#maxwell x kara

[hitchell-mope]

Supergirl/The Producers au

Winn. Max Bialystock.

Mon El. Leo Bloom.

Kara. Ulla Swanson.

Maxwell. Franz Liebkind.

[6rookie-writer0110]

Just us

Clark Kent X Male Reader

Request - Clark Kent (Tyler) x male reader, reader just holding Clark I feel like he’s a big baby sometimes.

You are lying in bed watching tv and Clark walked in. And he lies on top of you and he snuggled on you.

“So happy to be home,” Clark said.

“Rough day?” You asked.

You wrap your arms around him and kissed his head.

“Work was rough and I had to interview Maxwell Lord with Kara and went downhill,” Clark said.

“Well, you are home now so try to relax,” You said.

“I want to be like this forever,” Clark said.

“Eventually we have to leave the house,” You said.

“Don’t remind me, babe” Clark said.

You and Clark watch tv but after a while, he fell asleep. You don't wake him up, you just keep holding him. You start to play with his hair then you gently remove his glasses away. Later, you fell asleep holding him.

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

It's Halloween... Clark is dressed as a hot dog and you are dressed as ketchup. Kara planned a Halloween party and she invited you and Clark to come. You and Clark are having fun but Clark is ready to go home, now he starts to look for you.

“Y/n, we should go home” Clark whispered

“Right now?” You asked.

“Yeah. Also, I think we have been here long enough” Clark whispered.

You and Clark usually don't stay long at parties, it's either you or him who would want to go home.

“Y/n let's go. I just want to be with you, plus I want us to watch the new Hocus Pocus part two movie” Clark said.

You couldn't help you smile, then you have him a peck on the lips.

“Alright, let's go home,” You said.

You and Clark made up a lie and told Kara then went home. You and Clark change into pajamas and cuddle in bed while watching the movie.

[lizzybeth1986]

Maxwell and Penelope: When You Like Your Side Character So Much, You Gift Her a Shiny New LI

Series - TRR's Alternative LIs: The Romances that Didn't Happen

Previous - Liam and Olivia: When You Prefer the Side Character to the Main

A/N: There won't be a lot of exploration on Maxwell x Penelope, as there is very little the pair gets in canon. I will be largely looking at their individual characterizations and the changes and retcons made there. There will be a lot of exploration on Penelope x Ezekiel.

CW: Mentions of Penelope's actions as part of Constantine's nefarious plot against the MC in TRR1 & 2, mentions of Penelope's social anxiety.

(Screenshots from the Skylia YouTube Channel, Drake playthrough)

Compared to the other three alternative romances, Maxwell x Penelope turned out to be a bit of a one-chapter wonder. It was extremely short-lived, and the only indication that it had ever happened was one conversation between Penelope and the MC in TRR2 Ch 6, after which there is no reference to it, ever again.

In my mind there are two major factors behind this pairing being left behind, which I will get into later in this essay. However, what I find even more interesting is what the narrative and the writing team did with Penelope after they set aside that subplot. What did TRR3 give her in lieu of this alternative romance, and why, and what does it tell us about the narrative that she alone got that?

But before we can get into that, we need to look (separately) at how Maxwell and Penelope were written in TRR1, and how it culminated in the characterizations they got by TRR2.

The Evolution of (White) Side Characters

One thing that fascinates me about TRR1 is the trajectory of some of the characters, when you observe them on rereads. We often go into those rereads with a strong impression of their character type (or stereotype), before we learn to our surprise that the initial writing doesn't always match the image we carried in our heads.

In the case of some side characters, we may find traces and hints of a totally different characterization, before the team zeroed in on a trope or characteristic that may have hit the right chord with the audience. When done right, this could result in a more rounded character. But in the wrong hands, the writer may keep falling back to that one trope that made the character click, and turn them into caricatures instead.

Maxwell and Penelope are representative of different tiers of side characters, at least in TRR1 - which means that what we may expect in terms of treatment will vary as well. Even before TRR2, Maxwell was more LI-tier adjacent; until he got his LI-upgrade in TRR2, he was a frequent presence in the story and the MC's life, enough that his fans started a "Make Maxwell an LI" campaign. Penelope (along with Kiara) was a far less important character with infrequent appearances.

So of course their trajectories wouldn't be the same. It's interesting, nonetheless, to see how the writing changed over the course of the series, what parallels or complementary traits made the team consider Penelope as an alternative for Maxwell by TRR2, and why they ultimately let go of the pair after one chapter.

As we go through these stories, I think I'd like my readers to keep one thing in mind throughout - Penelope is an anomaly as a character. There are very specific things she is given that at least one other character in the same position doesn't get. Why?

I might not be able to give the answer in this specific essay, but I do think it's a question we need to keep asking ourselves as we go through her story.

Maxwell and Penelope - TRR1

A truly interesting thing about Maxwell was that he was initially not even conceptualized as a prominent character in the books! In their promotional interview for TRR2, Kara mentioned this about the creation of his character:

Excerpt from The Royal Romance: Book 2 interview.

Maxwell was initially conceptualized as a fun foil for Bertrand, the MC's tentative guide for the social season - who the writers considered too stiff and boring to stand alone as a character. Owing to his proximity to both Liam (close friend) and the MC (sponsor), it made sense that Maxwell was a part of the group scenes from the jump.

Going by the interviews, clearly Maxwell's 'fun nature' was his main USP for the writers. TRR1 does try to balance this aspect of his personality with scenes where he shows perceptiveness (such as pointing out opportunities to ally with Kiara or Penelope), but as time goes on he is viewed more and more as the 'funny guy' of the group. He also has a side-story connected with his older brother, who isn't very impressed with his work during the social season (tbh, for good reason!). This side story allows us to view him with sympathy and perhaps overlook all his failures as a sponsor (and there are many examples of this throughout TRR1. Most of the opportunities to connect with the main LIs emerge from all the times Maxwell failed to adequately guide her - teaching her the Cordonian Waltz, explaining the significance of the Regatta Race, finding the right tents, telling the MC to get swimwear for a beach party!).

Of course, because TRR2 (where the Beaumonts are her staunch allies from the jump, even before the LIs return and pledge their support shortly after) and the "Make Maxwell an LI" campaign created such a strong impression on the fandom, people remember him most as the "person who was always there for the MC".

Though he doesn't become an LI in TRR1, we do get our first ever hint of the possibility midway through the book:

(Screenshots from the HIMEME YouTube Channel)

Most of the people I know joined the TRR fandom either in the middle of Book 1, or after Books 2 or 3 - therefore, much of what I'm about to say next is down to conjecture. It is possible that either some stans did pop up in the initial chapters, resulting in the hint in Ch 8, OR that the writers tentatively teased this pairing with the dialogue at the Lythikos Ball, and were gratified enough by the response to continue teasing it. By TRR1 Chs 10 and 11, there was already plenty fanfic on Maxwell x MC. The writers were clearly encouraged enough by the response to toss a few more hints (the MC asking Maxwell about taking his shirt off at the beach, the implications of the MC telling Maxwell she is falling for someone else). Before the fandom knew it, Maxwell had already become the beneficiary of two diamond scenes focused on him in TRR1 (a flashback scene that introduced Savannah, and having fun sliding down banisters in the finale).

Penelope's trajectory in Book 1 didn't experience as meteoric a rise in popularity, but there were changes made throughout the series until she did become somewhat popular. Her trajectory could be categorised in three parts:

1. A minor noble who was very poised and proper (snobbish, if you weren't fitting in well enough)

2. Adorable ditz

3. The lady with social anxiety (TRR2)

From their entrance in TRR1 Ch 3, both Penelope and Kiara were written as extremely minor characters compared to the three frontrunners (and one female LI) of the social season. They accept early on that they don't have much of a chance in the competition, and are the first contenders (barring Hana) that the MC can get on her side. They represent the opinions and mindsets of the royal court.

Because of this, Penelope and Kiara initially appeared almost indistinguishable from each other. The only thing that seems to set them apart is perhaps the introduction Olivia gives at the Masquerade, pointing to Penelope's lineage and Kiara's linguistic skills and diplomatic pedigree. She was the titled one, Kiara was the "smart" one.

