#trr mc headcanons

[lizzybeth1986]

A Brief History of Alternative Romances in Choices

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

TW: Mentions of OH2's handling of Rafael (though not in detail), racism.

To be clear, this introductory essay isn't directly related to the rest of this series. TRR operated very differently to the other Choices series' when it came to alternative LIs, so a lot of what I'll discuss here won't actually apply to its specific romance mechanics.

Still, it is important to explore what it means to give an LI an alternative romance in PB, and for that we need to look at what the approach to such romances were. Both in the past, and after TRR became popular. Looking into this gives us a general idea of which specific LIs got an alternative romance, why just them and not others, and what such developments said about the way the writing team viewed a particular character.

The Choices App was introduced in 2016, with three stories that were likely meant to cater to different audiences. Out of the three, the crime drama Most Wanted was the only series that focused on a single romantic pairing.

The other two - The Freshman and The Crown and the Flame - presented players with multiple romance options for their main character(s). TCaTF split its narrative between two main characters - Kenna Rys and Dominic Hunter - exploring both Kenna's fight to gain back and then expand her kingdom, and Dom's discovery of his heritage as a member of the Fire Tribes. Even though Kenna and Dom could be paired romantically, they had other potential LIs. Notably, Kenna had 6 (Dom, Tevan, Raydan, Annelyse, Val and Diavolos) and Dom only 2 serious contenders (Kenna, Rose, Sei, Will Jackson all had romances with him. Of these four, Rose was eliminated early on in the series, and Will was a last-minute addition at the end of TCaTF3). TCaTF didn't seem to focus much on the love lives of these LIs outside of Kenna and Dom, until Book 3 in 2017 - and of the cast only Raydan and Tevan seemed to get hints at other potential romances (with Aurynn and Zenobia, respectively).

Unlike MW and TCaTF, The Freshman's focus zeroed in on just one character. It was the first series to feature a customizable MC, whose experiences and choices alone would move the story forward. The original three-book series featured romances with three LIs - Chris Powell, James Ashton and Kaitlyn Liao. By the third book, two more were added to the roster - Zig Ortega and Becca Davenport.

You could choose a boy/girlfriend by the end of Book 1, and change partners in Book 3 if you weren't happy with your first LI and/or wanted one of the newer ones. The first three books didn't really have any alternative romances for the LIs themselves, but all that was about to change (for two LIs) in The Sophomore (released in 2017).

(Screenshots from the UnruleLee Gaming Youtube Channel)

In TS, the MC had the opportunity to pair James and Kaitlyn up with other side characters if she wasn't dating them. Kaitlyn begins to show an interest in Annisa, the new keyboardist in her punk band. Similarly for James and Reyna, a member of the editorial staff of Hartfeld's student-run newspaper. Both pairings only resulted in long-term relationships if the MC encouraged them enough, and she had both free and paywalled opportunities to do so.

What is noticeable at this point is that there are three LIs that are not given romantic alternatives - Chris, Zig and Becca. Though members of the fandom did headcanon certain pairings that had some potential in canon (such as Zig with his roommate Aaron and Becca with Madison), the narrative itself never indicated any romances for these characters, preferring perhaps to focus on their romance with the MC.

A possible reason for this could have been popularity. At the time, some in the fandom theorized that Chris was the most popular of the OG LIs, and that Zig and Becca garnered popularity quite quickly when they emerged as options in TF3. So there would be a lot more investment from the teams in charge of the book to focus their writing on their MC-centric routes.

James and Kaitlyn received criticism and sometimes outright hate from fans - some of whom complained ad nauseum whenever options to help them with their professional lives or personal development came up, while being largely accepting of the more popular LIs' conflicts. So it is possible that the writing focused on giving these two LIs other romantic options, in a way they didn't need to for the other three.

However, giving James and Kaitlyn other love interests didn't affect their overall writing. The Freshman series handled the balance between all five LIs with a deft hand, ensuring that every LI had adequate growth, development and attention within the narrative. Whether they were single or paired with the MC, all of them had unique stories that allowed the characters to make mistakes and learn from them, to confront their fears and conquer them, to deal with their problems in a realistic way.

