as a clone and he didn't run away from the Fentons, I can't really share more without spoiling the entire premise :3 but it's very good and is a good play on the Danny is a Wayne trope.

Fall Before You Fly by DisillusionedDanny, GuardianofDawn

Danny decides to go on vacation and explore the different universes, he goes to the DC universe and joins a circus and becomes an escapologist and meets Dick who wants to learn how he's so good at what he does.

Schrodinger's Danny by Die_Erlkonigin6083

The Fentons were never Danny's parents in this AU and he became a halfa in a completely different way. Danny is the twin brother of Damian and flees into the ghost zone letting everyone think he's dead. He's younger in this AU and honestly it's such a cool take on the DemonTwin trope.

Forget the Christmas Spirit (Run Away With Me) by halfagone (milkywxy)

Danny and Damian meet in Paris right before Christmas. They fall in love on the trip and Danny decides to spend Christmas with the Waynes instead of going back to his own family where his parents make Christmas an entire thing each year.

We Lit a Match by GuardianofDawn 

Danny has a gift that lets him see if people around him are going to die. He learns that he's the reason his family dies and runs away before that happens. He finds himself getting adopted by one Lex Luthor.

No bad parents Fentons, Danny runs away to keep them safe

Not adopted by a Wayne, it's Lex Luthor

it's a fun flip on both of those tropes.

Shovel Talk by SummersSixEcho

Danny and Tim go on a roadtrip for Tim to meet Danny's parents. Established relationship Tim/Danny

It's a very wonderful take on Good Parents Jack and Maddie Fenton and it's just a lovely story altogether.

Eat the Acid by DisillusionedDanny

Danny meets Conner Kent and falls head over heels in love with him. They discover that Vlad and Lex have teamed up to make the ultimate clone warrior. With the help of the Fentons and some unlikely friends they bring the clone back to Fentonworks so that they can raise their baby together away from Lex and Vlad.

These are just a few examples of fics that don't fall into those two tropes, they are all absolutely amazing and wonderful and the writers put a lot of work into these pieces of art. There are so many other fics that fall into these categories, I just don't have the time or space to add every single one but please don't act like all of DPxDC falls under the idea that Danny runs away to gotham to escape his evil scientist parents and gets adopted by the Waynes, that's a very small part of what this fandom does. It's a lovely part but it's not all that the DPxDC fandom is.

[guspartenza]

THE SUPERWOMAN FROM KRYPTON, FANART+FANFIC INTRODUCTION

art by https://www.deviantart.com/gabrielrb91

What would you think about an alternate universe with a female-Clark as Superwoman in the golden age?

Is the only main change in the classic canon together with her love interest, is not Earth-11, let's say is Eart-19...meet Clara Kent/Superwoman!

It's 1948, in Metropolis!

Up in the sky! Look! It's a bird? It's a plane? No! It's Superwoman!

Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, this amazing stranger from the planet Krypton, The Woman of Steel: Superwoman!

Empowered with X-ray vision, possessing remarkable physical strength, Superwoman fights a never-ending battle for love, truth, and justice, disguised as a mild-mannered newspaper reporter, Clara Kent!

In a world plagued by the Cold War and mistrust, can Superwoman bring peace to the world while fighting for love, truth, justice, and the American way? Can she finally find a happy life with Louis Lane, the love of her life? Can she defeat Lex Luthor and the terrible ancient evil he is about to awaken?

You can download full free illustrated fanfic in pdf here! SUPERWOMAN FROM KRYPTON-FREE ILLUSTRATED FANFIC by lordmallory on DeviantArt or here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XPh48B9_giTgDpnBXjRP-4Z4ksUU-WzR/view?usp=drive_link

Art by https://www.deviantart.com/letoart

KALA-EL/CLARA JOSEPHINE KENT/SUPERWOMAN

BORN: Krypton, a moon in a distant galaxy. Formally 28/02/1918, SMALLVILLE, KANSAS

PROFESSION: ASSISTANT REPORTER

YEAR: 1948

PLACE: METROPOLIS (METROPOLIS COUNTY, NEW YORK)

art by https://www.deviantart.com/wagemagegames

-Farmgirl, born Kansas 1918. No sisters nor brothers.

-Nicest girl in the office but very unfunny.

-Disappears without reason very often.

-Lives alone in a little flat and has a golden retriever dog called Krypto.

-Daddy issues. Her father didn't let her pursue a career as ballet dancer or swimmer (he didn't want her to take advantage of her powers) and died when she was 18.

-Former nurse during the war in the Pacific Ocean and in the Philippines.

-Loves children and dogs

-Tomboyish trails. Not quite elegant.

-Music-Hall fan, Katherine Hepburn and James Stewart fan

-Favorite books: Scarlet Pimpernel adventures, Jane Austen, Upton Sinclair and Virginia Wolf, somewhat eclectic.

-Amateur writer of children's stories, with characters such as DeeDog and the Komfy Dragon.

-She greatly admires her boss, Perry Weiss. A 1940s very liberal Republican style journalist, chief editor of the Daily Planet. She despises her deputy boss Cat Grant.

-Ambiguous relationship with her other boss Louis Lane. Clara has a good friendship with Louis and hides that she is very much in love with him. At the same time, she competes a lot with Mr. Lane and is annoyed by his political ideas and his paternalism.

-Strange friendship with young millionaire Bruce Wayne, something that is very surprising for the people in the Daily Planet newsroom.

-Always good scoops but never appears in the front line and too stubborn and independent to grow fast in the newspaper.

-Progressive quaker like her fathers.

-Civil rights supporter.

-Dislikes General McArthur, dislikes even more Lex Luthor

-Loves Eleanor Roosevelt but also Governor Dewey.

-Hates guns

-Supports unions, splits ticket between Metropolis Liberal Party and the two main parties. Politicians must be kind.

art by https://www.tumblr.com/bobbinalong

SUPERHEROINE LIFE

-Superpowers: Flight, Super-Strength, Super-Speed, X-Ray Vision, Heat Vision, Enhanced Vision, Super-Hearing, Super-Breath, Freeze-Breath, High Invulnerability, Super-Stamina

-Can fly to a Mach 100 speed.

-Acts as Superwoman since October 1945.

-Defeated Zod invasion in July1946.

-Initial bad relationship with Batman but now close friends and allies. Together with Flash they conform the Justice League.

-Didn't act as Superwoman during the World War II because she was afraid of her powers. After the discovery of the Holocaust and the atomic bombs she decided to step in and showed herself to the world on autumn 1945.

-Worst enemy: Lex Luthor, heir of Nikola Tesla, rocket engineer & CEO of TELCORP (Tesla-Luthor Co.)

-Deeply in love with Louis Lane, who strongly rejects the superheroine.

-She hides her supersuit and cape under her normal clothes. The material is extraordinarily thin, flexible and resistant, and very easy to wear under normal clothing. Whenever someone needs Superwoman, she just needs to find an inconspicuous place, rip her shirt, unfold her cape and fly away at full speed.

-Widely admired.

art by https://www.deviantart.com/bluerollerball

art by Gabriel Larragan (Ko-Fi)

FAMILY & ORIGINS

The El family & Krypton

Krypton was a decadent civilization located on a moon near a large gaseous planet in the Orion belt, next to a green sun. In the past they had visited Earth and other planets expanding civilization, but their penchant for slavery, war, resource extraction and violence caused many of these projects to fail. Even in 10,500 BC the Kryptonians almost caused the terraforming of the Earth, melting the poles and destroying Atlantis and other civilizations, causing among other things the end of the Ice Age. Nearly 99% of humanity perished during that Kryptonian attack.

Over the centuries the Kryptonians lost the fuel necessary to travel across space and ended up confined to their planet, dedicated to warfare, genetic engineering-creating clones whose organs they needed to extend their lives-to pleasure and to exploiting the subsoil of their planet. The Kryptonians also established a dictatorship with a caste system based on genetic engineering and prohibited natural reproduction.

Jor-El and Lara were a couple of scientists critical of the system and supporters of the abolition of the caste system. They also fought against genetic engineering, violent repression, and the permanent destruction of the ecosystem. After a series of terrible earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and gas outbursts, it became clear that Krypton's core was collapsing, due to the energetic drilling and magnetic energy used in Krypton's industry. The Planet was doomed but the ruling caste ignored it. Jor-El and Lara had a daughter, Kala-El in a natural way against all the rules of Krypton. Lara managed to manufacture a small ship capable of making a space jump to save her daughter from the end of Krypton. General Zod stole her design and managed to build a larger fleet of ships but Jor-El managed to sabotage them and send the fleet to the Phantom Zone, a black hole near Krypton.

Lara decided to send Kala to Earth, confident that the culture of this planet was much more hopeful and kinder, and less prone to the mistakes of Krypton than other distant inhabited planets closer to them. Jor-El preferred to send her to New Genesis, another distant inhabited planet, because there Kala would receive less radiation and develop less extraordinary abilities that would allow her to live a normal life, but eventually Lara convinced him. During her journey to Earth and her growing period under a yellow sun, Kala would develop wonderful powers and could live a long life in the service of mankind, rehabilitating Krypton's legacy.

Within hours of Kala's birth, she was placed in the small ship, accompanied by the robot guide Kelex, whose memory was imprinted with the consciousness of Jor-El and Lara, as well as nearly all of Krypton's cultural heritage. They included several Kryptonian artifacts inside, such as a nearly indestructible ceremonial female ancestral caped suit with the crest of the House of El on its chest.

The ship was launched just hours before Krypton's demise and travelled through space for thirty years...

art by https://www.tumblr.com/bobbinalong

Joe&Martha Kent, Kansas life

Joe and Martha Kent were a Quaker farming couple whose farm was struck by the pod carrying Kala-El the 28th of February of 1918. Although owners of substantial property they were a very humble, cooperative, austere, devout, and civil rights-minded people. Martha Kent was a descendant of Kansas abolitionist guerrilla fighter John Brown. They both raised Clara very lovingly and unwilling to ask too many questions about the baby's origin. Clara was a very sickly child as her body did not adapt to the Earth. She was an affectionate and obedient girl and devoured books. The Kent family were avowed supporters of the New Deal and Joe Kent was a member of the local farmers union.