(Penelope's scenes from my failplay, in order:

1 & 2: Ch 3, while speaking about Olivia's connection to the Prince, and if you ask her and Kiara why they allow Olivia to call them 'harpies'

3 & 4: Ch 4, Penelope's response to the MC saying, "Penelope, hands off my man"

5 & 6: Ch 6, if you don't fall in line behind the Queen and bump against her instead

7: Ch 6, when Olivia is shocked that Liam chose the MC

8: Ch 8, reaction to Olivia kissing Liam)

Penelope's early scenes in TRR1 didn't showcase the traits she is now so well-known for. She wasn't the "adorable ditz" until the Applewood chapters; in fact her scenes in the first half often showed her as poised and very proper. At the Masquerade she calmly points out to the MC that there is no reason to be offended, when Olivia bluntly declares that no one else has a chance with Liam. She expects decorum from the MC when she cuts in during her dance with Liam, and even comments on the inappropriateness of some of Olivia's behaviours and cautions her when she gets a chance. If your MC makes mistakes in public in certain scenes, Penelope doesn't hesitate to laugh at her.

Her allyship scene in Ch 10 hinges on the MC's ability to convince Penelope of the advantages of supporting her, and rescuing the lady from a crab bite. She is extremely rude in certain options, and ends their conversation with the sentence "I'm not nice" if she isn't convinced the MC is worth supporting. In fact, she is allowed to call the MC a commoner wench in a certain dialogue option!

(Screenshots from my failplay. The top half shows a response to one of the MC's dialogues (she is merely sad if you choose the second one). The second is the end of the conversation when the MC asks for her support)

In a failplay especially, she can be very, very mean-spirited, which is truly ironic given her later characterization as someone who is herself uncomfortable in court and makes more than her fair share of silly mistakes. Fortunately for most of the players, the more "positive" version of the scene sounds a bit more like she's scared and uncomfortable and not equipped to handle the rigors of court. Which makes the "adorable ditz" direction that PB takes, post Regatta, a bit more believable.

Once Penelope is no longer a contender, both she and Kiara recede to the background. You don't see much of her in Applewood and Ramsford, but the little you do see primes us to view her as "sweet and silly" with a bit of a poodle obsession. Two very good examples of this is the "cheating scene" at the pie competition (TRR1 Ch12) and the aftermath of the Beaumont Bash (Ch 16). At the pie competition, Olivia and the MC can team up to distract Penelope so they trick the rival team into adding salt in their pie instead of sugar, by getting her to talk more about her poodle obsession. At the end of the Beaumont Bash, she is shown exchanging drunken chatter with a horse. The book also makes her preoccupation with poodles way more obvious, where before it was brought up only once at the Masquerade Ball.

Discrepancies between portrayals in the first book vs the latter ones is par the course for TRR. Every character has those in some way or form. Maxwell's story in TRR1 and 2 at least could make sense with enough headcanons to fill in the gaps (for why he was inefficient in his support of the MC, for why his relationship with Drake was so fraught) and his characterization is a little bit more consistent. But Penelope's, on closer observation, is a complete mess and her story doesn't make any sense when put together.

Maxwell and Penelope - TRR2

Compared to the other three pairings, Maxwell x Penelope doesn't go beyond a single chapter.

(Screenshots from Skylia's YouTube channel)

This solitary hint pops up in TRR2 Ch 6, right after the Big Clue about Penelope's social anxiety. We're given the usual options one gets for alternative LIs - a "matchmaking" one, a gently discouraging one and an insulting one, the last two of which could be read as jealousy from the MC's end. In fact, the MC's third dialogue option in this scene is so mean spirited that Hana is required to soften the blow!

There's something interesting about the matchmaking response for this scene, and I think it says plenty about the writers and the lasting impression of these characters they wanted us to have.

"You're both a bit silly...but in a way that works." It's a reading of Maxwell and Penelope that leans very strongly into their potential as comic relief, that views the two characters as alike. Both "cute", both "silly", both there to give the characters (and readers) the occasional laugh.

Is this completely accurate to their characterizations in TRR1? Probably not. But it's clearly what the writers imagined would work well for those characters.

Interestingly, TRR2 is also where the team seems to experiment more with these two characters, and finds the characterizations they think would land with the audience. Maxwell's changes are related more to the belated buildup the narrative was giving him to be an LI, and most of Penelope's was related to her role in the plot against the MC. Maxwell is given more heroic traits (eg. the Savannah storyline and his involvement in the investigation) to beef up his story a bit, and plenty of hints are scattered specifically to tease a romantic route with the MC for more than half the book. The narrative also leans far more into his position as comic relief than TRR1 does, making it his most identifiable trait.

There are tiny nods to his "perceptiveness" (Liam mentions it twice in TRR2), but he does a lot of things that you wouldn't see a TRR1 Maxwell do, like tossing a bruschetta at a foreign dignitary or playing with food to get the forgiveness of his friend (btw the Drake Maxwell friendship reads very differently from the first book; they're remarkably chilly in their vibes towards each other initially. Of course, one could headcanon what caused a rift, but that's still us doing the work instead of the writers!!).

Because so much time has to be spent bringing Maxwell's romantic route up to speed with the rest, the progress of the relationship is different from the other three and his romantic scenes cost less (until TRR3 Ch 10, his first 30 diamond scene). Much of this is par for the course for an LI who has entered the game late. In addition, the narrative also tries in TRR2 and 3 to balance his role as the MC's sponsor with his new role as LI, and it doesn't always land (eg. his excitement for Liam's proposal to the MC two chapters after becoming an LI, or his weirdly impersonal reaction in the TRR3 Ch 11 Armory diamond scene in his playthrough, in response to Madeleine mocking Liam for the MC favouring Maxwell). In part this is a result of laziness from PB's end, and in part it's because navigating Maxwell's new role itself may have been a tricky business.

Penelope's TRR2 trajectory, in contrast, is the textbook definition for "throw spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks". Hints of her involvement in the plot don't even show up until Ch 6, just one chapter prior to the reveal. The reasoning given for Penelope's actions in TRR1 - social anxiety - also directly contradicts what is shown of her during the timeline when she was supposed to have been involved in the plot. TRR1 Ch 14 and the Coronation at the finale shows her acting calm, collected and enjoying herself. A lot of Penelope's actions in TRR1 and 2 - esp at the Coronation and in Fydelia - cast an extremely poor light on her when you take into account that she knew the MC was innocent, and that she'd played a part in framing her. From the way the reveal of her condition was done, and the way we're expected to brush her wrongdoing aside immediately, it's clear that Penelope's "social anxiety" was more about tossing in a last-minute Hail Mary to excuse her actions, rather than any real interest in exploring the subject.

Given the sloppy execution of this reveal, it is entirely possible that Madeleine could have been the "lady" in initial drafts (the strongest evidence of this is TRR2 Ch 1's "constitutional clause", which is never referenced again once Madeleine is no longer a suspect), and they made a switch in the nth hour.

It is also possible that writers in the team liked Penelope enough that they wanted readers to still like her after she'd betrayed their MCs. She hasn't been referenced or mentioned in any team interviews, but the writing speaks for itself. No matter what she's done, the narrative insists the MC center her, sympathize with her, and coddle her. I will speak more at length on how in the TRR3 section.

Why did Maxwell x Penelope Not Take Off?

(The first three screenshots are from the Abhirio YouTube Channel, and the rest are from the Radiance Guardians YouTube Channel)

Unlike in the case of the other pairings, not a lot was said in the fandom about this pair either way, even among Maxwell stans. You did have the occasional "hands off my man!" post from a Maxwell shipper, but not to a great extent. At this point many of them were still unsure whether a Maxwell route would be finalized, and even kept Liam as a standby in case all that teasing from the team came to nothing.

Again, most of the theories for why this pairing had just one scene are mere conjecture, since there isn't much evidence overall. But looking at the placement of this scene and what happens before and after it, I can think of two possible reasons why it was nipped in the bud:

1. Maxwell being a late-in-the-game LI could have made balancing an actual romance route and interactions with an alternative love interest tricky in the long run. As it is, his writing was subject to gaffes and mistakes in TRR3 even without this added storyline. It's possible they decided to just ensure that they got Maxwell to the point where he could have his own 30-diamond love scene (which happened in TRR3 Ch 9 btw (half a book after Drake and Hana got their first 30-diamond scenes), and not focus on anything else.

2. This teaser scene came up in Ch 6. Ch 7 is when Penelope is revealed to have tricked Tariq into coming to the MC's room, and paid the photographer to take intimate photos of her. Now to be fair, the narrative does insist she be sympathized with rather than judged. But I do think a subplot like that would automatically make her an unpopular candidate for any LI, much less one who hasn't even been clearly established as an LI yet! Having Maxwell fall for a woman who did the MC dirty wouldn't reflect very well on him, social anxiety or no. In fact, in Ch 8, Maxwell's reaction to the news is the strongest - he calls Penelope "a few dogs short of a pack", "downright diabolical" and even suspects she was lying about having poodles.