James' story wasn't simply stuck on Reyna - he spent most of TS honing his writing skills and developing a novel, and later co-writing a play with the MC. Kaitlyn's story wasn't simply about romancing Annisa - it was about dealing with her insecurities, building her band from scratch, getting over her fears of Natasha sabotaging her again, being comfortable in her own identity. Their romances with Reyna and Annisa felt like bonus side stories that we could get if we were interested enough...not the be-all and end-all of their stories.

Alternative romances for LIs didn't happen in all books. Many didn't bother with one, especially those that wound up being one-book stories. Some books that ended with an elaborate wedding for an MC and their LI also seemed to do away with this too, mostly by eliminating other love interests or making their presence scarce (for instance, in RoE, the other two LIs for "Katie" virtually disappear when she make her choice, only featuring in brief cameos and mentions). Alternative LIs often featured in series' that were successful enough to get three books, so more often than not, two-book series' like #LoveHacks would barely even have the time to develop new characters to date any LI.

The books that did end up following this route often lasted long enough for at least three books (with PM and ATV standing as exceptions), and likely had more than 3 LIs. In certain books the pairing was paywalled, and in others you could choose a number of free options to encourage the romance.

After a while a pattern seemed to emerge in who got such romances. Sometimes the alternative LI was given only to the "forgotten fourth/fifth" of a series (the extra LI who would get the least attention) - sometimes the "lucky" LI would be a character that was NOT a late addition to the roster of LIs, but an OG LI that just got so little attention and buildup it became obvious that they were given an alternative because the writers couldn't be bothered to imagine what their romance with the MC would look like. One can confidently say this because very often the "alternative romance" was written with more thought than the romance with the LI or any of that character's individual problems, and it started becoming very obvious that the writers felt more comfortable imagining the playthroughs where such LIs could only be friends with the MC.

Once the Choices app found its "core demographic" and started churning out more books, there were more and more cases of the writers indicating who their favourites were, early on (through providing a higher frequency and quality of diamond scenes for certain LIs, and through their interviews before the book releases). Which resulted in those characters getting more popular and others less so. And it was this "popularity" that often impacted writing choices and treatment.

Such a system of storytelling results in a vicious cycle, where a team will either assume already that one particular character will rake in more money, and give them a head start over others...or where a writer - through intentional or unintentional bias - could push forward a "favourite" front-and-center to the detriment of other LIs.

Here's a list of books that wrote alternative romances for certain LIs (except for OH, but I will get to that one in a minute). See if you can figure a pattern in at least most of these books:

High School Story 3 (2018) - Caleb Mitchell (Jade Ali), Emma Hawkins (Luis Marino), Aiden Zhou (Cameron Levy)

High School Story: Class Act 3 (2019-20) - Skye Crandall (Lilith Vidal)

Desire and Decorum 3 (2018-19) - Luke Harper (Cordelia Parsons)

Perfect Match 2 (2018) - Sloane Washington (Khaan Mousavi)

Across the Void (2018-19) - Zekei Sentry becomes a love interest both to the MC as well as their sibling Eos Elara.

Endless Summer 3 (2017-18) - Quinn Kelly (Kele), Sean Gayle (Michelle Nguyen). (Technically, almost every LI does get some potential in terms of alternative romance...but Estela and Jake's pairings feature mostly in the AUs shown by The Endless (Sean x Michelle, Estela x Zahra, Jake × Yvonne are all shown - among other AU romances). Quinn and Sean's romances, however, are solidified in the MC's handfasting ceremony with their LI, where the couples could share a romantic look and Michelle even leans on Sean's shoulder.)

In theory, the alternative romance could sound tempting. It allows the MC to demonstrate care and concern for an LI regardless of their romantic interest, or lack thereof. It may potentially give the reader the surface comfort of seeing an LI they rejected lead a happy life with someone they can love. It seems like a win-win situation for everyone.

But it becomes apparent when you comb through both the romantic and friendly versions of these characters' stories, that something is not quite right. I will take two LIs here as an example.