With puberty Clara developed very fast, and her superpowers began to appear. She soon began to excel in swimming and ballet, while still questioning her origins, but Joe forbade her to pursue a professional career to prevent her from taking advantage of her powers, and moreover he forbade her to use her superpowers to help others, fearful of humanity's reaction and wary of savior messiahs in the era of interwar dictators.

Clara rebelled against her father but eventually gave in, fearful of her own abilities and understanding her parents' position. During these years, Clara didn't fit in very well, but she had two best friends, Pete Ross, with whom she was secretly in love, and Lana Lang. Pete didn't know about her superpowers, but Lana did. In 1936 Joe Kent died of a heart attack, devastating her daughter. Clara was unable to go to college after her father's death and worked as a teacher and nurse's aide in Smallville. Her engagement to Pete Ross, her teenage sweetheart failed in 1939 when she revealed her powers to Pete and he panicked, although he later promised to keep the secret. In those times of sadness, Kelex, the Kryptonian robot, was activated, explaining to Clara her true origins, which filled her with confusion.

Between 1939 and 1941 Clara lived in Canada and Alaska searching for the Fortress of Solitude, a strange place Kelex was pointing, but with the outbreak of World War II she decided to enlist as a nurse in the Pacific, refusing to use her powers except to help the wounded, fearing to cause more harm than good. In late 1944, the hospital ship on which he was traveling, the USS Shuster, was torpedoed by the Japanese. Clara jumped into the water and managed to keep the ship afloat with her super strength until she managed to beach it. No one understood how miraculously the ship had stayed afloat and even levitated. The incident was kept secret. Clara got a permit to return home and she revisited Alaska where she found the Fortress of Solitude with the help of Kelex. There she was able to better understand her origins and began to train her superpowers.

After learning about the Holocaust first and the atomic bombs later, Clara decided to become Superwoman and help others with her superpowers dressed in the ceremonial Kryptonian costume of her ancestors. Her mother Martha supported her decision. She relocated to Metropolis, where in September 1945 she was hired as an assistant reporter by Major Louis Lane, who had just returned from Europe.

art by LuisF47 - Hobbyist, Digital Artist | DeviantArt

On October 1, 1945, Superwoman unveiled herself to the world and caused a huge sensation. The world was changed forever. Superwoman introduced herself to the newly formed United Nations, explaining her origins and her desire to help others and to stay out of political conflicts except to protect civilians.

Clara Kent began her double life as a journalist and as Superwoman. In July 1946, she defeated the invasion of General Zod and the survivors of Krypton. She also had to face other enemies such as the Intergang - an alliance of all organized crime in Metropolis and Gotham, Atomic Skull - an ex-Nazi agent with terrifying technology, Lex Luthor who began to develop his hatred and paranoia towards the superheroine, and his creations such as Metallo.

art by https://www.deviantart.com/xtophe

DAILY PLANET CHARACTERS

Perry Weiss, a major shareholder and editor in chief of the Daily Planet. Born in Odessa in 1886. Jewish immigrant from humble origins who became a skilled journalist and founded the Daily Planet as a tool of the liberal wing of the Metropolis Republican Party to unseat the city bosses of the time. Still a staunch liberal, he supported Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936, is an ally of Mayor LaGuardia. He won the Pulitzer Prize in the 1920s for defending the innocence of Sacco and Vanzetti. Friend and ally of Louis Lane's father. He is very demanding with his employees but is very fond of Clara. He admires and defends Superwoman despite Louis Lane's distrust. Best friend of Cat Grant.

Cat Grant, Co-chair of Perry Weiss, Pulitzer winner, closeted lesbian, and Ayn Rand Fan. Born 1901, she comes from a fine family of Metropolis Knickerbockers. She is like Louis the least liberal element of the newspaper. To protect herself she married a very old friend of her father who helped her lead a double life. For twenty years she lived with a painter named Margaret Ivy. Considered the best writer of the Daily Planet, in addition to being a journalist she has published two novels. Very elegant and popular in intellectual circles. She is tremendously authoritarian. She mistreats Clara a lot because she does not respect her authority and because of her different political ideas, but as Clara grows as a journalist and Cat Grant suspects that she is Superwoman, she will protect her and push her forward without Clara knowing it. Best friend of Perry Weiss

Jimmy Olsen and Lucy Weiss, best friends of Clara.

Jimmy is a junior urban photographer. He comes from a town in Massachusetts. He is 7 years younger than Clara. He is a party animal, friendly, generous, and somewhat naive. Yet he is a skilled photographer who has been able to capture the worst of the night and day of Metropolis. Miraculously he always gets the best pictures of Superwoman (Clara helps him a little). Very democratic and complains about working for a newspaper that is too conservative for his taste. Adores Clara whom he treats as his big sister. It doesn't even cross his mind that she is Superwoman. Jimmy thinks that Louis is a snob and a bigot.

Lucy is a senior political photographer and the only woman on photo reporting on the Daily Planet who works outside the fashion department. She is the eldest daughter of Perry Weiss. She is an intrepid photojournalist who gets overseas passes and has been to several military conflicts. A loyal friend of Clara, and a very serious and professional woman. She is suspicious of Clara's double identity but would never say anything. She is the same age as Clara and a lover of jazz and the more alternative circuits of Metropolis.

art by https://www.deviantart.com/milkydraws8/gallery

art by https://www.artstation.com/pabloalcalde

LOUIS LANE, SUPERWOMAN'S WEAKNESS?

NAME: LOUIS LANE

BORN: 08/02/1912, METROPOLIS (NEW YORK)

PROFESSION: SENIOR REPORTER

YEAR: 1948

PLACE: METROPOLIS (NYC)

art by https://www.deviantart.com/rickcelis/gallery

-Rich family, born in 1912, first of 6 brothers.

-Caustic, cynical, ironic but somewhat kind.

-Commanding.

-Lives in Park Avenue with his 6-year-old daughter and his rich unfaithful wife, fashion reporter Pat Lane (neé Kelly). Very unhappy marriage.

-Major rank during the war in the US army. He also worked with the OSS.

-Elegant, sportsman, plays violin.

-Teaches music lessons in an orphan house in secret.

-Not that snobbish nor Wasp, new rich family traits.

-Arkham University alumni.

-Classic music and literature lover.

-Heavy drinker.

-Does not enjoy journalism, thinking of quitting to politics or teaching literature.

-Jewish father (Lane surname is a change from Lantzman), Irish catholic mother, raised catholic and religious, but not extremely orthodox.

-His father is a self-made tycoon who started as democrat in the Tammany Hall and then switched to republican. Close ally of Mayor LaGuardia.

-Fought in the European theater during World War II.

-Conservative republican opposed to his father liberal republican views, loves McArthur, who he thinks should be the next President.

-In the past he had a good opinion of Lex Luthor. He saw him as an innovator and freedom fighter, but his opinion changed when Luthor kidnapped him to set a trap for Superwoman.

-Perry Weiss favorite reporter.

-Won the Pulitzer Prize in 1941, for his articles about the first defeat of the Intergang.

-First person to interview Superwoman.

-Very nice and paternalistic to Clara. Louis pushes Clara's career forward despite Cat Grant's opposition. He is also secretly in love with Clara. Although he rejects Superwoman and suspects she is the same person as Clara, he deludes himself and rejects these suspicions.

-Tired of New Deal Politics, anticommunist.

-"a brilliant and kind man" for most of the Daily Planet staff, a "terrible asshole" for many others like Jimmy Olsen.

-Strongly rejects Superwoman and other heroes.

-Sometimes Clara really hates him.

-Famous line "Neither reds nor capes".

-He lives a bizarre love triangle with Clara Kent and Superwoman. Although he publicly rejects the superheroine, he also desires her and he and Superwoman have had moments of passion, which Louis feels guilty about because he is married and because of his religion. On the other hand, he is in love with Clara Kent as much as he rejects the figure of Superwoman. He deludes himself about the identity of both. A bit James Stewart in Vertigo, which destabilizes and infuriates Clara.

art by https://www.deviantart.com/guinnessyde

art by https://akiko02.carrd.co/

CURRENT AND PAST ENEMIES

Lex Luthor

Rocket engineer, CEO of TELCORP and Heir of Nikola Tesla. A Brilliant scientist who defines himself as a "radical humanist"...but in the early 30s supported closely fascism to stop "imperialism" and "usury" but later changed his mind and move closer to the USSR to fight "predatory western capitalism". Publicly, he is a tycoon and scientist loyal to the United States and works closely with the government. The world's greatest philanthropist. Loving father and husband. Hates Superwoman to death and believes she spells the end of humanity. Paranoid and ruthless but convinced that he does everything for the greater good.

art by https://www.deviantart.com/gus-art

General Zod & Faora

Political dissidents like the El on Krypton on the other hand believed that Krypton's only salvation lay in emigrating and invading, terraforming, and exterminating other planets. They almost succeeded in a coup d'état but after their failure they and their henchmen tried to flee by space jumping their ships, Jor-El managed to sabotage the launch and send them to the Phantom Zone. Over the years they managed to escape and arrived on Earth in 1946, shortly after Clara showed herself to the world as Superwoman. They tried to exterminate all humanity, but Superwoman and the armies of Earth managed to defeat them. Their invasion caused 5,000 human casualties but could have caused complete extermination. The experience was traumatic for Clara because she had to send Zod and Faora back to the Phantom Zone where they would surely die. Zod, Faora and their henchmen had not yet developed the full powers of a yellow sun like Earth's and so several of them were killed by human bombs and missiles. Their remains were stored by Russians and Americans. Superwoman managed to expel all Kryptonian technology and weaponry into space so that humans would not use it for warfare.

Doomsday

A truly near-indestructible abomination.

Perhaps from Krypton's past? Perhaps created by mistake by human scientists?

art by https://www.deviantart.com/fernando-damasio & https://www.deviantart.com/kristherion

The Toyman

Winslow Schott, former entrepreneur, and inventor of the 1920s toy business who was ruined in the Great Depression by banks and various betrayals. After a crime spree he was imprisoned in 1933 but escaped from prison recently completely crazed and ready to take revenge on the whole city using his inventions.