3. It is just as likely that Maxwell x Penelope was never a serious consideration for the writers in the first place. Possibly, Penelope's scene here was simply another hint in a rising pile that teased a Maxwell romance route. Players often do get an added pleasure from watching their MCs mouth a catty dialogue or two to a romantic rival, so this scene may have been more for the benefit of a Maxwell stan who wanted to "fight for her man" rather than an actual possibility if he wasn't getting picked.

Whatever their reasons, Maxwell and Penelope's chances as a couple ended pretty much in the same chapter that it began. It didn't create much of an impact, and no one really seemed to notice this pairing, or the lack of it. It basically started and finished with a whimper.

TRR3 and Beyond - Penelope and Ezekiel (ft. A Flanderized Maxwell)

Penelope is an anomaly among the side characters (and even among certain mains!) in both series'. She is the only person seriously involved in the plot against the MC, who needs massive coddling to even answer our questions about her betrayal (if not, Hana has to take over for you). She is the only lady-of-the-court who can refuse to attend your wedding. She is the only lady-of-the-court who can choose to travel with the entourage to another duchy, despite not being part of the Unity Tour. She is the only one among the three former ladies-in-waiting who can openly complain about Madeleine's bullying, and expect protection against her from the group. Until TRH2, Penelope was the only side character for whom massive divergences in the narrative would be made as well, to accommodate her comfort and mental health (More on that in this essay).

She is also the only alternative LI to be "rewarded" with a brand new character, crafted specially for her.

Until TRR3 Ch 7, the fandom didn't even know Kiara had an older brother. Even though the person we know best in Castelserraillan is Kiara, we actually spend less than a minute with her, and far more time with Ezekiel Theron. There is an entire diamond scene that's about pampering and complimenting him, making him comfortable around us, getting him to open to us - even though his sister was the one injured at Homecoming Ball. And of course, the entire reason for Penelope to even be present at Kiara's estate is so that she and Zeke can be paired up by default! Even at the Food and Art Festival, Kiara's only real default dialogue apart from winning over her mother (or not), is about moving Penelope and Ezekiel's romance along.

Both Penelope and Ezekiel join the Unity Tour only by option, so the narrative puts in a great deal of effort to get the romance going (by having Penelope only stop at Kiara's estate by default) and allowing the two to still have a fledgling courtship going on if they weren't together at the Unity Tour (Penelope still gets to meet people who inspire her into dog fashion and she and Zeke still show their interest in each other, propelling the parents to discuss their match).

The only thing we know about Ezekiel, and pretty much the only thing that really matters, is that he loves animals. In a court that views Penelope's love for dogs as an oddity, Ezekiel is a character tailormade to romance her. He rarely features in scenes that don't show her (the only exception is the menagerie scene in Ch 14), he rarely has dialogue outside of his scenes with her, he doesn't even have a personality beyond what would best suit Penelope. This character exists only to romance Penelope, which is depressing esp when you consider that she is a white woman, and he is a black man - and she is clearly the only one who even matters in this relationship!

There wasn't any real reason to give Penelope a partner. "Penzekiel" doesn't really do much for the story in general, and not a lot would change if you dropped them. But the narrative deems it essential to give her a "reward", which is ironic considering what she put the MC through and how much we had to coddle her for her to even consider cooperating, either in the investigation or during the Unity Tour. Presumably this "reward" is for her "niceness" and "sweetness", which only works because the narrative completely erases her misdeeds in the social season after TRR2. She never has to remember what she did, nor does anyone in the core group remind her.

With regards to Maxwell, by TRR3 he is a full-fledged LI who gets a wedding with his MC, in certain playthroughs. Much of his playthrough focuses on trying to catch up with the other 3 LIs - you can sleep with them if they're your fiancé/ée, but you have to wait until Ch 10 to sleep with Maxwell. The narrative mentions him taking up "responsibilities" for House Beaumont in lieu of Bertrand, but without any real scenes that show us what he is doing, nor any tangible results (we will not talk about Maxwell's book here!).

He doesn't have any alternative romances. In fact even his romantic playthrough is kinda bare - his only individual scene is the Armoury scene which isn't even about him, and there were glitches that were very noticable particularly in his and Hana's playthroughs. There are no references at all to the alternative romance Maxwell was given in TRR2; it's almost as if that option had never existed.

Penelope being a romantic option for Maxwell doesn't stop the two from having friendly exchanges in TRR3 though. Maxwell was not only allowed - but expected - to treat Penelope with sympathy and respect.

(First set of screenshots is mine, the second is from Skylia's YouTube Channel)

Not only Maxwell, even Drake - who hates most nobles - is shown being extremely protective of Penelope in both TRR3 (promising Penelope to protect her against Madeleine) and TRH3 (showing anger at Guy's blackmail of Penelope and her family). The narrative is very clear that we are expected to make Penelope feel safe, even if she has never made us feel anything but unsafe.

This relationship - and the level of coddling that Penelope has always received from TRR2 onwards - continues into TRH, where she and her beau Ezekiel are shown together, there are occasional updates on their relationship when either one appears in a chapter, and where they eventually marry and start a family. An interesting pattern begins to emerge once we get into TRH.

(Screenshots from Skylia and HIMEME's YouTube Channel)

As the only courtly lady in a relationship in TRH, Penelope gets a nicer, cleaner, more luxurious and more drama-free parallel to the MC's romantic journey. Like the MC, she finds a suitor who falls for her and wants to be with her. Like the LI, he eventually stages a grand proposal for her (TRH2 Ch 18), after they have spent a significant amount of time together. Like the MC, she has a widely publicized wedding (though tbh Penelope's was better customised to her tastes, and as the MC we put even more work into her wedding than we ever did our own!! (we were both her bridesmaid and her officiant, our daughter is the flower girl, we give her the perfect bachelorette, we rescue her from her asshole ex-husband, we help her select lingerie!!!)). And when the MC announces her second pregnancy, Penelope announces to us her first. Penelope's storyline has all the romantic trappings that the MC had with her LI, but without the tension, the conspiracies, the attacks and kidnappings, or the constant fear that someone is out to get her and her family.

Penelope is basically treated like MC-lite. Quite the upgrade for a mere side character who actually did us dirty at one point.

Does Maxwell - her potential LI for all of one chapter - suffer as a result of this upgrade? Apart from the Flanderization, I would say no, he actually didn't.

He doesn't get the lavish Drake treatment, true, but he is centered in the issues that bother him. The MC, by default, has always been expected to defend him to Bertrand from TRR1 onwards, and often argues that Maxwell tried as hard as he could to help her, even when he didn't. Her sympathy towards him whenever Bertrand justifiably berates him for his negligence is by default too. And while he improves in TRR2 and (somewhat) 3, in TRH3 the entire group is thrown into this position again. Even though Maxwell exaggerates events in his friends' lives to an insulting degree in his book and the subsequent movie adaptation, the group often brushes their discomfort aside and supports him instead. And even though his lies in said book about Bertrand (TRH2 Ch 11) indirectly cause the latter to give up his lands to their father (resulting in Bartie Sr's attempt to usurp the throne), the MC spends all of the next book comforting him, involving him in her investigations, and patting his hand sympathetically while he moans about the father who killed the former queen of the country, all while ignoring the son of the woman Bartie Sr. killed, and raging against the elder brother who is secretly supporting them (even after the reveal, the group judges Bertrand heavily and even suspects him of being part of Via Imperii in TRF). Very little is said - either by Maxwell himself or by anyone else - about his role in facilitating this awful takeover.

All in all, Maxwell may have not gotten an alternative LI at the end of the day, and his overall LI path was pretty messy - but there was some thought and consideration put into his writing. The focus on Penelope and her new romance never actually harmed Maxwell.

Fandom

As I've mentioned before, Maxwell wasn't an LI in the beginning, but rose to LI status in Book 2. While the writers did make claims once in their TRF finale livestream that they had planned to make him an LI all along, I find that a bit hard to believe. From the way the hints were dropped it's way more possible that this was a development that came up once enough people in the fandom found him attractive enough to be LI material.

As the Make Maxwell an LI campaign grew in popularity, the fandom often held a rosy view of him, calling him "the only valid white guy", celebrating his queerness (as they should! It was hinted that he was pansexual in TRR2 Ch 18), showered him with sympathy and called Bertrand names for berating him. None of the nitpicking that certain other LIs would get for not supporting her properly, ever touched Maxwell. Nor did the fandom - who did criticize him quite a bit for his trashy book, and protested his Flanderization - ever view him with anything besides sympathy when he struggled to believe his father was evil, after he'd encouraged his brother to make said father the head of Beaumont House. This was the same fandom that didn't hesitate to find the most nonsensical excuses to trash Liam.