(Screenshots from Abhirio's YouTube Channel (D&D3) and Danni Stone's YouTube Channel (PM1))

Sloane Washington's major character points in Book 1 involve her love for coding and astronomy, as well as her strong bond with her mother. Book 2 (2018) does very minimal work on either of these; once Khaan enters the picture, almost every diamond scene she gets focuses solely on the possibility of a romance with him. The narrative doesn't even focus the reunion with her mother Kim on her!

Likewise, many, many complaints emerged during D&D3 (2019) about the way Luke's wedding was handled. His mother - who is supposedly very close to him - only features in letters and one memory about his brother Ezra's gambling addiction, doesn't have a name, is given a used sprite that isn't even dressed in period-appropriate clothing, and never even attends his wedding. On the other hand, his alternative romance with Cordelia was explored in excruciating detail, to the point where the two are given a wedding and the promise of a future child. It is almost as if the writers couldn't bear to envision him marrying their precious MC.

There are two major things that become apparent the more you observe the above list of LIs who got alternative romances.

One, the LIs that don't get "alternative LIs" are often white and male (Chris in TF, Micheal in HSS, Ernest in D&D, Meridien in AtV) with a couple exceptions. The writing takes care to weave their issues and conflicts into the MC's larger narrative and try their best to ensure that we become invested in whatever they have going on in their stories. A good example of this are Ernest's larger storylines about his stepson Percival and his destroyed house in Book 3. On certain rare occasions (especially when there is no default white man in the LI cast), an ambiguously brown man who can be easily exoticized fits into this role of "Creator's Pet" just as well. The writers spend enough time on perfecting their romances with the MC that there is literally no time for anything (or anyone) else.

Two, in all but two of these books, the LI that gets their 'alternative romance' most often...is a black love interest. On the rare occasion a white character is included in such a list, it is often a canonically queer white woman (only if she is an LI tho, because white female side characters have attention and love practically showered upon them) who ends up in such a position (Emma and Skye from the HSS series'). But besides that, it is usually the black LI - who btw is often one of the first people we interact with and written as the most approachable - that bears the brunt of a narrative that makes it clear that it isn't interested in exploring their story on their terms.

That is why Luke's mother never gets a name or his younger brother is hardly seen. That is why Sloane is sidelined in her own reunion scene with her mother. That is why most of the romantic playthroughs featuring these characters feel so scarce on the details or the nuances, while their white male (or ambiguous brown male) counterparts chew scenery in their own and everyone else's playthroughs.

In narratives like these, the "alternative LI" is no longer the sweet, sensitive, "they deserve happiness" route that it pretends to be...but more a sign that the writers are uncomfortable with writing said LI in a romance with the main character, and the audience they most want to cater to is uncomfortable reading it.

When the intent behind such a supposedly-nice gesture becomes so rife with bad faith, what is the end result? What happens when an 'alternative LI' - a route that seemed to promise happier futures for certain LIs - becomes more of a tool to punish them for lack of popularity? What happens when the company that created this system stops pretending to value the diversity they claimed to pride themselves in??

What happens - is that you get a story like Open Heart 2.

A lot of the stories I mentioned above were written within the space of 2017-2019. In fact, most of the books in the list came out in 2018. During these years Choices was gaining popularity in the choice-based storytelling business, and romance stories were on the rise. Many Choices Books at this point had at least 3 LIs - 2 male and 1 female - and some had more. And most of the writing teams managed to get away with treating their LIs of colour (specifically their black male and female LIs) badly without significant backlash.

At the time of OH2's release (2020), the book had four LIs in its lineup. Ethan Ramsey - like most white male LIs - was meant from the start to chew scenery. Comparatively the other LIs: Jackie Varma, Bryce Lahela and Rafael Aveiro were at a disadvantage and often it felt like the team seemed to work more on writing them out rather than incorporating their stories organically into the narrative. Rafael particularly seemed to suffer from this in the first book, and by this time making one LI the "forgotten fourth" became accepted as the norm. So when OH2's cover showed every single LI except for Rafael, there was a sense of mild alarm.