Brainiac "The Eternal Traveller"

An android resulting from the abhorrent merger of a famous astronaut and artificial intelligence, which was used by the first civilization of Krypton to collect information from other worlds. It is more than 100,000 years old. With the passage of time, he revealed against the Kryptonians, became evil and phobic to any form of life that he considered imperfect or inferior. It caused the destruction of many cultures. He wanders through space visiting planets and analyzing life forms. He probably has no enthusiasm for humans, much less for a descendant of the House of El.

art by https://www.instagram.com/estefaniaart_/

art by https://www.deviantart.com/midnightowl07

art by https://www.deviantart.com/artsandar

art by https://akiko02.carrd.co/

art by https://www.deviantart.com/son-neko

art by https://www.deviantart.com/dommnics

You can download full free illustrated fanfic in pdf here! SUPERWOMAN FROM KRYPTON-FREE ILLUSTRATED FANFIC by lordmallory on DeviantArt or here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XPh48B9_giTgDpnBXjRP-4Z4ksUU-WzR/view?usp=drive_link

[toasty-self-shipping]

Well that was a vey interesting year

I wouldn’t say 2023 was a bad year for me a lot of good things happened like the mario movie my art has improved and I’m talking to more of my mutuals! But as usual the bad things happened I got anon hate my depression got worse and shitty people trying to used me but after all that I still manage to move on and continue with my life and meeting a lot of many amazing people in the self shipping community for the past three years including some new mutuals! (Which I hope I can talk to in the new year) I don’t really have that much to say so I hope everyone has a wonderful new year and an amazing 2024!

also happy new year to these wonderful people that made my experience in the self shipping community great

@starshroom-doodles @lex-n-weegie @animutate @lollipopjewel @femininelookingmale @r0sedevil @artistlara @wisp-herr @clovitecture @ava-ships @mockguffin @fluffyselfships @doctorjohcoy @peachygalacticmenace @gigglegoat @peachypizzicato @cupidreamexe @cupiidzbow @icejuggler @kimsnerdcave @somethingscarlet13 @scorpiolight @scroldie @kururu @rambling-doofus @rawrbot @razzberrypopcans @raylex @elusive---ivory @eepycard @princessrainbowpastel @escapeism-s @gayselfships @frozenhi-chews @blackevermore @ttimecode @4rachnophilia @wishi-selfships

[iphoenixrising]

Masterlist 3

Tim-centric con't

Red Robin tweaks: BatDad & Boomerang | Fallen (What if Dick didn't catch Tim | Kon catches Tim

Tim Angst:The Wrong Robin (for 800 Followers) | Broken Trust 1 &Broken Trust 2 | Babe has feels | More babe feels | Broken Trust 3 | Merry Christmas, Timmy on Ao3, Angst with a happy ending | on Tumblr | Lazarus!Tim au: | Tim, fresh outta Gotham and heartbreak + Lewis Capaldi's "Someone You Loved"

Random 90’s YJ angst Original post | Follow-up | Broken protocols ficlet | Tim angsts to music | Earth 3/ Owlman angst | Hanahaki disease idea | JLA stops checking in

Tim Drake Week: Day 2: Sick Bird| Day 6 (Firefly fusion) | Day 7 (Injury/Healing)

Whirlybird!!!! BABE MADE ME A WHIRLYBIRD & HC

Tim!X (AUs): Coffee Shop!AU | Tim the twisted Oracle | CEO Civilian!Tim from Prime Girl | And the post of aus | Prime girl Enchanted idea | Superpowers | Trans!Tim | Temperance: Temperance's Temptations on AO3 and art ! & Just Desserts | Vampire!Tim HC & for 600 followers! & Bite Kink (it's naughty) | in the future | Mute!Tim: One & Two & Three | Mer!Tim: Ideas & Scaring Dami & Damian & Art & Titans | Silver-Snow's Mer!Tim: Natant & Ideas

Kid!Tim: De-Aged!Tim: Not trusting the BatFam ... but the Titans | Kid!Tim works (Different ways Tim joins the Bats earlier):Tiny!Tim au on Ao3 | Kid!Tim is discovered by Robin!Jason & Window Seat & Tiny!Tim au: The Fever & Tiny!Tim and the Secret (for 500 Followers!) & Tiny!Tim and The Wrong Bus | Tiny!Tim and Tiny!Peter ask | Home for Tiny Birds (Convergence w/ NHFDB!Tim): One & Two | Jason's Death (HCs): One & Two & Three

Justice is Blind (Blind!Tim AU): on AO3 and some amazing art by the incredible poison-basil!!! | One | Two ("BatFam") | Three ("Waking Up") | Four | Five | Six (slight NSFW SuperBats) | Asks: Who All Knows & Ra's, Tam & WE, & Jason & Ra's & Tech & Tech and Tam

Converging the AUs:

"Feels" by iphoenixrising , a graphic by Miss Coco Chips | Convergence

Home for Tiny Birds: NHFDB!Tim visits Tiny!Tim

Fracture!Tim meets Talon!Tim & Dr!Tim | Sated (NSFW HC)

Fracture: the Multiverse & Future!AU

Boy All the Bad Guys Want:

Want | Battle for the Cowl, ScareRobin | Lex Luthor | Tim + Inertia + Superboy Prime | Prime: One & Two & Domestic Syndrome | Superboy Prime and Justice Lord Kon

Pamphlets: One (based on this ) & Two

Joker Junior: One & Two

Jean Paul One & Two

Talon!AU: in which Tim is a Talon & RR without Tim & Mindfuckery & Titans on the Hunt | Gray Son must Die (in which babe wrote most of the thing) & Functionally Immortal & Brainwashed, Hurting, Dissociating, Angry, and Lost & the Assassin & the Talon | Refuge w/ Shiva & A Killer | Rebuilt & vs Fracture!Tim

Dr!Tim (DickTimJay; in which Tim is a trauma surgeon and DickJay are vigilantes)

Meta: on AO3 | Art in which I cry with joy | How it all Began (light NSFW) | Follow-Up

The Mentor; The Suit; Med School | Hobbies & Tony (HCs) | Dick’s Acrobatic Talents (suprise!, it's smut!) | Steph & Batgirl | The Joker | Integration (HC) | Roof Rat | Wicked Way | Dr!Tim HC: Jason’s real pad disguised The original idea | le ask | ask 2 | ask 3

The Submissive & Safeword (HC) & Safewords Out & Sub-Drop | Not Safewording Ask | Annnd Consequences

London Bridge: is Falling & (Missing Scene) & Afterward w/ guest star, Tony Stark!

Headcannons and ficlets Four Times the Bats called Doctor Drake | What's in a Name (HC) | Ultimate Fanboy | Pet Project & Ra's (HC) | Dancing | Meet and Greet | Jealous!Dami | cute!Tim, overwraught!Dick (NSFW; adult themes)

That whole thing at Arkham Dr!Tim and Arkham Riots: One & Two | Arkham Breakout | But, that's not all Dr!Tim and Fear

Tony Stark in Dr!Tim: The Surgeon, The Captain, and the Soldier (for 600 followers!) | SteveTonyBucky (for 700 followers!)

BatFam Prompts, Drabbles, & Thoughts

BatFam headcanons: BatDad | Characterization | General & Dami | Robins & their Other Selves | Outlaws & Titans | Slade/Dick | Terry McGinnis | the Sads

Misc Ficlets: Accents & Motherhenning | Bats & Birthdays | Concussion Confessions | GenderBend | Robins & the Cold | Staypuff | Training ("Hilarity Ensues") | DickTim & a fight & Robin Cuddles | "Let Sleeping Robins Lie" (for 100 followers!) | BatFam & Tim with a Cold | Tim/Clark for Tim Drake Birthday Hunt! (NSFW) | Tim/Clark ask

Interest (see also "DickTimJay: Destroyed")

Soulmates (Robinpile) | Part 1 | Part 2-ish | Here’s an ask | Aaand another | And a third | And a post-fit ask that broke my heart

SuperBats

BatFam Big Bang: on AO3 Day 1: Cuddles | Day 2: Sick | Day 3: Fight! | Day 4: Vacation | Day 5: Nightmare | Day 6: Best Rescue | Day 7

Fic Recs: Funeral & Dr Oz by awkwardbluefish Calling It by reallyautomaticvoid

Damian

Headcanons: on Tim & Shiva | Characterization | as a Boyfriend and NSFW specifically w/ Jason and also with Dick

Dami and ...: Dick & Tim at the Arcade | Tim & Don't panic, but we accidentally got marries | Comfort | Robin's Redemption (for 400 followers!)

Fic Rec: DamiTim by hauntedlittledoll

DamiTim Nurse Tim! Robin!Dami WIP on Ao3 | Concept | Alph!Dami/Alph!Jon/Omega!Tim: The original ask| Tim & Dami

Night Sky

Jason

Jason Todd's mouth & Languages (HC) | Jason's Accent & its inspiration

v. the Pit and then I saw Counting Bodies like Sheep

Misc: Jason, the Outlaws, and the Joker | Crochet | RHatO #25!UA | Silence (tw warning: major character death) | Bottom Jason Todd Week: Daddy Kink, Rare pair Jay/Thomas Elli Heavy in your Arms: One & Two (Angst; Based off the song with the same title by Florence + the Machine)

Marvel

Forward Momentum (MCU Steve/Bucky eventual Steve/Bucky/Tony): on AO3 | Nice Things | Steps | Family | Why aren't you an Engineer? | The Situation | Coffee | Observation | Hurt/Comfort (for 100 followers!) | Medical (HC)

Marvel AOB Attempt: One | Two | Crossroads | Three | Tony & Omegas | Tony & Heat

MCU crossovers: Fracture/Forward Momentum fusion The original idea | Aaaand part 2 |Tony is a bro in the crossover verse | What if crossover verse | Tim stays in the MCU and goes out as Robin | One shot: Tony and Bucky visit Tim in Gotham - different crossover verse | Bonding with the Avengers

Misc

Miraculous Ladybug Play | The Way to His Heart

Check Please!Check Please WIP | WIP 2

Voltron: all because of satire-please Team Dynamics | Left Behind | Waking | You, Not the Lion

[armageddon-generation]

Justice for Brandon Routh: Everything Cut From Superman Returns that makes it Great

Ultimately it's good Superman Returns didn't get sequels because of Bryan Singer & Kevin Spacey, but I'm kinda obsessed with the forgotten middle-child of Supes' movies, and it's infuriating how the movie's thematic spine and most of its best character-beats got cut.