The Maxwell-Penelope scene was a fun way for some Maxwell stans to allow their MCs to act a bit possessive of him, and they were very critical of Penelope's betrayal later. But the overall response to Penelope's storyline was overwhelmingly positive. Many related to what she said about suffering from social anxiety, and especially to the lines about her emotional support poodles (ironically in another book, Sloane Washington got scant sympathy or respect despite clear indicators that she suffered from social anxiety too), and were quick to forgive.

(I must confess I was among this portion of the fandom too, but with the belief that she would address it more strongly herself in TRR3)

Fandom didn't mind buying into the canon myths that Penelope was a "sweet, naive" girl, and part of this is understandable because not many got to see what she was like in the failplay. So it was easier to presume that she would still take a little responsibility and wholeheartedly regret her actions, without seeing the failplay scenes where she is shown expecting to be treated like royalty by the woman she screwed over. Penelope and Ezekiel were viewed by most as a cute pair, with some (justifiably) liking this interracial match initially. Many readers who were fond of Penelope even criticized Kiara for being "mean" to her or "joining in Madeleine's bullying of her", when Kiara's behaviour was clearly more protective than harmful.

There was a slight rise in a general negative attitude towards Penelope in TRH3, when she could prioritise her wedding over the looming terror of the MC's child being taken away from her, and only speak up when the MC encouraged her at the altar. But very often people who made these criticisms clubbed her and Kiara together, as if they were a single unit...as if their actions and choices throughout the series were the same. As if Kiara got the same concessions and pampering that Penelope did. In reality, the choices the two women made - and the narrative treatment the two women got - couldn't be any more different.

Individually, Maxwell's and Penelope's stories show us what happens when the writers of a story lean too much towards fandom adulation, and allow it to dictate the way their stories will go. In both cases PB found a beat that the readers liked and stuck with it, never expanding beyond that one trait and causing the two to be caricatures of themselves. In Penelope's case especially, once her anxiety story resonated, the narrative used that to encourage readers to pamper her ad nauseum, and justified her lack of genuine care for anyone but herself through constant reminders of her mental health condition.

I will repeat the question I'd asked at the beginning of this essay - What did TRR3 give her in lieu of this alternative romance, and why, and what does it tell us about the narrative that she alone got that? That's a question I hope you'll keep asking in the next two essays.

Next - Hana and Madeleine: When You Reward Your Favourite Bully with One of Her Victims

[datoneboardedguy]

Red Kryponite Supergirl/Kara Zor El X Male Reader (Lemon)

M/R’s POV:

I’ve heard about how safe National City has now become a very safe place to live in & soon enough I end up moving to National City & in a few months I understood why people are saying this Supergirl. She’s been protecting the people of this city for a while now catching Airplanes, stopping muggers, fighting tornado robots & saving people from burning buildings. Speaking of which, while I’m at work mopping floors a giant explosion goes off *BOOOM!* everything is hazy & I’m fading in & out of consciousness I hear something whoosh in & feel them pick me up bridal style then everything goes blank, next thing I know I’m wake up in the hospital & Supergirl is staring at me smiling as she sees me waking up then saying “Hey, You should be fine, I just scanned your body & you don’t have any severe injuries. Do you remember what happened before the explosion?” “Umm not really, I was just mopping then everything went black. I’m sorry I can’t be anymore help..” “No it’s okay, you just get some rest & the doctor’s will let you out tomorrow-..” “W-wait, what my hospital bills I don’t have Health insurance!”- “It’s okay, I’ve already taken care of it for you. After all no one shouldn’t be financially punished just for unlucky enough to be in the wrong place, wrong time. Get well..” as she left I silently mumbled to myself “Oh, thank god for pretty Superfriends..”

Kara’s POV:

As I hear that cute guy mumbling “Oh, thank god for pretty Superfriends..” to himself as I left I couldn’t help but crack a smile. Soon after I started to get more agitated with My Sister Alex, my friends Hank/John, James & Win. I reached a point where I basically just chewed Alex’s head off & told her I never wanted to see her again then Hank/John, Maxwell Lord, Lex Luther, the entire DEO, my cousin, even my aunt & her husband all tried & failed to stop me from taking the city for myself people fear me, other aliens steered clear of my city but I still keep my secret identity a secret hidden in plain sight to maintain a sense of fear & paranoia all throughout the city that I could be anywhere knowing that I’m living amongst them ready to pounce at any moment & tonight I’m on the the prowl looking for- …why hello! 😏

M/R’s POV:

It’s been little over a year since I was last saved by Supergirl & I’m currently at a nightclub just having a casual drink just chilling when I’m given a drink from the bartender tells me “It’s on that hot chick over there!” While pointing towards the woman in question, she’s a smoking hot blonde woman with glasses that totally manages to pull off the Glasses look. She seems to have also taken an interest in me as well since she’s been staring at me since I took & drank the drink then she started strolling over to me with a devious smile swaying her hips side to side, she reaches her hand & seductively greets “I’m Kara, what’s your name handsome?” I stumbly replied “I-I’m M/R, it’s nice to meet you.” “What’s a handsome man like you doing in a place like this?..” I get soo flustered that I started blushing bright red “You’re bright red right now, ..I like that.” She whispers into my ear as grabs crotch & whispers “let’s go back to your place..” I eagerly nodded yes & she whispers into my ear “come with me..” as she takes my hand leading me outside where we then walked to my place

As we get into my apartment she shuts the door behind us & I see her squish the metal doorknob like it’s made out of play dough locking us both in then I realise it’s her “You’re Supergirl?!” “Took you long enough handsome..” she turns around, walks up to me, takes off & tosses her glasses to the side & pins me up against the wall with her big muscular arms holding me still, then seductively starts licking & kissing my neck making her way up my neck to my left ear sticking her tongue inside licking it all over before she licks her tongue along the side of my head, cheek before finally slipping her perfect tongue of steel into my mouth & dominates it. As our tongues are dancing for dominance Kara slips her hand into my pants & firmly grasps my rock hard member massaging it as we passionately make out until she feels my pre cum leaking & just rips all of my clothes clean off before pushing me onto the bed where she sped undressed herself so now like me she’s now completely naked & climbs on top of me, straddling my waist grinding her womanhood against my throbbing dick as she leaned down to whisper in my ear “You’re mine now..” then she lowered herself down onto my member until I was completely inside her causing us to moan in response & as we started slowly thrusting into each other I see her face starting to glow red as the more pleasure she feeling & as I uncontrollably moan Kara muffles it by starting to passionately make out with me as we’re rapidly thrust into each other. I feel her soft skin on her back with one hand while the other is squeezing her but cheek while she cups both of her hands on both sides of my face to deepen our make out session. Soon after we’re about to reach our end Kara huffs out “OH M/R, I’M ABOUT TO CUM!” & I moaned out “UGHH ME TOO!..” then we both simultaneously climaxed into each other while we moaned into each other’s mouths in pure ecstasy & continued to make out for a while longer before falling asleep together in each other’s arms..

The End!

[usagirotten]

Justice League x RWBY Part Two Releases Extended Preview

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released an extended preview for the newly-released animated crossover film Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two. The second half of DC and Rooster Teeth‘s on-screen crossover is out now on Digital ahead of its physical release at the end of this month. To mark the occasion, Warner Bros. has shared the first 10 minutes of the film online. The extended preview recaps the events of Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One before throwing the heroes of DC and RWBY into another dangerous adventure.  the members of the Justice League emerge in their own world to discover that Grimm, ravenous creatures from Remnant, have overtaken Earth!” an official synopsis for Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two reads. “In order to defeat the monsters, they must call on their new friends — Team RWBY — for help!” The animated feature stars the voices of RWBY leads Lindsay Jones, Kara Eberle, Arryn Zech, and Barbara Dunkelman — who reprise their roles as Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long, respectively. Fellow RWBY stars Christopher Sabat and J. Michael Tatum reprise their roles as Dr. Arthur Watts and Klein Sieben, respectively. The voice cast also includes Laura Bailey as Wonder Woman, Travis Willingham as Superman and Weather Wizard, Troy Baker as Batman and Mirror Master, David Dastmalchian as the Flash, Jeannie Tirado as Green Lantern, Tru Valentino as Cyborg and Kilg%re, Ozioma Akagha as Vixen, Jamie Chung as Black Canary, and AEW wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman as Killer Croc. Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part Two is currently available for Digital purchase. The film releases on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, October 31. In the meantime, Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One is currently available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and Digital. Part One is also streaming on Max.     Read the full article

[hatorishimaselfship]

Proship April Day 12: Birthday - Snow

Birthday Retirement

Fic Under Cut!