It soon became clearer, however, that something more insidious was afoot. The book itself began with a funeral, and Rafael was missing in the first chapter. When Rafael stans finally did get to see him, in Ch 2, they would be hit with a nasty surprise - the LI who was utterly devoted to their MC and introduced them to his beloved Vovó, would be shown dating a childhood sweetheart without any explanation or warning.

(Screenshots from Gabbieschoices YouTube Channel)

When asked about the sudden shift, PB's response was cryptic...but also ominous to a fandom who had already seen all kinds of unfair, horrible treatment meted out to a wide range of black characters by then:

For all intents and purposes, the relationship between the MC and Rafael appeared to be over, with very little by way of closure. Even the few diamond scenes they would get later would show friends-only options. As the book went on, it became frighteningly clear that the narrative was planning to do away with Rafael. At one point, Rafael even spoke of leaving the city altogether, and there were hints towards a far, far worse manner of departure in later chapters.

(Most people who were playing at the time remember PB's plans for OH2 Ch11-12, and the backlash, response and hiatus that followed. If you weren't there at the time, PB's Statement following the backlash - "Representation at Pixelberry" - briefly alludes to the issues that people in the fandom had with the writing decisions OH2 took at the time)

As most of us know by now, this ended with significant changes in the existing story - ensuring that Rafael lived, reinstating him as an LI and having Sora break up with him so they could disappear from the book altogether. Post 2020, no further attempts have been made the "alternative LI" route for LIs.

Part of this could be attributed to the change in format. With the introduction of VIP-access and single-LI books, the need to prepare an alternative romance for an LI has reduced greatly. Other factors too could have contributed: the extra romances becoming too much work, possible fatigue among fandom towards such pairings leading to less revenue from diamond options featuring them, certain books having only one or at most two LIs.

No one in PB has spoken of Rafael's treatment or the inclusion of Sora in OH directly...but since OH2 featured the last ever alternative romance till date, it would be safe to say that perhaps even PB recognised that the Sora story crossed a significant line. In any case, this practice hasn't been adopted in recent books in a while.

At the outset, one could argue that the Rafael and Sora situation is extremely different from the "alternative romances" I have listed so far. Unlike all the others, the intent behind introducing Sora was to deny the player a Rafael romance altogether, rather than present Rafael himself with an option. Whatever the problems with the other LIs, at least they got a romance with the MC!

However, I do think the Sora story was rooted in what the alternative LI route had become over time. It may have started with good intentions - with the idea that perhaps if the numbers showed certain LIs being ignored, it may be kinder to give them happy futures with other people who would love them. As long as the alternative romance was just a part of the character's larger story (as is the case with James and Kaitlyn), it felt less harmful and more sweet.

But when the ability to rake in finances becomes a marker of a character's worth, when the writing itself rigs the game from the start of a series, when both PB and fandom find themselves incapable of examining their own biases with regards to said characters...the purpose of such romances becomes warped.

At such points, it becomes more about establishing that this character's romance with the MC is not worth exploring. About delivering the message that it's okay to drop this LI - that as a player, you had more chance of getting your money's worth if you did drop them.

To be more clear, the Sora story is a culmination of what happens when a certain type of LI is set up to fail from the start. There are less opportunities for them to win the reader over, less time, less options to bring in money. In such an environment, the "alternative romance" becomes about considering certain types of LIs "less worthy", and spending far less time developing their MC-route - because as far as the "data", "money" and "finances" are concerned, they hardly have one!

The culmination of such a system, is that the worth of an LI can be brought down so much that the writers become comfortable with killing a non-main and non-white LI. Sora, as an alternative LI, was a way to write Rafael himself out as a romantic option, not a route meant to move his own story ahead. Sora is what happens when PB pushes forward favouritism and racism to the point where the writing is emboldened to take such steps for LIs of colour (particularly black LIs) they deem unpopular.

Which is why - in the present climate - the elimination of such a system is a marginally better prospect. If we cannot trust such a seemingly "nice" process, what's the use of having it around?

This essay series isn't about all of PB's stories, however. It is about TRR. Still - it is essential to explore and understand the original intent behind using these romance routes, and the history of how such storylines developed over time. Considering that TRR released from 2017-2018, analysing the significant patterns of that time places the writing of TRR's alternate romances into context.