The Theatrical Cut of Returns is literally half a movie. Brandon Routh deserved so much better.

Sources:

Deleted scene compilation (+Return to Krypton)

The Shooting Script (available to buy)

Superman Homepage deleted shots Page 1 and Page 2    

Novelisation by Marv Wolfman (this, the graphic novel & junior novelisation all used the 2005 shooting script.)

Superman Returns: The Visual Guide (available to buy)

Chew Chan comic art

Requiem for Krypton: Making Superman Returns

Prequel Comics (based on scenes from early drafts, with stories by writers Singer, Dougherty & Harris):

Prequel Comic #2: Ma Kent

Prequel Comic #3: Lex Luthor

Prequel Comic #4: Lois Lane

Comic book recap

‘78 opened with a boy narrating an issue of Action Comics. Returns pulled back red theatre drapes on a comic narrated by Clois’ son, Jason. 

Actor Tristan Lake is recording the voiceover in Requiem for Krypton

From the Script (p.1):

RED THEATRE CURTAINS, drawn shut. The kind found in classic movie houses of yesteryear. The slowly open ... the film flickers to life, fading in on an old comic-book

SUPERMAN. A BOY'S HAND reaches into frame and opens it.

JASON (V.O.): On a distant planet orbiting a red sun, a wise scientist predicted his world's imminent destruction. Despite overwhelming evidence, his pleas to evacuate the planet were ignored, leaving him and his wife no choice...

He turns the page to a panel of JOR-EL and his wife, LARA

JASON (V.O.) (CONT'D): ...but to place their only son into a spaceship and launch it to another galaxy, in hopes of finding the child a new home. A child destined to become Earth's greatest protector...

“In Golden Age style art, Kal-El is placed in the rocket by Jor-El and Lara, comes to Earth, grows up with the Kents, & learns that he possessed amazing powers.”

The script cuts the Smallville part because it’s covered later in flashback.

5 years on, Superman has been mythologised. In-universe, to kids he seems as make-believe as comic books are to us.

This develops Jason’s POV of Superman. He was supposed to have this comic (from 'Uncle Jimmy') when he meets Clark in The Daily Planet

This could be why Smallville was cut; the public only knows about Krypton

The opening scene of Gertrude Vanderworth’s death was originally replaced by:

Prequel: Lex in prison 

Lex’s cell is covered in Daily Planet clippings. He nonologues to henchman Stanford

LEX: I didn’t get you visiting privileges to my private suite so I could repeat myself … My work was more than mere greed … It’s a calling. Why can’t they see the danger? He’s a vanguard for an invasion of super-powered beings. I knew. I always knew. Making sure there was a line of defence against him. The Conquistadors carried a plague that decimated entire civilisations. Who knows what kind of spaceborne diseases he carried? Oh, they may not appreciate my genius now, but they will worship me for delivering them from this menace they so affectionately embrace.

Kitty Kowalski & Gertrude Vanderworth

Lex has a medical exam before his release. His henchwoman Kitty is the nurse. She flirts with him but complains Superman is all Lex thinks about 

Lex burns his old toupé to “cleanse” himself

In flashback, Kitty sees Lex kill an inmate in self-defence. Lex threatens her to protect his perfect record. But Kitty says she’s his “biggest fan” & anger becomes lust 

This is in The Visual Guide (p.26):

"She witnessed Lex murder a fellow inmate. Kitty refused to squeal to the guards, and she and Lex made clear their attraction for each-other."

Kitty is the Vanderworth widow's maid & suggests Lex write to her

She doesn’t like the name Kitty: “My name is Katherine”

An imaginary Superman hovers above, watching Lex leave prison.

Gertrude Vanderworth is waiting outside:

LEX: Gertrude! I’m dying in here. I’m dying without you. Please, take me home. If only you could imagine the grotesque living conditions I’ve been exposed to, dear, sweet Gertrude. You’ve rescued me from Dante’s Inferno, from the depths of human depravity.

Shows how prison changed Gene Hackman’s Lex into Returns’ philosophical maniac

Characterizes Kitty as Lex’s ‘Harley Quinn-lite’ & makes her more active

Stronger explanation for Lex's escape than Clark missing his court date 

The comic's final panel is Lex looking up at the imaginary Superman in the sky, zooming out into space, then leading into...

The Opening Titles as Clark’s journey to Krypton:

(from the Script):

“Stars interspersed with DAILY PLANET HEADLINES tracing Superman’s history, many by LOIS LANE;

“METEOR SHOWER BAFFLES SCIENTISTS”

“CAPED WONDER STUNS CITY”

“I SPENT THE NIGHT WITH SUPERMAN”

“SUPERMAN STOPS CRIMINAL MASTERMIND, LEX LUTHOR”

“LEX GETS LIFE THANKS TO MAN OF STEEL: SWEARS REVENGE”

“ASTRONOMERS DISCOVER KRYPTON INTACT – SIGNS OF LIFE FOUND”

And then the biggest headline of them all:

“SUPERMAN DISAPPEARS”

More headlines follow as the world is besieged … war, famine, crime. Soon, these headlines push Superman to the back pages. Within years, he’s all but faded from public consciousness. Finally, one last headline:

“WILL HE EVER RETURN?”

IS IT KRYPTON? (p.12), LUTHOR GETS LIFE (p.24) & VANDERWORTH TOPS THE FORTUNE 500!! (p.22) are in The Visual Guide

This gives the indulgent title-sequence a purpose. It sets up the consequences of Clark leaving, his history with Lois & Lex, Krypton’s discovery, and the Vanderworth fortune Lex will steal

This transitions into:

Return to Krypton

Concept art by Ben Proctor

The script describes “the remnants of this great civilisation… cities, monuments… all made from the same crystal technology” not in the filmed scene

Clark finds the House of El crest in the “VALLEY OF THE ELDERS . . . a VAST CANYON OF CRYSTAL MONOLITHS arranged in a circle” with more family crests.

Clark's escape is more visceral (Script pp.2-3):

“GIANT SLABS whiz by ... thousands of pieces of glowing kryptonite are hurtling towards him ... Parts [of Clark’s ship] shatter and break off ... The crystal immediately GROWS BACK ... more kryptonite smashes against the window, cracking it. Crystals work quickly to repair the damage, but it keeps coming.”

The filmed version puts Vibes over story: 

The Valley of Elders returns on Lex’s New Krypton in the finale. 

Without the other House crests the El one feels random

Showing Krypton's achievements validates Lex’s plan to resurrect it.

Clark’s ship self-repairing introduces ‘growing’ crystals immediately

Opening an action beat is important because the next one isn’t for 40 mins

Famously, this scene cost $10 million. Videographer Rob Burnett said:

“This was always meant to be the original opening [it] explained why he was so weak when Martha found him [&] that Kal-El sweats in the presence of kryptonite which Luthor notices later ... It wasn't cut until some last-minute test screenings … people unfamiliar with Donner's Superman films & Kryptonian crystals/tech found this dialogue-less opening confusing & uninteresting”

To solve this dialogue problem it was suggested Clark bring his mother Lara's memory crystal with him. She would narrate Krypton's history as Clark explored, contrasting its past glory with its current ruin. But the scene was already finished & Singer decided:

I didn’t feel it ... No-one told me to do it. I had no time restrictions or pressure whatsoever. I just felt the movie doesn’t need this."

But Marv Wolfman did something similar when retelling Jor El and Lara sending Clark away in Chapter 1 of his novelisation:

“It had been a timeless city, strong and powerful. It survived the vast armies of three great nations waging war on its bloodied streets. It stood proud as the signing place of an everlasting peace . . . [Lara] spent her early years dreaming of living where Krypton’s earliest founders had once walked, did not want to believe that this magnificence and all it stood for would soon be gone. She had spent her first year out of university touring the city . . . She trekked out to the Valley of the Elders . . . the fabled roads that Sor-El, Kol-Ar and Pol-As, the chosen representatives from the three warring nations, must’ve taken when they created the original laws of humanity that governed Krypton. From the ground, those crystal monolith towers, reflecting the full spectrum of light, looked to Lara like hands raised in reverential prayer. Kryptonopolis had been grown from a single crystal more than 10,000 years before ... shaped by the earliest Kryptonians into vast cities millions of buildings strong"

The Visual Guide also explains the Valley of the Elders is “Where Sor-El, Kol-Ar, and Pol-Us established the laws that governed Krypton" (p.79)

This is a great parallel to ‘78's opening. That was Clark’s origin. Returns is him mourning

Seeing Krypton contextualizes Clark’s arc. We understand his alienation instead of being alienated by him

It bookends the movie with New Krypton, and gives Returns’ oft-mocked climax ‘Superman Lifts a Big Thing’, thematic weight: Clark is excising the grief that drove him from Earth

Lara's narration about the wonders of Krypton both heightens the tragedy & establishes what their tech can achieve, crucial to Lex's plan

Writer Dan Harris said:

“Lex Luthor’s trying to turn this world [Earth] into the dead world, the place [Clark] can’t live, so it becomes a person’s search for identity and home and their place in the universe.” (The Shooting Script interviews p.27)

Martha Kent and Ben Hubbard play Scrabble 

Martha spells ‘Alienation’ (THEMES!!) & touching Clark’s name carved into the table is lovely visual storytelling

Ben is there when Clark crashes. Martha stops him calling the cops.

BEN: Martha-

MARTHA: (firm) Tomorrow. Bingo.

She looks at him, stonefaced. He takes another look outside – and at her, and realizes what’s happening. He sighs and shakes his head.