Rating: General Fandom: PokéMMO (Pokémon Games) Pairing: Nai Plaiakara (Pronounced Playa-kara) (OC) x Red Wordcount: 1,498 Warnings: Age Gap, Intended Isolation, Adult x Minor Ship Written for @proshipapril Author’s Notes: Nai Plaiakara is what I name my player character in PokéMMO, an Online Multiplayer version of the Pokémon games featuring the Kanto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova regions, with Johto coming this spring! If anyone has any questions about Nai or her teams for any of those regions, feel free to ask!

Red is 27 in this, Nai Plaiakara is 14.

“So, time’s come, then?” The purple-haired girl laughs, holding her Rotom Phone up to her face, looking at her other team members. She’s lying down at the top of Mount Silver, having faced her hardest challenge yet. Snow twinkles on her eyelashes and speckle her face as she knows the man remains behind her. She doesn’t care too much for that now that she’s conquered the challenge. She’s focusing on the important people in her life. “Happy birthday, Nai Plaiakara.” She musters, tears forming in her eyes as the words struggle to escape, her throat sore and feeling like there’s a lump in it each time she tries to speak. She says the statement for herself, rather than for anyone on her team. She knows they wouldn’t know her birthday, she didn’t really tell them anything when she recruited them.

Maxwell, the one who gave her the funding to even start her team. The person who pushed her to listen purely to her Pokémon and never choose her own moves, just to prove a point to him that she loved her Pokémon more than she loved winning. The one who helped her raise this villain team off the ground and swear they’d love Pokémon so hard that other trainer’s catches would flock to them… and the team worked. She had many things to tell him, but she fell silent.

Willow, the one who she had first recruited by giving them 500,000 Pokéyen, several HM ocarinas, and an additional Pokémon to take on their journey with no explanation. Over the course of their journey they discovered Willow was an Aura Guardian, capable of avoiding the closest of scrapes and winning near-impossible battles with the most unhinged strategies. She had many things to tell them, but she fell silent.

The newest recruit who had first come to Johto, been incredibly confused by Nai riding down on a flying Jolteon thanks to her ocarina song. The one who immediately knew she was wanted four regions wide, now five regions with taking over the Villain Team empire in Johto, too. He was looking for so many things in Johto, and she knew she had helped him out majorly on his journey, but she couldn’t bring herself to explain the situation to him, either.

Instead, she fell as silent as Red, atop Mount Silver. It was a hard location to get to - Only a few ever had. Red, Gold, and now herself. It had been several years since Red first won the Kanto league, and Nai hadn’t gone back to win again in a while. This amount of time between journeys, Red was Twenty-seven now… Nai still fourteen. She and Red knew what each other wanted to know during their battle.

This was Nai’s birthday present. Meeting Red and battling him, understanding each other deeply. She didn’t need a cake… but at this point, she knew she wasn’t going to be leading her villain team any longer. She knew that she’d not be travelling to another region in a very long time. She had conquered Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova. - Not just as champion, but as evil team leader alongside that - and venturing to any other region she’d be known as that evil team leader and likely punished on sight for it. She wanted to stay here with Red… she liked Red, and she could tell Red admired Nai’s determination. She had caught a living Pokédex where each Pokémon was registered under her trainer name. She had then went on to catch a Living Alpha Dex, to gain each Master Rank Contest Ribbon, and to beat each League.

Red liked Nai back. The snow dusted both trainers as the other members of Nai’s evil team watched from their Pokétches and X-Transceivers. Willow pushed their feelings down, trying to bare it. They’d miss Nai, they find Nai’s strength and power as a criminal leader something that keeps them in check. Holds them back from pushing too hard, like they had against Giratina back in Sinnoh. Something that makes sure their power doesn’t grow out of control and remains used for good, despite the villainous label of the team - the nature of the team was love for Pokémon. They were happy, though… Nai found somewhere she had wanted to be. They’re hurt, too, but they have to hide that hurt for the happiness. “Good luck with the Mount Silver training, Nai.” They offer, their voice detached and almost distracted from Nai’s intention to not come down from the mountain. They don’t want to think about how life will be without one of their close friends, and they definitely plan to visit again in the future when the time comes. Willow allows the snow of Icirrus city to fall atop their Aura Guardian hat, tilting it forward to hide the sadness in their eyes. “And happy birthday, have a good one.” They transfer over a Thunderstone to Nai - it had become a running joke between them considering Nai never intended to evolve the Pikachu on her Kanto team, and her Jolteon was already evolved. It was almost as if gifting money, but through an item they both knew Nai had no use for.

The Johto recruit for her team wasn’t too phased as it snows above him on Island Four, Kanto. He knew a time would come eventually when an evil team leader would have to step away from their team and avoid consequences. Giovanni had done so in Kanto, Archie and Maxie had done so in Hoenn, Cyrus completely vanished from everyone’s sights without a trace in Sinnoh, and Ghetsis and N had disappeared in Unova after Nai had dealt with them and taken over team headquarters. Of course Nai would step down to hide eventually. He didn’t make a comment, not even a happy birthday - simply a transfer over of an Odd Keystone with a Mail reading the sentiment. Nai appreciated this regardless, stretching her arm out as she lay on her back to hug Red’s leg… she had so much love for the man after their battle. He wasn’t willing to leave Mount Silver, so she’d stay there.

Maxwell doesn’t take as kindly to this while taking the call from Snowpoint City, trying to instantly bring Nai back down from Mount Silver with his statements, shaking the feeling of missing Nai away from himself. It’s ridiculous she’d want to stay up there, why spend forever on that mountain with no Pokécenter or other regions to visit? “Happy birthday, if you’re staying there. I guess that means I’ll have to lead the team now and eat the cake I baked you by myself, taking over the thrones you left behind and looking after the grunts and admins you cared so much for - maybe I rebrand the name to Team Maxwell just to show I lead it.” He tries to convince, with full intention of doing so if she doesn’t come down. “I know Red’s the hottest adult your lovesick eyes have seen since Cynthia and you wanna date him, but that doesn’t mean abandoning your team. You’re fourteen, you can go to way more regions!” He’s caught onto her already and she knows it. She knows that Maxwell knows she’s dating Red now - given Nai’s position hugging him while lying on her back. All of them in the coldest locations, regions apart, trying to use their warmth to bring Nai back to them despite their distance… the others nod despite trying to keep their cool - they agree with Maxwell’s statement while Nai refuses to take it in. “I’m fine with you running the team. You love your Pokémon as much as I love mine.” She states calmly, intending to stay.

Maxwell pauses for a moment, thinking what could work - Nai had made a Living Dex within a few weeks, but with one exception - Alomomola had taken this trainer nine months to hunt down. She was frustrated at this Pokémon and it’s elusiveness from where she tried to once make sure she had plenty of ability to obtain it. Maxwell knew what he had to do. “... I’ll make the official team mascot Alomomola if you stay up there.” With Nai hearing that, she stood up and started tugging Red’s arm, trying to drag him away from his spot by any means possible in a fit of frustration, rage, and concern as she took steps toward the cave below the mountain peak so that she could make her way back into the Johto Region’s Newbark Town. She couldn’t allow that to happen. “Red, honey, we have to get down from the peak now, I CANNOT allow that grunt to ruin the foundation of everything I built with that Giratina-spawn of a mischievous, elusive, mockery-fueled spiritomb-worshipping sea creature. Alomomola is NOT becoming the mascot on my watch under ANY circumstances and if that means dragging my new boyfriend down off his mope mountain I damn well will because it’s MY BIRTHDAY and THAT’S my present.”

[jwscrobbles]

Top 100 Songs of 2018

Happy New Year!

Another year and yes, another 100 songs. However, it does not appear to be a distinguishable year by any means. Or does it mean, that I’m just older and less impressionable. There are cool new features, including Chloe X Halle, Amber Mark, and Ravyn Lenae. 

However, the year appears to be a hold over from last year. More Khalid, H.E.R., Daniel Caesar, Gallant, and Tom Misch.

Childish Gambino is a star. Janelle Monae seems to cross over a little more/

Pop appears to have languished for me, there is some Demi, some Mark Foster, and Troye Sivan.

I get more play from NAO and Alina Baraz

But 2018 just didn’t seem to land big with me, musically.