TRR's approach to the alternative LI route has been different from other books, in very specific ways. One of the most prominent ways was that the narrative featured romantic options for the three OG LIs, and briefly attempted one for a fourth (the closest parallel to this in another book would be Endless Summer). Even popular love interests were presented with romantic routes, in case the MC wasn't going to marry them.

Does this mean that TRR managed to avoid falling into the same rabbit hole of bias and favouritism, that the other books did? Not by a long shot. The same problems just manifested in very different ways - and in this essay series, I will discuss those problems, romance route by romance route.

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

[choicesficwriterscreations]

It's that time of year again! Thank you to the creators who have shared their Top 5 creations of 2023 according to Tumblr note count. The Creator's Pick Top 5 will be posted this weekend! Links to all fics can be found below the break.

@aallotarenunelma ✒️

So This is Love (BOLAS) - Aerin Valleros x M!elf!MC

Distant Light (BOLAS) - Tyril Starfury x F!elf!MC

Indigo Night (ID) - Cassius Harlow x NB!MC, NB!OC

Répondez, s'il vous plaît! 3 (ILS/ID) - Various Pairings

Sophomore Secret (ILITW) - Dan Pierce x F!MC, M!OC

@angelasscribbles ✒️

A Fervid Fixation (TRR) Ⓜ️ - Drake Walker x MC

In Your Room (TRR) Ⓜ️- Drake Walker x Leo Rys

The Dark Kingdom (TRR) Ⓜ️ - Various Pairings

Dark Elf (TRR) Ⓜ️- Various Pairings

Heir Apparent (TRR) Ⓜ️- Drake Walker x MC, Liam Rys

@baldwinboy5ive 🎨

Blades Coffee Shop AU (BOLAS) - Aerin Valleros x MC

I Will Drag Him Back (BOLAS) - Tyril Starfury & Aerin Valleros

The Spray Bottle (BOLAS) - Imtura, Mal, Aerin

Aerin Instagram (BOLAS) - Aerin Valleros

The Prison Visit (BOLAS) - Aerin Valleros x MC

@cariantha ✒️

Accidental Valentine (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

If Only I Could (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Code Yellow (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

A Kiss on the Hand (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Daddy Distress (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

@inlocusmads ✒️

Intro To Negotiation Science (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

A Strange & Sudden Companionship (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

Cross Your Hearts & Set it Ablaze (COP) - Trystan Thorn x F!MC

Partner (Disambiguation) (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

New York, June 2014 (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

@jerzwriter ✒️

A Different Fate, Part 1 (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

What Happened in Vegas, Part 4 (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Abundance (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

The Perfect Gift (OH) - Tobias Carrick x F!MC

Take Me Out (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

@ladylamrian ✒️

Welcome to the World of Night (NB) - Nightbound MC

Bound by Fate (NB) - Nik Ryder x F!MC

A Meeting in Wyoming (NB) - Nik Ryder x F!MC

Wedding Proposal (NB) - Nik Ryder x F!MC

OC Headcanons (NB)

@liaromancewriter ✒️

Every Day (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Summer Romance (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Beautiful Stranger (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Sleeping Beauty (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Something to Talk About (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