BEN: A meteorite?

She nods.

BEN (CONT’D): Martha Kent, I knew you’d be trouble

There’s a blooper of this scene in Requiem for Krypton & it's mentioned in The Visual Guide (p.20)

Gertrude Vanderworth's death, and Lex stealing her fortune, is shown after Clark passes out in Martha’s arms when he crashes, followed by Lex taking the yacht to the Arctic

Lex Finding the Fortress

Cool details about the Fortress' warm crystals & creating protective weather patterns, explaining the storm around New Krypton in the finale

While exploring the Fortress they find Clark's garage:

From The Visual Guide:

"Lex lingers in a cavernous chamber he dubs 'the garage', where he sees evidence of the construction and launch of Superman's spaceship"

KITTY: So did he?

LEX: Did he what?

KITTY: Take off for his homeworld?

LEX: (looking at Stanford) Well… We gave him a little push.

In the novelisation (p.89)

Lex’s First Experiment

After plundering the Fortress, Lex would test the crystal immediately- “he created a kind of giant Fortress of Solitude in the ice” (Script interviews p.28), destroying the original. Such a great way to raise the stakes!

Extended Clark waking in his childhood room

Clark waking to his starry ceiling & the Kent family photos give his return more emotional heft

Extended Young Clark’s first flight, 

Which leads into…

 “Little Secret”- Clark finds the Kryptonian ship as a boy

From The Visual Guide (p.11): “When he holds the Father Crystal, Clark feels a primal connection to the vanished world of his ancestors”. Martha’s prequel comic shows Jor El & Lara reflected in the crystal.

The Father Crystal is the key to Lex’s plan, so it's important to see its importance to Clark.

'Little Secret' leads into: 

Martha Kent Prequel: The Kents tell the truth

The Kents find Clark on the cellar steps with the Father Crystal, staring at his ship.

They talk in the kitchen:

MARTHA: … I wish we could tell you more… well, anything about your real parents

CLARK: You are my real parents. Those other people, the ones that gave me away… They mean nothing to me. [he bends a fork in half]

JONATHAN: I understand that you feel that way now, Clark. But I have something to show you. [He leaves the room to get something]

CLARK:Ma, I- I… Am I even human? Am I some sort of monster?MARTHA: Clark Kent, bite your tongue! You are our son and we love you. That’s all that matters.

JONATHAN: Clark? This is yours. You were wrapped in it when we found you.

He gives Clark the cloth he was wrapped in when they found him - blue fabric with the “S” shield

This is a big change from ‘78, where Clark didn’t find the Father Crystal until after Jonathan dies. Martha wasn’t there & they didn't discuss it. The Fortress of Solitude made his suit.

Clark's anxiety is more in-line with MoS (“Can’t I just keep pretending to be your son?” / “You are my son.”). Rejecting Krypton is important, as his adult desire for a home drives him from Earth

Here we see Clark feel the alienation he fears for Jason in his final speech ("you will be different..."). Parenting is a big theme of Returns

Clark reads Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman in the Kent barn 

In the script, Clark taking the tarp off his ship leads into the Little Secret flashback- which the deleted scene cuts around. The shots following him back to farmhouse include this voiceover (Script pp.13-14):

LOIS LANE (V.O.): For five long years, the world has stared into the sky, waiting, hoping, and praying for his return. We have spent our days asking where he went, debated why he left, and wondered if he’s even alive…

People have always longed for gods, messiahs, and saviors to swoop down from the sky and deliver them from their troubles. But in the end, these saviors always leave, and we are faced with the same troubles that were there from the beginning.

So, instead of facing them ourselves, we wait for the savior to return. But the savior never does, and we realize it was better had he never come at all.

Reading WTWDNS is referenced in The Visual Guide (p.29)

Articulating Lois’ POV makes her more than a bitter ex. Even the Junior novelisation has this!

In the Theatrical Cut Clark returns to the Daily Planet trying to reclaim the old status quo, until he learns Lois has a family. Here, he faces consequences for leaving before learning Lois has moved on, so he’s less selfishly motivated, and returns to the Planet to actively reconcile with her

Parallels Young!Clark finding the Father Crystal- the inciting moment of ‘78’s plot

Martha encourages Clark to return to Metropolis / Clark meets Ben Hubbard 

This is a cute scene, humanizing Clark

Martha is selling the farm & moving to Montana

(Script p. 76), cut dialogue in purple

MARTHA: Clark, dear… No one will ever replace your father. But, Ben and I have found something special. Together. And, well, this might all come as a shock…

Clark gives her a look. Just level with me.

MARTHA: I’m selling the farm. We’re moving to Montana.

CLARK: Montana?

MARTHA: The lakes are great. And we love the fishing.

CLARK: Fishing?!

MARTHA: Clark, you’ve been gone a long time. And not even you can stop the world from spinning.

In the novelisation (p.76)

Building this subplot from a background character from ‘78 is neat.

It expands Returns’ narrow emotional scope: It's not just Lois moving on

Superman suit in Clark’s case & changing in The Daily Planet closet 

As Clark puts his suitcase in the janitor’s closet he opens it, revealing his Superman costume & a Kent family photo.

So, when he rips his shirt open there’s "NOTHING. Where's his suit? He panics, then remembers." . He must change in the Daily Planet janitor’s closet. As he leaves he "catches a glimpse of his reflection in a window -- he's still wearing GLASSES" (the Script p.44)

Love Superman in glasses as a metaphor for the transition from Clark to Supes. 

The Theatrical cut emphasizes Lois’ POV of Superman’s return but this is more balanced & impactful for Clark 

Lex and Stanford discuss Superman’s return

When Lex learns Superman is back he & Stanford discuss luring him away. You can see Stanford running to catch up with Lex before the Theatrical scene cuts away. Deleted dialogue in purple:

STANFORD: So, what are we going to do?

LEX: You’re going to modify it and attach it to the stern, I don’t care of the instructions are in Russian

STANFORD: You know what I mean, Lex. He’s not stupid. How long do you think it’s going to take him to trace all that stuff back to me– and you. He was supposed to die up there.

Stanford paces. Lex clenches, obviously stressed. He hears the WHIMPERING of Gertrude’s dog. 

Infuriated, Lex hurls the newspaper at it but misses. Enraged, Lex snatches a heavy crystal off the desk, when he STOPS. He stares at something on the NEWSPAPER

Lex bends down and picks up the paper. He smiles, and hands it to Stanford.

LEX: Stanford, you worry too much.

Stanford looks at the article, intrigued.

“WORLD’S LARGEST COLLECTION OF METEORITES TO EXHIBIT AT METROPOLIS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY”

Lex & Stanford faking Krypton’s discovery makes all Clark's problems his fault. Clark did nearly die, & it makes Lex a more formidable villain

It makes the plot more cohesive 

Clark being tricked by his nemesis > ‘he just left lol’

Lex’s desperation gives him depth. Stealing Kryptonite is now a response to Superman, where in the Theatrical cut it’s so underplayed it seems like just the next step of his plan.

Stanford and The Daily Planet

I can’t find it, but Mr. Sunday Movies  cites an interview where the actor revealed Stanford was a disgraced Daily Planet science correspondent, & wrote the articles about Krypton. 

More plot cohesion, connecting The Daily Planet & Lex plots. If Lois recognises Stanford when she’s on Lex's yacht, she could figure out Clark was tricked, helping her forgive him. 

Extended Clois outside The Daily Planet

Deleted dialogue in purple, (Script pp.58-60):

CLARK: Well … Maybe saying goodbye was so hard because he didn’t know whether it would be goodbye for a little while … or goodbye forever.

Lois doesn’t seem to be listening

CLARK (CONT’D, QUIETER): And maybe he had to go and he wanted to say goodbye, but he couldn’t find the guts to do it, because maybe if he saw you, even one last time… Well, maybe he was afraid that if he even looked at you just… once… he would never be able to… leave (beat) Maybe it was too difficult for him.

. . .

CLARK: So… Do you want to grab a quick bite? Catch up? My treat.

LOIS: Oh I’d love to, but Daddy took the car and it’s my turn to ‘cook’ the family dinner, which means I’ve got just enough time to get back to the ‘suburbs’ and order the Chinese

CLARK: Suburbs?

LOIS: Yeah, we have a really nice place on the river. You should drop in sometime.

CLARK: I’d love to.

Brandon performs this dialogue for a screentest in Requiem for Krypton

Much better reason for Clark not saying goodbye. Corny, but if your gonna justify an OOC decision, do it with the romance at the heart of your movie. 

Lois is much nicer & less dismissive of Clark. Theatrical Lois seems to actively dislike him.

Hints Lois feels stifled as a suburban mom

Lois Prequel: Writing Why The World Doesn’t Need Superman

The ‘Lois at home’ scene begins with a flashback:

Perry tells Lois to write a piece for the 5th anniversary of Superman leaving. She struggles with writer’s block at home, & goes out to smoke. She thinks Clark blows out her lighter, but she’s imagining it & realizes she must move on. That night she writes WTWDNS

Then Richard asks about I Spent the Night With Superman, then Clark is revealed to be watching at the end of the scene.

[After Clark flies away, Script p.63]

Lois picks up some food, then suddenly stops and turns to the window, staring into their backyard. Beat.

RICHARD: Lois? You okay?

Lois snaps out of it.

LOIS: Yeah, sorry. Hey, didn’t I have four won-ton’s?

Jason stuffs a won-ton into his mouth.

LOIS (CONT’D): JASON!

Lois & Richard dive, trying to snatch it from his mouth

A cute Jason moment, & Lois ‘sensing’ Clark makes his spying a little less creepy, selling their 'stracrossed lovers' connection

Superman On Patrol

Two scenes are omitted from the script (p.64) before the ‘Bulletproof’ bank robbery. Presumably they formed a full crime-fighting montage, like in ‘78.

The Visual Guide describes two cut sequences that perfectly fill that gap (p. 60):

“In Switzerland, he saved 12 stranded climbers from the peak of the Matterhorn. In Venice, he prevented the famous canals from flooding the city streets. Superman seems to be everywhere at once, but nowhere is he more prominent than in Metropolis…”

Full Deli Robbery Segment

MONTAGE REPORTER #3: Sir, after he captured the men trying to rob your Deli, did he do or say anything?