Or maybe, I’m just down with all the throwback, Maxwell, Tamia, and Toni.

Here is to 2019. I guess.

RANK ARTIST-TITLE-INITIAL SCROBBLE DATE-VIDEO

1 JANELLE MONAE – I Like That (Jun 5/2018)

2 KHALID/NORMANI – Love Lies (Mar 21/2018)

3 AUGUST GREENE/BRANDY/COMMON/ROBERT GLASPER/KARRIEM HIGGINGS

Optimistic (Apr 21/2018)

4 DRAKE – GOD’S PLAN (Mar 1/2018)

5 KENDRICK LAMAR/SZA – All the Stars (Feb 3/2018)

6 FOSTER THE PEOPLE – Sit Next to Me (Feb 3/2018)

7 ALINA BARAZ – I Don’t Even Know Why Though (Jul 2/2017)

8 CRAIG DAVID/GOLDLINK – Live In the Moment (Jan 27/2018)

9 GALLANT – Doesn’t Matter (May 15/2018)

10 LEON BRIDGES – Bad Bad News (May 4/2018)

11 DANIEL CAESAR/H.E.R. – Best Part (Jan 21/2018)

12 DEMI LOVATO – Sorry Not Sorry (Feb 27/2018)

13 JOHN MAYER – New Light (May 20/2018)

14 SHAKKA/ALUNAGEORGE (Apr 11/2018)

15 TAMIA – LEAVE IT SMOKIN (Jul 28/2018)

16 TANK – WHEN WE (Jul 27/2018)

17 THE WEEKND – Secrets (Jan 21/2018)

18 H.E.R. – Focus (Nov 11/2018)

19 TOM MISCH/GOLDLINK – Lost In Paris (Jun 23/2018)

20 TROYE SIVAN – My My My! (Jan 27/2018)

21 ONE ACEN/WSTRN – Vice Versa (Mar 21/2018) 

22 CHILDISH GAMBINO – Summertime Magic (Jul 28/2018)

23 KELLY CLARKSON – Love So Soft (Jan 6/2018)

24 TINASHE/FUTURE – Faded Love (Apr 8/2018)

25 WRETCH32 – 6 Words (Apr 28/2018)

26 JANET JACKSON/DADDY YANKEE – Made for Now (Aug 7/2018)

27 BONOBO/INNOV GNAWA – Bambro Koyo Ganda (Jan 6/2018) 

28 BRYSON TILLER – Something Tells Me (Jan 9/2018)

29 CHILDISH GAMBINO – This Is America (May 15/2018)

30 JHENE AIKO/RAE SREMMURD/SWAE LEE – Sativa (Apr 7/2018)

31 KATE BUSH – Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) – (Jul 28/2018)

32 MGMT – Hand It Over (Jan 6/2018)

33 CHLOE X HALLE/JOEY BADA$$ - Happy Without Me (Aug 25/2018)

34 FLORENCE + THE MACHINE – Hunger (Jul 27/2018)

35 JANELLE MONAE – Make Me Feel (Feb 24/2018)

36 KARA MARNI – Curve (Apr 14/2018)

37 MARTIN SOLVEIG/ALMA – All Stars (Oct 7/2018)

38 MIST/JESSIE WARE – Wish Me Well (May 25/2018)

39 ROSI GOLAN – Don’t You Dare (Jul 17/2018)

40 ST VINCENT – Los Ageless (Jan 6/2018)

41 BEACH HOUSE – Lemon Glow (Feb 21/2018)

42 NAO – Nostalgia (Jan 21/2018)

43 SNAKEHIPS/ELHAE/DRAM/H.E.R. – Right Now (Feb 10/2018)

44 MIGUEL – VOTE (Sep 17/2018)

45 TOM MISCH/DE LA SOUL – It Runs Through Me (Apr 3/2018)

46 CHILDISH GAMBINO - FEELS LIKE SUMMER (Sep 17/2018)

47 DRAKE – IN MY FEELINGS (Jul 28/2018)

48 THE INTERNET – Come Over (Jul 28/2018)

49 TONI BRAXTON – Long As I Live (Sep 1/2018)

50 WIZ KHALIFA/TY DOLLA $IGN – Something New (Jan 6/2018)

51 LILY ALLEN/GIGGS – Trigger Bang (March 21/2018)

52 ZEDD/MAREN MORRIS/GREY – The Middle (Jul 8/2018)

53 CALVIN HARRIS/SAM SMITH – Promises (Oct 8/2018)

54 JAMIE ISAAC – Doing Better (Aug 19/2018)

55 MAHALIA/LITTLE SIMZ – Proud of Me (Apr 1/2018)

56 EMPIRE OF THE SUN – On Our Way Home (Jan 6/2018)

57 KENDRICK LAMAR/ZACARI – Love (Jan 6/2018)

58 SAM SMITH – Too Good at Goodbyes (Jan 6/2018)

59 DAN AUERBACH – Stand By My Girl (Jan 21/2018)

60 DUKE DUMONT/GORGON CITY/NAATIONS – Real Life [Solardo Remix]

(Jan 9/2018) - https://youtu.be/rmwArYsGzdY

61 LIL UZI VERT – The Way Life Goes (Jan 9/2018)

62 MAXWELL – We Never Saw It Coming (Sep 15/2018)

63 MNEK – Tongue (Oct 7/2018)

64 TINASHE/OFFSET – No Drama (Apr 14/2018)

65 CHILDISH GAMBINO – Sober (Sep 25/2018)

66 MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO – Tender Love (Jan 28/2018)

67 SAMPHAA – Incomplete Kisses (Oct 5/2018)

68 BEACH HOUSE – Dark Spring (Jul 28/2018)

69 EMPIRE OF THE SUN – Way to Go (Sep 15/2018)

70 GOLDLINK/MIGUEL – Got Friends (Aug 19/2018)

71 MIGUEL/TRAVIS SCOTT – SKYWALKER (Nov 19/2017)

72 CHROMEO/THE DREAM – Bedroom Calling Part 2 (Feb 2/2018)

73 AMBER MARK/DRAM – Put You On (Oct 6/2018)

74 NOLAN SOTILLO – No Promises (Mar 1/2018)

75 KYLIE MNOGUE – Dancing (Jan 21/2018)

76 N.E.R.D./RIHANNA – Lemon (Jan 6/2018)

77 BRUNO MARS/CARDI B – Finesse Remix (Jan 11/2018)

78 H.E.R. – Facts (Oct 16/2017)

79 SZA – Weekend (Dec 5/2017)

80 THEY. – What You Want (Apr 21/2018)

81 TORO Y MOI – Freelance (Nov 1/2018)

82 RAYE/MABEL/STEFFLON DON – Cigarette (Apr 21/2018)

83 THE WEEKND/KENDRICK LAMAR – Pray for Me (Feb 10/2018)

84 TEYANA TAYLOR – Gonna Love Me (Aug 3/2018)

85 CARDI B/CHANCE THE RAPPER – Best Life (Apr 21/2018)

86 CHILDISH GAMBINO – Terrified (Jan 28/2018)

87 CIARA – Level Up (Jul 27/2018)

88 KALI UCHIS/TYLER THE CREATOR/BOOTSY COLLING – After the Storm 

(Jan 21/2018) - https://youtu.be/9f5zD7ZSNpQ

89 LADY GAGA – Hair Body Face (Oct 5/2018)

90 XAMVOLO – LOSE LOVE (Apr 26/2018)

91 NGAIIRE – Fall Into My Arms (Jul 17/2018)

92 RADIANT CHILDREN – Go Left (Oct 5/2018)

93 ANDERSON.PAAK/KENDRICK LAMAR – Tints (Nov 1/2018)

94 CALVIN HARRIS/DUA LUPA – One Kiss (Jul 27/2018)

95 DVSN – Mood (Feb 10/2018)

96 JANELLE MONAE/PHARRELL WILLIAMS – I Got the Juice (Nov 3/2018)

97 LEDISI -Alright (Oct 27, 2018)

98 LSD/SIA/DIPLO/LABRINTH – Thunderclouds (9/1/2018)

99 MGMT – Little Dark Age (May 4/2018)

100 Ravyn Lenae – STICKY (Apr 11/2018)

I am a dork and I live this way daily! (I didn’t forget).

[simuranmaxwell]

The Man of Steel brought to his knees

all because he went to kindergarten and watched Sesame Street.

You think this is funny?

Everything I have feared has come to pass. I couldn't be more serious.

We have to stop them. They're using your satellites.

Can't you reprogram them and destroy Myriad from the inside?

I tried.