@noesapphic ✒️

The Other Woman (D&D) - Roselyn Sinclaire, Ernest Sinclaire, Duke Richards

A Glimpse of Us (TRR/TRM) - Liam Rys & MC, Fabian Rys & MC

Barcelona | Prince Hamid (D&D) - Prince Hamid x MC

Worthy (TRR) Hana Lee x MC

The Cursed Heiress, Ch. 17 (D&D) - Mr. Sinclaire x F!OC

@peonierose ✒️

Losing Game - Part 1 (OH) - Bryce Lahela x F!OC

Nightbound AU vs. Hänsel & Gretel, Part 3 (NB) - OCs

Nightbound AU vs. Hänsel & Gretel, Part 2 (NB) - Nik Rider, F!MC, OCs

Once, Part 2 (TNA/OH) - Sam Dalton x F!MC

Hau’oli la Heleui (OH) - Bryce Lahela, F!OC, Keiki Lahela

@storyofmychoices ✒️

Go On, Feel It! (BOLAS) - Mal Volari x F!MC

Our Future Doctor (OH) - Bryce Lahela x F!OC

No Kissing! (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

Dance With Me (OH) - Bryce Lahela x F!MC

A Theif in the Gardens (BOLAS) - Mal Volari x F!MC

@tessa-liam ✒️

Memories (TRR) - Liam Rys x F!OC

The Sacrifice (TRR) - Liam Rys x F!OC

Regrets (TRR) - Liam Rys x F!OC

Old Habits Die Hard (TRR) - Liam Rys x F!OC

Turning the Page, Prologue (TRR) - Liam Rys x F!OC

@trappedinfanfiction ✒️

Brunette (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Crossroads (OH) Ⓜ️ - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

A New Neighbor (COP) - Trystan Thorne x F!MC

Midnight Talks (OH) - F!MC, Sienna Trinh

What's in a Name? (COP) - Trystan Thorne

@zealouscanonindeer ✒️

Together (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Company (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Locked In (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

20 Questions (OH) - Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

Long Overdue (OH) Ⓜ️- Ethan Ramsey x F!MC

[masked-alien-lesbian]

TRR book 2 end of Chapter 19: Assassins attack the Homecoming Ball

[For those new to my blog, I headcanon twin mcs, Riley and Raelyn in this AU. Riley is the more typical mc that closely matches canon mc that travels to Cordonia to compete for the hand of the Prince while her twin Raelyn tags along and ends up falling for Hana Lee]

Tw: bullying, transphobia, and gun violence.

Raelyn couldn't help smiling so hard their cheeks felt like it would split. The way Liam was looking at their sister Riley with so much starstruck awe and love, they knew Riley had truly found someone worthy of her. Saw her as the queen Raelyn always knew her to be.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

"Ha! Made it before you!" Six year old Riley cheered as she climbed on top of the highest branch that was strong enough to take the twins weight. "I'm queen of the world!!"

"You usually do." Raelyn says struggling behind Riley. Riley reached out to help them up beside her.

"Don't worry Rae, you can be a queen too! We can be queens together!" Riley says smiling a toothy grin looking out across their grandparents backyard, missing the uncomfortable look on Raelyn's face as they frowned.

"I think I'd rather be a wizard or a-a sorerer" they say mispronouncing sorcerer. Riley turns back with wide eyes.

"Ooo that would be cool! Yeah I'll be a queen and you can be my wizard, casting spells and tricks!"

"Yeah?" Raelyn asks hopefully.

"Yess! As long as we're together Rae-Rae. You can be whatever you want to be!" Riley says hugging Raelyn tightly.

"Together forever." Raelyn says in Riley's unruly mane of hair.

"Forever!"

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

"Introducing Duchess Riley, future queen of Cordonia." Liam says holding out a hand to Riley who took a step in his direction until suddenly the lights went out. Raelyn could feel Hana's hand that they were already holding tighten and her other hand grasp their bicep. Popping flew through the air.

"What is that? More fireworks?" Penelope's voice filtered through the crowd's uneasy murmur.

"No! Gunshots! Run!" Justin hollers and several women screamed. Someone bumped Raelyn and for a second they slipped out of Hana's grasp before she reeled them back into her arms.

"Raelyn!" Hana says into their neck. Then the lights came back on to reveal utter chaos. Liam and his guards were fighting off masked men, nobles ran as gunshots rang through the air but when one of the masked men pointed a gun at Riley, Raelyn felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured down their spine.

"RIIIILLLEEEYYY!!" A primal scream tore through Raelyn's throat and they started to bolt towards their twin.

"Raelyn! No!" Hana says leaping in front of them, desperate to keep her fiancé from attracting the attention of the gunmen.

[Beautiful commission done by the very talented @sazanes 😁😁😁]

Raelyn's view of their twin was hidden from them by a crowd of panicking nobles and when a gunshot rang out, they had no idea that Drake had taken the shot for Riley. As the gunshot rang through the air, Raelyn just stopped. Stopped struggling, stopped moving, stopped breathing, stopped thinking, stopped...existing. Tears ran down their face and they retreated deep in their mind.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

"Freak! Loser!" A handful of 13 year old bullies chanted circling Raelyn on their bikes. Tears welled in their eyes.