DELI OWNER: He tried the hummus. He said he liked it – and Superman never lies!

More action! More wholesome Superman! Expanding the scope of the movie beyond Metropolis!

Lex’s Plan

Higher-key Kryptonite heist where Lex’s gang fool guards and witnesses

The movie needs more energy. Like the stolen missile earlier, in the Theatrical Cut Lex’s plan is afterthought bullet-points 

When Kitty returns to Lex after Superman saves her, the stolen missile is being disassembled. Lex takes its explosive & the kryptonite he’ll stab Clark with 

Lois Prequel: Why she resents Superman and meeting Richard

After Perry demands Lois interview Superman we flashback to him doing the same thing after Krypton was found:

But Superman never shows. Months pass until “the world had to admit” he was gone.

The world turned to Lois as their 'Superman expert.'

JIMMY: Miss Lane. You okay?

LOIS: I will be once Perry lets me cover something over than Superman. He left. He's gone, and maybe he's never coming back. How many different ways can I write that?

JIMMY: I know Miss Lane. I miss him too.

The world refusing to let Lois move on by pigeon-holing her as ‘Superman’s Girlfriend’ is important context.

Now Perry refusing to let Lois cover the blackout is part of a sexist cycle she’s fought for years

Lois escapes to the roof for a smoke: "Even as the days kept passing, I held out hope. I mean, he never disappointed me before, right?'

Richard White introduces himself just like Clark:

RICHARD: Those things will kill you, you know. Hello, Lois. I'm Richard White.

LOIS: White, huh? Did Perry even read past your last name on your resume?

RICHARD: I won't deny what it looks like, but my uncle hired me because I'm damn good at what I do. And with you I see wasted talent. The Superman story is old news. The Planet's best reporter should be used elsewhere.

LOIS: You're certainly more insightful than you look, White.

Directly parallels Richard and Clark

And contrasts the rooftop interview with Superman immediately afterwards; we now know she waited here for Clark to return every night until she met Richard

Clark Visits the Fortress of Solitude

When Clark visits the Fortress of Solitude he has cut voiceover (Script p.89):

SUPERMAN (V.O.): Father... It’s been a long time since I’ve come to you… But I’ve never felt so alone.

EXT. FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE - SAME TIME

Superman lands & approaches the console. The crystal has been taken. WITH A VOICE ECHOING THROUGH THE ARCTIC LIKE THUNDER:

SUPERMAN: FATHER!!!

FATHER!!! Is OTT but important when Superman has so little dialogue

Clark is now clearly driven to the Fortress by Lois’ rejection. In The Theatrical Cut, he just checks in because it’s time for Plot to happen.

Losing Jor-El emphasizes the theme of parenthood- Clark loses a father as he gains a son- & justifies Jor El’s voiceover later

Lex's Fortress

In an earlier draft, Clark found the new Fortress Lex grew in his first experiment, and "Clark sunk it and put it underwater"

Originally “Richard & Lois flew there with Clark to investigate & take pictures" (Script interviews p.28) but later on these became satellite pictures that were delivered to the Planet. Lois saw them & understood what Clark had lost.

Lois seeing & understanding Cark's losses is important

Clark destroying Lex's Fortress would be an impressive action beat & Returns is desperate for those. Showing Lex's impact through action!

Extended dialogue on the yacht explaining Lex’s plan

LEX: It’s not just an island. It’s an entirely new continent. Virtually indestructible and self-sustaining. For lack of a better name, it’s Krypton. An extinct world, reborn on our own.

LEX: I’ll have ADVANCED alien technology thousands of years beyond anything anyone could throw at me. Weapons, vehicles, you name it. 

Gives New Krypton more credibility & makes Lex's plan more concrete, especially after Return to Krypton showcased Kryptonian tech

Saving Metropolis

Earlier drafts of the ‘Saving Metropolis’ sequence had “monster waves surging in every direction” (The Visual Guide p.70) Dan Harris also mentioned "waves coming in" and Clark “pulling a subway train out [of the ground]”. (Script interviews p.28) The script omits several sections that could fit these moments.

The script includes Clark saving people from cars set on fire by the gas explosion.

Again, Returns copies ‘78, but that earthquake was way bigger - a dam explodes, a bridge collapses, a train derails. Clark shifts tectonic plates to stop it.

Perry White meets Superman

I understand why this was cut but it’s still cool

The Missile Explosive

After Jason kills Brutus, the deleted scene of Lex finding Brutus’ body is followed by (Script pp.113-114):

INT. YACHT - PANTRY Lois & Jason sit against the far wall, exhausted & worried. The door swings open, revealing LEX. He looks at Jason & winks.

LEX: Catch.

He tosses SOMETHING into the room, wrapped in the handkerchief. It rolls towards Jason’s feet. LOIS CHARGES just as Lex slams the door. Jason removes Lex’s handkerchief, revealing the EXPLOSIVE from  the missile.

LOIS: Honey… don’t move.

Lois is panicked, searching for any way to get rid of the explosive. Finally; a SMALL AIR DUCT. She kneels & pulls at the VENT COVER. It won’t budge. She looks around & finds a LARGE METALLIC SOUP LADLE.  SHE JAMS THE LADLE INTO THE VENT, using it like a crowbar. 

JASON: Mommy?

LOIS: JASON DON’T MOVE!

Lois strains to pry the vent away. After what seems like an eternity, it finally pops off. She approaches Jason VERY CAREFULLY.

LOIS (CONT’D): Okay Honey, stay still…

Lois THROWS IT into the air duct … grabs Jason & rushes him to the other side of the room. The explosive drops down a series of air ducts … Silence. Lois and Jason open their eyes, relieved.

Then – BOOOOOOM! THE BLAST ROCKS THE ROOM. A burst of flame shoots from the vent. Lois shields Jason. The flames are followed by a GEYSER OF SEAWATER. The room is tipped upward. Water is streaming in. Lois tumbles backwards into the water, struggling to reach Jason, but she’s STUCK.

ANGLE UNDERWATER: Lois’ leg tangled in a LIFE PRESERVER.

LOIS: HELP ME! Oh God…

Water floods into her mouth. She disappears under the surface when the DOOR is RIPPED OPEN, AND THE SILHOUETTE OF A MAN STEPS INTO THE ROOM. He dives underwater.

The man rips Lois’ leg free from the cables and pulls her to safety. Lois finally opens her eyes and comes face to face with… RICHARD. She and Jason are stunned.

LOIS (CONT’D): How –How did you get here?

RICHARD: (obviously…) I flew.

Lex’s response to Superman’s son here is more appropriate & threatening.

Another setup & payoff with the missile explosive gives the film more structure. Plot, y'know?

Makes Lois more active

Richard/Clark parallels

Jason recognizes Clark 

[in the seaplane after Superman saves them from the yacht]

Jason curiously looks up at Superman.

JASON: Hey, you look just like–

SUPERMAN: (Cutting him off) Can you fly?

For a moment, it looks like Superman is speaking to Jason – then he turns his head to Richard.

Also in the novelisation (p.285)

More Jason/Clark connection & more payoffs (Jason suspected Clark's identity after seeing him next to Superman on TV earlier)

Context: New Krypton

The script describes it as “almost identical to the ruins of Krypton ... Unlike the ruins, this place feels like it could be full of life – what he hoped to find when he went to Krypton,” with buildings “resembling the Fortress of Solitude”.  made of the Fortress’ glowing white crystals, presenting the facade of life.

Clark confronts Lex in “an exact reproduction of the Kryptonian VALLEY OF ELDERS" (where we saw the El Crest in Return to Krypton). Flickering x-ray vision reveals “IN THE GROUND AND WALLS are pockets and veins of kryptonite” 

From The Visual Guide (p.79):

“New Krypton recreates its planet of origin according to an ancient blueprint, beginning with the vanished capital of Kryptonopolis ... [it] will eventually replicate the towering face of Mount Argo, the bottomless depths of the Xan Chasm, & the polished dome of the Krypton Science Council”

Superman hears something else in the wind, coming from inside the structure: a VOICE. Faint, but familiar. Maybe JOR-EL? LARA? It’s joined by other ghostly whispers before another familiar voice calls out:

LEX (O.S.): See anything familiar?

The ghostly whispers are a cool detail

Now New Krypton is literally a ‘dead world resurrected’, not just some land, & will terraform the whole planet. It brings the movie full-circle- Krypton followed Clark home

After beating a powerless Clark, Lex reveals the truth

LEX (CONT’D): Look, buddy. We sent you there to die, but ya’ had to come back…

Superman looks at Lex, his expression turning from agony to realization.

LEX (CONT’D): Oh yeah. All those photos? Those stories about Krypton still existing? It was me. (Beat) And him.

ANGLE ON: Stanford.

LEX (CONT’D): Thankfully the press doesn’t check facts like they used to. (Beat) Hey, you took away five years of my life. I just returned the favor.

In the novelisation (p.297) & literally every other adaptation of the story. Why the fuck would you cut it?

As Clark drowns:

“Crystals are growing towards him from every direction. ALL GLOWING GREEN from Kryptonite. He tries swimming to the surface, but he’s too weak. He’s trapped ... A mesh of crystal walls are closing in around him, over him like a tomb."

The tomb is a thematically resonant image (New Krypton = graveyard) & heightens the crystals’ threat

Jason ‘senses’ Clark instead of seeing him from the plane window

In the script, Jason wants to help Clark too- not just Lois & Richard deciding.

Jason looks out the window, pointing down to the water.

JASON: There.

He turns to Lois. Beat. She can’t see anything.

LOIS: You’re sure?

Jason nods. He’s certain.

While Clark in hospital, Lois names ‘New Krypton’

it's gone “into orbit somewhere between Mars & Jupiter. Supposedly it’s laced with Kryptonite & still growing”. 