There's some pretty epic force fields around those satellites at the moment.

[adora2723]

I'm speaking it into existence for season 6. Isn’t that literally what they do tho. #is that still queerbait? #if so I dare you SGCW

[karahalloway]

I’ll take anything from the camping trip WIP 🥰

Your wish is my command, m’lady!

I wake to the smell of sizzling fat drifting into the tent.

Pushing myself up with a yawn, I extricate myself from the sleeping bag and rummage around for some clothes. Pulling on a pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt and Drake's hoodie, I shove my feet into my Ugg boots.

Unzipping the tent flap, I am hit in the face by the crisp morning air. I breathe in the dewy scent of the grass and the pines and I sigh contentedly. It was like being back in Montana.

"Morning, sleepyhead."

Turning my head, I spot Drake sitting in front of the crackling fire, steaming mug in one hand, Swiss Army knife in the other, expertly flipping bacon in the skillet.

"Morning, cowboy," I smile, padding over to drop a kiss on his slightly scratchy cheek. He smelled like charcoal and coffee. "You're up early."

"Thought I'd get started on breakfast."

"Why didn't you wake me?" I query, sitting down next to him and reaching for his mug. "I could've helped."

He flashes me a wry look. "You were passed out and snoring. Literally. Not even a herd of stampeding elephants could've woken you."

"And whose fault would that be...?" I ask meaningfully, taking a sip of the coffee. It was strong and slightly gritty, but exactly what I needed to perk me up.

"As I recall, you were the one who snuck into my tent, Gale."

"Not that you complained, Walker," I point out with a smile, running my hand up the inside of his thigh.

"I'm never gonna complain about spending quality time with you," he murmurs, taking the mug back and setting it onto the ground.

"Shouldn't you be paying attention to cooking?" I ask softly as his hand snakes into the tangled mess of my hair, drawing me closer to him. "Don't want to burn the bacon now..."

"You should know by now that I can multitask," he drawls, his mouth a hair's breadth from mine.

"Hmm! Something smells good!"

Drake lets out a huff of annoyance.

"Trust the smell of trans-fats to wake up all the carnivores," I grin, dropping a quick kiss on his lips before pulling back from him reluctantly. "Morning Maxwell. How'd you sleep?"

"Like a hibernating bear!" he declares with a big stretch.

Drake rolls his eyes. "Bears don't—"

"Morning, everyone!" greets Hana, looking disgustingly fresh and put-together, as she were stepping out of an upscale salon instead of a tent in the middle of the woods.

So… that’s literally all I have so far for this chapter 😅 Not sure if it’s gonna stay exactly like this, or whether some things will need to be tweaked, but we’ll find out when I get to this part.

[sophs-style]

sophs-style:

Taylor Hill celebrated her ‘Boohoo x Taylor Hill’ collection launch with a tea party held at The Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunday (13th October 2019) in Beverly Hills, CA.

Taylor was joined at the event by Jasmine Tookes, Stella Maxwell, Sofia Richie, Jessica Serfaty and Kara del Toro.

[hitchell-mope]

Timeline differences in season four of the My Universe au.

For starters. The premier features the karamel wedding we deserved. As detailed in this post if you want to take a look: https://www.tumblr.com/hitchell-mope/749090546592677888/my-universe-au-the-karamel-wedding

President Marsdin is still exposed ss an alien and gets deposed which means the bloody, godforsaken “liberty” bullshitters still crawl out of the woodwork. BUT. In this au Mon El sides with Manchester Black and reminds Kara that when someone you love is hurt, and or killed, all rhyme and reason fly out of the window.

Samantha and Ruby have stayed around, obviously. Win and Samantha are dating and Samantha is now Mon El’s protégé and training to join the team as a form of self induced penance. At Ruby’s suggestion Samantha’s rechristened her alias as Sovereign. They used to collect old and foreign coins.

As a side benefit of them being married now. Mon El is happily barred from testifying against Kara and revealing her identity. Much to Hailey’s increasing frustration and Kara’s much more than smug relief.

Lucy has appointed herself as the DEO’s Judge Advocate General. And has happily prohibited Kara, Mon El, Samantha and Ruby from telling Hailey about anything to do with themselves, their identities, Krypton or Daxam

Ruby’s powers have started to manifest. Namely the hearing and the X-ray vision. To help her learn how to control it. Brainy manufactured her glasses similar to Kara and Mon El’s and a kind of ear plug/reverse hearing aid device that allows her to turn the world’s volume down as it were. Winn calls it modern problems requiring modern solutions. Samantha doesn’t need glasses because her mask covers her face.

Lucy manages to stop James compromising himself in the name of altruism. Unfortunately he still gets shot. But Brainy uses 30th century technology to cure him. So no Harun El/Lena bullshit for him. Kelly is also let in on the secret much sooner than in canon. She’s his next of kin and she needed to know the ins and outs.

Mon El finds out here here’s a clone of Kara running around before the others do. How else would you explain Lex Luthor taking to someone that sounds like you but isn’t in your apartment? Super hearing. It’s a marvel.

Lena and Maxwell are still using the Harun El in their illegal experiments. And Adam still dies. Only this time around. It’s treated as them being horrible very instead of affording them sympathy. See how easy it is writers?

Alex still needs to have her mind erased to Kara’s identity as supergirl. So does Winn, James and Brainy. Lucy doesn’t because she outranks Hailey. For now. So yes. It is far more depressing than in canon. But at least in this au, Kara has Mon El to lean on.

Mon El accidentally finds himself becoming Nia’s unofficial brother figure. He’s also a very eager learner regarding transgender issues. Plus. He also prevents Kara from inserting herself into the narrative as it were when Nia fights that disgusting bigot that has a name that I can’t be bothered to remember because he understands that this is something that Nia has to do herself and he trusts her to do the right thing.

Following up on his suspicions Mon El confronts Cat, Carter and Morgan on whether they know about his and Kara’s secret identities or not. They do. Which he is relived by because with her sister and her two best friends not knowing her identity Kara needs a support group more than ever.

The memory erasure puts a strain on James x Lucy and Winn x Samantha’s relationships. But the women know that it’s not the men’s fault so they don’t hold it against them. It’s just a really, really rough patch.

The final fight between Kara and the clone happens more or less the same with Alex, James and Winn regaining their memories except Mon El flies her back to the DEO’s sun lamps instead of Alex covering her in plants. Because that was just stupid.

Hailey still performs the heel face turn. And Lockwood dies. He gets shot. His son attempts to do it. But J’onn prevents him from doing it. To spare him that pain. Lockwood was a psychopathic bastard. But he was still the kids father. Unfortunately.

Lena still shoots Lex. For trying to commandeer the illegal experiments. He still tells her everyone’s identities though. And even though they were never friends. She still feels slighted for some reason. Which sets up the events for season five.

[lizzybeth1986]

Have you heard of PB’s vip special, Villainous Valentines or something? I don’t have vip but Olivia has a route and if the spoilers are true….her chapter opens with MC rejecting Liam’s proposal 😬😬

PB just cannot give that guy a break!

Sorry I got so late in responding to this, anon. The past few months have been packed IRL.

I'm kinda not surprised that the MC rejecting Liam's proposal was the opening they went for... though I'm very tickled by the prospect of TRR2 being a romantic starting point for Olivia x MC considering all Olivia did was mope about for Liam and disappear for 3/4ths of the tour 🤣🤣🤣

This isn't much compared to a lot of other shit they've already done to him tbh. I'd say PB did far far worse to Liam already - Kara and Jen just recently had written a "backstory" kinda TRR-story for the now-defunct Storyloom, claiming to explore "Liam's perspective" of the bachelor party in TRR1 Ch 1. In this they made several retcons, few of which I'm listing down:

1. Acc to this retcon, NY was a detour from a larger diplomatic tour, rather than something the group and Liam had actually planned to have his bachelor party at.

On the surface this seems like a good change, but it also excuses Liam's friends not arranging for things Liam actually liked for his own bachelor party (remember - he'd told the group about his love for the Statue of Liberty, and they never bothered to even see if something could be done about that. They took him to a dingy bar), leaving a complete stranger like the MC to make that effort instead.

2. Remember how Liam approached us to apologise for the way his friends behaved? According to this version of TRR, Drake persuaded him to do that. Apparently in the story, Liam wants to go up and talk to her and ppl like Tariq and Maxwell give some nonsense suggestions before Drake says this:

First of all, they make him sound like he was socially inept in the dialogue options before this. Secondly, I think Liam can make his own decisions without Drake making them for him, but the writers' boners for Drake wouldn't allow them to admit that.