"Aww, look she's about to cry! Are you going to cry little girl?"

"S-stop c-calling me that! I'm-I'm not a g-girl!" Raelyn says stuttering. They fell, scraping their knees and the palm of their hands when a bully kicked the back of their knees out from under them.

"Actually you're half right...you're a f-f-freak girl!" The ringleader of the bullies mocked their speech impediment before grabbing the front of their shirt. "Since you're not a girl, then I guess I can punch you all I want right?" He says before raising his fist, Raelyn flinched back. Suddenly a scream of anger rang out and several of the bullies scrambled away.

"You get your grubby hands off my sibling before I kick your ass into the next week!" Riley storms towards them, righteous fury on her face, Raelyn had never seen their sister this angry before. The bully, Michael? Mikey? Mike? let go of Raelyn to smirk at Riley.

"Well well well. Miss. Softball Star here to fight her sister's battles for her again-" Riley cuts him off by punching him in the face than in the stomach. As he laid on the pavement groaning, Riley raised her voice to the other bullies and the ones standing by gawking at the scene.

"If anyone touches my twin again, I'm beating your ass into the ground, do you understand me?!?" Riley says glaring angrily before offering Raelyn her hand and helping them back up on their feet.

"Are you hurt? Are you okay?" Riley says worriedly, Raelyn shakes their head in the negative.

"N-no I'm f-fine." They say sniffling. Riley frowns at her twin's stutter. It only came out when they were upset or scared.

"Well let's get the hell out of here." Riley says adjusting her backpack.

"R-Riley! Language!" Raelyn says shocked, Riley laughs and wraps an arm around their shoulders, leading them off the schoolyard.

"I've got your back Rae. No one is ever going to hurt you while I'm around." Riley says squeezing Raelyn tighter against her in a hug.

"I've got your back too Riley." Their reply muffled in Riley's shoulder.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

"Raelyn baby, please!" Hana sobs as she tries to get a response from her catatonic fiancé. She cups Raelyn's face in her hands. "Please come back to me. I need you with me." Hana begs.

Tonight had been going so well. Riley had cleared her name and Liam had proposed to her in New York and was well on her way to becoming Cordonia's future queen. Liam had made Hana and the twins duchesses and she proposed to Raelyn just mere hours ago. Now, now Liam was fighting for his life, Hana's future sister-in-law's wellbeing in question and her fiancé unresponsive to Hana's pleading.

"It's going to be okay, baby, it's going to be okay." Hana repeats like a mantra, trying to get not only Raelyn to believe it but herself as well. Her forehead pressed against Raelyn's, she stared in their eyes willing them to come back to her. The couple still as statues while chaos rained all around them. Then somehow life flickered back in Raelyn's eyes.

"H-Hana?" Raelyn whispers. With a sob, Hana nods.

"Yes! Please Rae! We have to get out of here!" Hana begs pushing Raelyn back, trying to steer them to an exit.

"Hana! Raelyn! We gotta go!" Maxwell suddenly appears besides them with Chance in his arms. He shoves the corgi in Raelyn's arms and a whimpering Chance licks Raelyn's cheek. With Maxwell's help, Hana is able to guide Raelyn out of the palace and into one of the guards' armored cars.

As the car zooms off, Hana looks back at the palace biting her lip. Please be okay Riley. I don't think Raelyn could handle it otherwise. Hana thinks before pulling her lover into her arms.

Omg! It's been awhile since I made myself cry writing something! Big big thanks to @sazanes for doing this more angsty commission for me. Despite all the angst, we know the twins and the friend group will be fine but I thought it would be neat to see Raelyn's reaction to seeing their twin in danger, and we got to see a little babies and preteen Riley and Raelyn! Thank you so much @sazanes! You're amazing! 👏🏽 👏🏽 👏🏽

[choicesoctober]

WK 2 || WEEK ONE MASTERLIST || WELCOME || RULES || PROMPTS || HOST

I’ll compile a weekly masterlist by contributor and then a complete list at the end of the month. So here is week one’s masterlist.