Again, creates a thematic bookend with 'Old Krypton' in the beginning

Outside the Hospital

Ben Hubbard waits with Martha Kent- you can see his shoulder next to her in the Theatrical Cut

There are shots of Lois, Jason & Martha talking while they're in the crowd- presumably Martha offering support without Lois knowing who she is

Martha meets her grandson! The two mothers of Kryptonian sons talk!

Bringing Martha & Ben back ties the Smallville section of the movie back into the plot

Final Clois Exchange

SUPERMAN: Thank you, Lois.

Tears well in her eyes, struggling for something to say.

SUPERMAN (CONT’D): It’s alright.

It’s what she’s wanted and needed to hear for years.

It’s such a small thing, but gives Clois closure, and Clark more lines

OTHER CHANGES

Color-grade: Returns’ drab sepia look ruins beautiful cinematography. The original color-grade in the teaser trailer (which is like 70% deleted footage) is much better, as is this color-corrected shuttle sequence

A tighter edit to compensate for the action-light script. They went for a classic, unhurried edit, but you could shave multiple seconds off most shots without losing anything. The Superman Restored fanedit re-inserts 25 mins of deleted scenes and is still 8 mins shorter than the Theatrical Cut

Tldr;

Returns is inherently slow-paced. Even with a faster edit, adding all this would push it past 3 hours. Regardless, Singer shot his own film in the foot because his priorities were wrong: Outlined above is a more balanced, cohesive story with richer themes. The Lex and Krypton subplots are complete. Clark feels like the main character, & Lois is more sympathetic. 

Brandon deserved so much more.

[sidekick-hero]

and of course i have to ask about pickup note because i am feral for it 😘😘😘

Janai!! You are a gem, I hope you know that! Also tagging @eriquin who was also so kind as to send in a request for this one 💜💜💜

So, @thefreakandthehair and I will be working out a proper outline for this amazing project some time next week but I can share a few things about it we already worked out with @firefly-party (and you can also read a scene I wrote for Lex' birthday that's happening in this universe and gives you a feeling for the dynamic we are going for and check out the amazing art already existing for it here and here)

So, the setting is as follows: CC have made it, they're THE breakthrough metal band of the year and they're about to embark on their first ever world tour when Gareth breaks his arm, badly. It's a complicated fracture and the doctor tells him he won't be able to drum for at least a few months - which is a disaster. They can't reschedule, and they really don't want to cancel the tour, so they need a replacement drummer, and fast.

Enter Will Byers, Gareth's boyfriend. He immediately suggests Steve Harington, who has played in several bands over the years, always as a hobby, but he's good, really good, according to Will. Will works as a tattoo artist and owns his own studio where Steve Harrington is a regular guest artist. Will knows Steve from way back when he used to babysit Will's friend Dustin and date his best friend Mike's big sister. He vouches for Steve as a great drummer and an even better guy and sends Gareth a link to Steve's socials with videos of some of his gigs over the years.

The CC guys are thrilled, except for Eddie, and they invite Steve to show them how fast he can learn their songs, because the tour starts in less than two weeks.

Eddie dislikes Steve right away because he's everything Eddie hated in high school, and when Steve shows up wearing a button-up and dress-pants, looking like a choir boy instead of a rock star, Eddie feels vindicated in his resentment. It doesn't help that he's unfairly attractive and talented, so he has the other boys wrapped around his finger in no time. They vote, and everyone but Eddie votes to take Steve with them, and so Eddie is forced to spend the next three months touring the world with Steve Harrington.

Other characters that will make an appearance:

Chrissy as their manager

Robin managing their social media communication

Hopper as head of security

TBD

✍️ Ask me about my WIPs ✍️

[casualevan]

New To Superman?

*Swivels around in villain chair petting a cat

So, you just caught up with My Adventures with Superman and you want to know what to read or watch while you wait for new episodes? SAY NO MORE! Here’s a list of personal faves of mine!  Now some notes, different writers have different takes in different decades and the publishers can play it fast and lose with continuity. So going from one story to another, you might notice some changes. Like weather or not Clark’s parents are alive or if Lois dating Clark etcetera etcetera. Don’t worry about it, just roll with it.

Now lets get started with THE SUPER LIST! 

Superman: Birthright 

A solid starting point graphic novel. It’s got everything ya need for his origin story and is a fantastic character study of Clark and his arch enemy Lex Luthor. The art is pretty good as well and does a great job of showing both sides of Clark’s character and power. If you love the show and want to see how the books handle the Man of Steel’s first run in Metropolis then you got yourself a fun book.

Next we’ll get into some movies! Now, you can watch most of these on hbomax so let’s all vote with our wallets and support the official release! That way studios don’t make us wait ANOTHER 20 years for a Superman cartoon. 

Superman: Unbound 

Superman faces a cosmic alien super computer named Brainiac! Braniac’s deal is he wants to put cities in small bottles and then blow up the rest of the planet he collects them from. It’s a cool conflict cuz it’s a villain Superman can’t just PUNCH into submission. As Braniac can just download into another body if he did. So Superman is gonna have to get super smart to out smart a super computer..... listen the movie’s writing is better than mine, trust me.

Superman Vs The Elite

Oh, here we GO! Okay so this full movie is based on ONE issues of the comics. ONE. Not a 6 part mini series arc collected into one trade paperback. ONE COMIC! It was THAT GOOD! Superman meets some new heroes on the block, THE ELITE. They’re GRITTY and DARK and SERIOUS ANTI HEROES who aren’t afraid to KILL the bad guys! They’re also here to try and force Superman to retire his wholesome way of saving the day. This movie has amazing action animation and phenomenal writing that shows why the core character of Clark being kind still resonates with audiences when given the chance. (You’ve probably seen the big speech from this movie passed around youtube a lot and rightly so. This is a good one, go watch it!) Now, Superman has one of the all time iconic origin stories, but how does his story end? Well lots of writers have tried their hands at it. A few of them are good but my personal fave is probably ALL STAR SUPERMAN

Lex Luthor finally finds a way to beat Superman, but Clark isn’t going down without a fight and without saving as many lives as he can. It’s a grand all star parade of all the wild and wacky pulp adventure camp that has built up around the legacy of the Last Son of Krypton. If you want a satisfying conclusion to Superman’s story then it’s hard to top this one. Heck the book is also pretty damn good too! 

There is... a LOT of Superman content. 80 years worth to be exact. This list is far from complete and is only meant to serve as a starting point for diving into all this Super Lore. I for one am glad My Adventures With Superman seems to have lit a fire under the fanbase and I’m happy to welcome all you new readers and watchers to one of my all time favorite Superheroes.  HONERABLE MENTIONS! 

SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN! It’s exactly what the title says. Go read it! It’s inspired by the old school radio show (podcasts for your grandparents) that had REAL WORLD IMPACTS in the USA. 

Finally, the 40′s Cartoons

These are a BIT dated and light on actual plot and character but there’s a retro charm to some of these.  Okay, That’s enough from me. What are YOUR top recommendations for new fans? Let me know in the reblogs! 

[oliversrarebooks]

what do your guys think about flowers? do they appreciate a nice bouquet? does lady jessica get roses from her love interests? has fitz ever had them be thrown on the stage after a performance? has anyone ever made lex a flower crown and told him to stop looking so sad and tormented? (if not, i will make him one.)

also, do any of them have a favourite flower with a special significance? i feel like the resident gays might have something sappy like that going on. like "ooo i got a bouquet of roses from fitz in 1897 and now whenever i see roses i tear up and spiral for 5 consecutive days"

also, lex seems like the type to enjoy nice, pressed flowers... he would 100% kill live ones. oliver wouldnt tho, i think. in my heart, oliver knows how to take care of little potted plants like he knows how to care for old books. maybe he could get some for lex's (i bet) sad and lifeless little manor. it needs the touch of a living person /j

sorry for the many questions, i suddenly got curious. as a parting gift, i stick a flower in fitz's gorgeous gorgeous hair, and i assure him he looks stunning (which he already knew). i also give miss lily a flower for being employee of the month at the thrall factory. ... i would like to give everyone a flower i think... they all deserve it... lady jessica for being so pretty and fun, lex for being so sopping wet and squishable, emily and oliver for being the best thralls... (jameson gets nothing, but the rats get a flower too)

This is a great ask, I love it

Lex would definitely love pressed flowers. He enjoys floral scents, as well, and often smells a bit floral due to using soaps and perfumes with floral fragrance. But you're right, he does not normally have live plants in his manor. Particularly when he's in a mood, he tends to lose track of the days, and is poor of taking care of living creatures. This is part of why it's good for him to have thralls that can attend to their own needs. He's had cats before, but they were allowed to free roam outdoors and so often took care of their own food by killing the numerous city mice.

Lex would also have books on flower language. Among the supernatural folk, flower language is mostly the realm of witches and faefolk, as they have strong connection to nature and plants.

The idea of Lex in a flower crown is amazing.

I think it's spot on that Oliver would enjoy houseplants. Keeping houseplants in the manor would be difficult because the windows are usually shut (to protect Lex in case he needs to get up during the day). He would keep plants in his own bedroom, where he usually keeps the window open for sunlight and fresh air.

Oliver would beam with delight at being given a flower for being the best thrall.

Fitz does indeed get tossed roses and flowers at his performances. He loves gaining flowers as a token of admiration, but could never actually take care of a live plant. He does have one very bad association with roses that will come up in the story. Lex would usually get him flowers other than roses for that reason.

Fitz grins and preens at having a flower stuck in his hair.

Lily doesn't have a particularly good or bad association with flowers. She's always busy and doesn't keep house plants. She does very often wear floral print dresses, though. And she'd be very amused to be named the Employee of the Month at the thrall factory.

Jessica LOVES flowers. She loves to get them from admirers and fills her house with them. She has both real and artificial flowers -- she tosses the real flowers as soon as they start to die, and tosses the artificial flowers as soon as they get dusty. Like many things in Jessica's life, nothing actually lasts very long. She also often wears floral corsages, and flowers on her hat and in her hair.

Emily likes the flowers in Jessica's house. It's one of the bright spots of her dismal existence, and once she gets some art supplies, it's one of her favorite subjects to draw and color.