He confirms that the apology was Drake's idea later in this story, saying this:

This change doesn't make much sense unless you realize that the writers had Drake claim Liam was leading the MC on back in TRR3. This is maybe the second time the TRR team tried to retcon the events of the book to make Drake's lies the truth (the first time, they tried to rewrite the first four chapters of the book so that Liam was way more flirty).

I'm sorry but when Liam approached the MC with respect and apologized for his friends' behaviour, that was his choice and those were his actions. No retcon from a set of biased and greedy writers is going to change that.

Compared to that this Olivia thing is...okay? Like, you really can't explore the possibility of romancing her without having the MC turn down Liam' proposal first. That's just the structure of the story. It's whatever.

[ravenbrenna09]

There’s a part of me that wishes that Supergirl stayed on CBS.

While I loved the characters that came with Season 2 and the CW (Maggie Sawyer, Mon-El, and Lena Luthor), I do miss the vast amount of interesting and amazing and well-rounded characters that CBS version of the show had.

I loved Maxwell Lord’s good guy, bad guy vibe and his odd chemistry with Alex. While he had some bad moments (he did do some terrible things), he did a number amount of good things too as well. I miss Lucy Lane, the little sister of Lois Lane, who was a kick ass army lawyer who became the co-director of the DEO at the end of Season 1. I miss her chemistry with James and her friendship with Kara. I miss Cat Grant and her infinite wisdom to Supergirl and I miss her running CatCo. AND, I miss James. Since the move, it feels as though he has been continuously sidelined especially in Season 3. He’s the CEO in charge of CatCo (alongside Lena, of course) but I almost feel as though he is never there and never on the screen.

While I love the storyline between Sam and Lena and Kara, I can’t help but think of Winn and Kara from Season 1. Winn was her best friend and it feels like she never hangs out with him besides work. I hope she goes back to being friends with him. I miss them hanging out with one another.

Give me a plot line where Maxwell Lord shows up at the DEO and Kara is in danger and he saves her life. Maybe Max invited Alex for a drink and she declines because she’s not like that anymore (and, if I really want to reach, give me a plot line where Alex discovers that mayyyybe she likes men too but isn’t for sure and hides it but eventually comes out as bisexual or something) but at the same time just Maxwell being there and showing he is alive would be a solid victory for me.

Give me a plot line where Lucy Lane returns from a DEO mission or SOMETHING and formally resigns from the DEO. I don’t remember there being a mention of her in Season 2 but I could be wrong. Show her with Clark Kent in National City. Show her doing something other than falling off the map and disappearing from the show. Give me something about her confronting James and mayyyyyybe they get back together because he and Kara didn’t work out (I’m a fan of Kara and Mon El but I’m forever bitter of how they ended James and Kara).

Just give me SOMETHING small of season 1 because I miss it desperately. I miss these characters and the actors being around all the time (I’m looking @ you Cat Grant) and I just want them to be around more permanently.

[argyle-s]

Me, working on a chapter...

Me: Hmmm... Let's start with a funny twitter exchange...

Me: And them we'll more right into the Super shippy Cat/Kara scene.

Me: And then we'll get to Guardian having a little chat with Maxwell Lord.

Me: Okay, there is no way Max would be intimidated by Guardian. This needs to be Bruce.

Me: Nope. Max is still not intimidated.

Me: Fuck. This isn't working.

Me: Hmmm... I wonder...

Me: *stares at Jason*

Me: Maybe...

Me: Okay, let's try it.

Me: HOLY SHIT! ABORT! ABORT! ABORT!

Me: *stares at Jason*

Me: *looks at the scene I just wrote*

Me: Dude, get help. Seriously.

Me: *stares at the scene*

Me: Yep, I'm leaving that in.

Me: *looks at Jason again*

Me: But seriously, you need Jesus or some shit, because that ain't right.

[simplynotaneggworks]

Fandoms and Ships

Disney Ella x Henry Cinderella Lady x Tramp (Human AUs) Lady and the Tramp Mary x Bert Mary Poppins Duchess x Thomas O’Malley (Human AUs) The Aristocats Pete’s Dragon (no specific ships; both original and live-action) Ariel x Eric The Little Mermaid Belle x Adam Beauty and the Beast Nala x Simba (Human AUs) The Lion King Kiara x Kovu (Human AUs) The Lion King Bo Peep x Woody (Human AUs) Toy Story Jessie x Buzz (Human AUs) Toy Story Mulan x Shang Mulan Jane x Tarzan Tarzan Kida x Milo Atlantis: The Lost Empire Dory x Marlin (Human AUs) Finding Nemo Violet x Tony The Incredibles Janice x Jesse Bridge to Terebithia Clarion x Milori Tinkerbell Tinkerbell x Terence Tinkerbell Tiana x Naveen The Princess and the Frog Alice x Tarrant Alice in Wonderland Rapunzel x Eugene Tangled Brave (no specific ships)  Elsa x Hans Frozen Anna x Kristoff Frozen Inside Out (no specific ships) Judy x Nick (Human AUs) Zootopia Coco (no specific ships) Izzy x Buzz Lightyear Miranda x Roland Sofia the First Sofia x Hugo Sofia the First Amber x Hildegard Sofia the First Elena x Mateo Elena of Avalor Isabel x Javier Elena of Avalor Cassandra x Varian Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure

Dreamworks Miguel x Tulio The Road to El Dorado Fiona x Shrek Shrek Astrid x Hiccup How to Train Your Dragon Valka x Stoick How to Train Your Dragon Roxanne x Megamind Megamind Rise of the Guardians (no specific ship) Eep x Guy The Croods

Illumination Lucy x Gru Despicable Me The Lorax (no specific ship)

Sony Ericka x Dracula Hotel Transylvania

Blue Sky Linda x Tulio Rio

Harry Potter (in no particular order) Willow (OC) x George Draco x Harry Nymphadora x Remus Sirius x Remus Lily x James Narcissa x Lucius Emma (OC) x Charlie Merula x Rowan Penny x Ben Molly x Arthur Oliver x Percy Hermione x Ron Seamus x Dean Luna x Neville Luna x Rolf Tina x Newt Queenie x Jacob Albus x Scorpius Andromeda x Ted Victoire x Teddy Fleur x Bill

Other Jedidiah x Octavius Night at the Museum Norman x Ethan Heavy Rain Kara x Conner Detroit: Become Human Simon x Markus Detroit: Become Human North x Josh Detroit: Become Human Rose x Hank Detroit: Become Human Aloy x Erend Horizon Zo x Varl Horizon Beta x Drakka Horizon Elisabet x Sylens Horizon Alva x Kotallo Horizon Jane x Gunther Jane and the Dragon Jester x Smithy Jane and the Dragon Pepper x Rake Jane and the Dragon Gwendolyn x Caradoc Jane and the Dragon Nancy x Jonathan Stranger Things Steve x Dustin Stranger Things Will x Mike Stranger Things Joyce x Jim Stranger Things Fran x Maxwell The Nanny Katniss x Peeta The Hunger Games Effie x Haymitch The Hunger Games Lucy x Coriolanus The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Emma x George Emma Elizabeth x Fitzwilliam Pride and Prejudice Marianne x Christopher Sense and Sensibility Elinor x Edward Sense and Sensibility Daniel x Johnny Karate Kid/Cobra Kai Robby x Miguel Karate Kid/Cobra Kai Ali x Amanda Karate Kid/Cobra Kai Dutch x Bobby Karate Kid/Cobra Kai Demetri x Eli Karate Kid/Cobra Kai Kumiko x Chozen Karate Kid/Cobra Kai Ellie x Alec Broadchurch Beth x Paul Broadchurch Rose x Ten Doctor Who Yuuri x Viktor Yuri on Ice Yuri x Otabek Yuri on Ice Marinette x Adrien Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir Alya x Nino Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir Chloe x Luka Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir Luka x Adrien Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir Elizabeth (OC) x Ydris Star Stable Online Maya x Alex Star Stable Online Elizabeth (non-OC) x Avalon Star Stable Online Anne x Lisa Star Stable Online Novalee x Forney Where the Heart Is Claire x James Outlander Elizabeth (OC) x Fergus Outlander Brianna x Roger Outlander Aziraphale x Crowley Good Omens Anneliese x Julian Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper Erika x Dominick Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper Sophie x Nicholas Barbie: Princess Charm School Skipper x Jonas Barbie and Her Sisters In a Pony Tale Barbie x Ken Barbie Dreamhouse Adventures Barbie (Margot Robbie) x Ken (Ryan Gosling) Barbie