Jameson thinks flowers are for women and children.

[mk-wizard]

I don't hate My Adventures with Superman. I hate that it was another case of "for all ages" and trying to hard to be different and constantly new ruined how amazing it could have been. And I hate the cutesy art style that ruined serious scenes and makes all the characters look like children.

The worst part is that the demographic (kids) are not interested in "for all ages". Even they would much rather watch shows made for their age specifically. And I say this because I have a son and even at three, he has standards.

"For all ages" doesn't work. And honestly... at the risk of sounding harsh, if you're trying to make a superhero show with action and deep plot, it shouldn't be for kids. I mean, Superman's most monumental events was his death. What does that tell you?

Marvel's Spider-Man was the last straw, but My Adventures with Superman was the final nail in the coffin. I think I'm going to put some distance between myself and modern superhero cartoons for a while.

And more importantly, concentrate on making my own comic great.

PS: I admit that the racebending of the characters was just salt on the wounds. You HAVE BIPOC characters to work with in Superman: John Henry Irons aka Steel who is a badass supergenius who is ripped and handsome, and literally built himself a cybersuit with a badass hammer for a weapon. And, get this, he used to work for Lex Luther, but quit upon realizing he was evil and even told him off to his face before walking out, and never looked back.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I want creators to keep Jimmy Olsen as the white redhead he originally was and instead, make this BIPOC literal badass man of steel a regular member of the super team instead.

It's like I keep telling people, every time you "bend", you waste an opportunity to showcase an existing character of that group. Stop doing it.

And I'm just done with this. I think I'm going to put some distance between myself and superhero media for a while.

[theartoflovingthomashunt]

Alexandra "Alex" Hunt (nee Spencer)

[All Thomas Hunt x Alex Spencer Masterlists] [All things Alex]

Book: Red Carpet Diaries / Hollywood U Husband: Thomas Hunt Children: Felicity, Vincent, Bogart (dog) Face Claim: Katherine McPhee (RCD FC)

*Alex began as a main character, but has become an original character now It only took almost 5 years to make a character page for her 🙈

What's in a Name?~ Alexandra Rose Spencer

Alexandra

Origin: Greek, feminine form of Alexander, derived from alexein

Meaning: "defender of men"

Why I chose it: I adore the name Alex and all variations of the name. It's one of my favorites which is why I chose it for my pen name... I have a complete unpublished manuscript from several years ago. Maybe one day I'll do something with it, but until then, I decided to give Alex her name because it means something to me

Rose

Origin: Latin

Meaning: rose, a flower

Why I chose it: My grandmother's name was Rose, when she passed I decided to remember her through Alex by giving her Rose as a middle name

Spencer

Origin: English

Meaning: derived from the Old French despensier, a steward

Why I chose it: One of my favorite TV shows of all time is Psych, so I gave her the last name Spencer after Shawn Spencer.

Nicknames: primarily Alex, she did try going by Lexi and Lex when she was in middle school, but decided they weren't for her

The Basics

Birthday: March 6 Zodiac: Pisces Personality: Artistic, Creative, Idealistic, Adaptable, Generous, Empathetic, Romantic, Trusting, Compassionate, Dreamy, Procrastinates, Avoids Conflict, Too Trusting

Hair: Dark Brown, sometimes she highlights it lighter Eyes: Brown Height: 5'8" (based on my FC)

Family + Hometown

Hometown: Pella, Iowa

Parents + Home: Henry and Laura Spencer Henry and Laura were high school sweethearts, but waited to get married until after college. They had one child, Alex. Laura had some complications during her pregnancy and childbirth so her and Henry didn't want to risk another. They were okay with it, because they loved Alex with all they were.

Unfortunately, Henry had a sudden and unexpected heart attack when Alex was 12 and passed away. It was hard for Alex and her mom. Alex turned her pain into her drama and theatre performances. Through the friends she made there, she found an amazing support system.

Laura is a nurse. Henry was an architect.

Education

HWU AU: Hollywood U

RCD AU: Tisch School of the Arts at NYU* *Don't hold me to that, I had a different school in mind, but at Tisch she could have met Olivia who was going to NYU at the same time and CoffeeShopAU!Ellie (if I ever finish it) who grew up in Brooklyn. Tisch would give me a gateway to bring those ladies into my RCD world. Current version of Ellie exists in my HWU universe!

More about Alex

Likes: coffee (particularly iced), doodling, painting (even if she's not the best), quiet moments away from the spotlight, her family, stargazing, mysteries, the ocean, hot baths, reading, movie night

Dislikes: decaf (she suffered through it for the twins, but only for them), the last sip of coffee in a cup, mornings, exercise, humidity, abuse of power, betrayal, traffic, frogs (irrational fear)

Best Friends: Addison Sinclair (HWU/RCD), Chazz Javellana (RCD), Ethan Blake (HWU/RCD), Ellie Shepherd-Ramsey (HWU), Ethan Ramsey (HWU)

Asks, Edits, Art, and more about Alex can be found on her Character Masterlist Page

More to be come...

please let me know if there is something you'd like to know about Alex that I can add!

[batbigbang]

Bat Big Bang: Playboy Therapy

Author: @iwantapettiger Artist(s): @trekkele

Rating: Explicit Ao3 Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationship(s): Lex Luthor/Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent & Bruce Wayne, Batfamily Members & Bruce Wayne Key Characters: Bruce Wayne, Lex Luthor Summary: Bruce Wayne has been benched following an injury. After completing his backlog of work, he escapes the overprotective eyes of his family by pursuing a mystery in Metropolis. Namely, a reformed Lex Luthor, recently returned to the public eye. Luthor's quiet new image is at odds with the LexCorp technology found in the possession of Harley Quinn. With Luthor's technology rivaling his own, the only way to get close is physically. Something his playboy persona is very good at. With all this time away from Gotham someone might think Bruce is avoiding it… Word Count: 63,039

Author’s Notes: I’ve been writing fanfics for a long time and recently gathered up the courage to try to properly post them. I saw the challenge and decided to interact with others in the community and force myself to focus on publishing a work in full. I decided on this one as I had quite a bit of material. Most importantly I really wanted to see Lex/Bruce art. Rikki/Trekkle, the amazing artist I was paired with, has provided! I ended up finally having my own fanfic author moment where a bunch of personal stuff happened but I still really had to write this fic. The kind mod team and Trekkle have been very understanding and I appreciate it so much. Having the art to look at has given me motivation to work on the longest thing I have ever written. It was far more difficult than I expected, as I don’t usually publish, editing is an unfamiliar skill. It’s taught me a lot about where I can improve. I hope that publishing this will encourage me to publish more work so that I can become a better writer. Here’s to the five other people in the Lex/Bruce tag!

Artist’s Notes: I had such a good time working with this fic, which is an absolutely delightful tangle of identity porn and unexpected character development and fantastic plot work. I wanted to incorporate as much as I could of the reactions around Bruce and Lex, which were so much fun to read, into my art for this fic, and a comic page felt like it could really catch that relationship developing over time. And since Bruce flirts his way into a corner with Lex, which is a very Cher-in-Clueless move, a mock rom-com poster felt like the obvious choice for this fic. Tigoon was such a dream to work with, I had a great time reading their fic and trying to guess what happens next. 

READ ON AO3

[wondereads]

Review of Gwen and Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher

Summary

Princess Gwen has been betrothed to Arthur, the son of a duke, since childhood. They hate each other, but their engagement is made only more complicated by Gwen's crush on lady knight Bridget Leclair and Arthur's penchant for kissing boys. In an attempt to cover up their respective romantic pursuits, they pretend to fall in love, but the ruse can only last for so long.

Plot 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I really liked how this story took some fun, more contemporary romance tropes and put them into a historical setting. Historical romances can often be quite dramatic and perhaps not the best fit for the YA style, but Lex Croucher did a great job of creating a more lighthearted story that still didn't make me forget the setting. There was an unexpected bit of plot at the end; I certainly didn't anticipate it, and it felt a little out of left field, but I think it ultimately gave some good character development and provided a nice conclusion to the story.

There were some points where the actual situations the four main characters got into felt a little unrealistic. Like it was stretching my suspension of disbelief. However, that's pretty par for the course for romance. The worldbuilding was a lot more in-depth than I thought it would be. It was wildly historically inaccurate, but it brought a lot more diversity than is normally present in historical romances.

Characters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

I really liked the characters of this book, especially Gwen. The romance was great too, and I'll talk about that, but I appreciate that they all had their own arcs to follow and develop through outside their romantic attachments. Gwen has issues with her confidence, Arthur is the king of all daddy issues, Bridget struggles with her place in society as a female knight, and Gabriel has to come to terms with his sexuality. Them all having their own arcs really helps establish them as characters.

The romance itself was very sweet. Even if some of the situations were a bit unrealistic, the characters dealt with them very naturally and the build of both relationships felt well-paced. There was good conflict in both of them as well, ones where neither side was wrong or right and they had to come together to understand each other. By around halfway through the book if not sooner, I was wholeheartedly rooting for both Gwen and Arthur's happy endings with their love interests.

Writing Style 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Although this is a historical setting, the writing is quite modern (bonus points if you catch the Riverdale meme reference in the first few chapters). However, considering this is pitched as a romcom and makes no pretense of being historically accurate, I don't mind it. The tone and language is consistent throughout the book, and I really only think it's an issue if it changes between 'modern' and 'historical'. The writing itself isn't amazing, but it is still good and Croucher does a good job portraying emotion.

Overall 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

This was a great historical romance. It was super sweet with a lot of great representation, even if it wasn't what most would consider historically accurate. Both relationships developed naturally with some pretty realistic bumps along the way. Some scenes felt a little forced, but more in the uncanny probability of the world, not the characters. Gwen was my favorite character, and I loved her arc of self-improvement. There was an unexpected bit of plot at the end, but I think it worked well in the context of how the characters were developing and what needed to occur for a happy ending.

The Author

Lex Croucher: British, also wrote Reputation and Infamous, has a cat

The Reviewer

Hi, I'm Wonderose, and I write reviews! Check out my pinned post for more about me :)