If I missed your’s please let me know and I will get it on the list. Same, if I missed reblogging your contribution.

@aallotarenunelma

Intro: Ash Clark (It Lives, OC)

Intro: Ash Clark (It Lives, OC)

@ao719

Fic: …Sometimes Not, Part 11 (TRR, Liam x OC)

@cadybear420

Intro: Evie (HSS, MC)

@cariantha

Fic: All He Wanted (OPH, Ethan x MC)

@farizrz

Intro & Edit: Lindow Marcelino Redesign (HSS, OC)

@jerzwriter

Text Fic: Feeling Ancient (OPH, Ethan x MC)

Fic: First Date (CoP, Trystan x MC)

Fic: In a Pickle (OPH, Tobias x MC)

Text Fic: Roman Adventure (OPH, Tobias x MC)

@ladylamrian

Intro: Amber Burke (It Lives, MC)

Intro: Elissa Ryder (Nightbound, OC child)

Intro: Jason Ryder (Nightbound, OC child)

Fic: When Hunters Become Prey, Chapter 22 (Nightbound, MC)

@lawrencebarkley

Intro: Tyril x Reyna Headcanons (Blades, Tyril x MC)

@liaromancewriter

Fic: And There Was This Cat (OPH, Ethan x MC)

Fic: One Day (OPH, Ethan x MC)

@lilyoffandoms

Fic: Drabble (OPH, Tobias x MC, Ethan x MC, Bryce x OC)

@noesapphic

Picrew: Brienne of Riverbend Redesign (Blades, MC)

@peonyblossom

Edit: Iris of Riverbend Redesign (Blades, MC)

Edit: Jackie Winters Redesign (RCC, MC)

Intro & Edit: Jamie Baxter (HSS, MC)

Intro & Edit: Lola Williams (HSS, MC)

Edit: Lola Williams Redesign (HSS, MC)

Into & Edit: Ollie Bridgers (ILW, MC)

Edit: Dr. Sydney Valentine Redesign (OPH, MC)

@storyofmychoices

Fic & Art: Obvious Secret (OPH, Bryce x OC)

Fic: Sculpting Desires (Blades, Mal x OC, Tyril x OC, Mal x Tyril)

Fic: Vintage Dreams (Blades, Mal x OC, Tyril x OC, Mal x Tyril)

[cassiopeiacorvus]

KLAW | DAY 2 - King/Historian

tagging: @kingliamappreciationweek, @lizzybeth1986, @sazanes

Five Headcanons About King!Liam

Despite the chokehold The Royal Romance has had over me since 2018, I’ve always found it difficult to articulate how Liam rules. I believe it’s because when TRR isn’t using him for the MC’s benefit, they keep all his decision making off-screen. But, I’ve knuckled down and come up with five headcanons for how Liam rules Cordonia.

International Relations & Diplomacy

We see from book 2 that Liam has a focus on diplomacy. His entire engagement tour with Madeleine was also a diplomatic trip around the world. I’ve already heacanoned that Liam goes to more countries during the tour. It was always strange to me that the tour didn’t stop by the United Kingdom even though it's one of Cordonia’s allies and Madeleine’s father is an English duke. Liam brings Cordonia into the European Union because it’s what he deserves. Unlike his father, Liam puts more emphasis on the art of diplomacy. He revitalizes the foreign ministry with the advice of Duke Hakim and hires more ambassadors to make connections across the world. Under his reign, Cordonia becomes more well-known on the international stage.

The Liberation Core

We don’t know much about the Liberation Core. They’re introduced as a potential enemy in book 3, but our only insight into them is Gladys. What I’ve gleaned from Gladys’s story is that the Liberation Core is an political organization that protests the ill treatment of commoners by the nobility. The only reason they end up as the enemy is because Anton and Claudius, both members of the Sons of Earth, co-opt their movement and use it for their own benefit. So, I have Liam sit down with the Liberation Core to discuss grievances. I desperately need Liam to engage with commoners who aren’t his best friend and weren't essentially raised in the palace with him. Liam’s always stated that his duty is to the Cordonian people, which leads nicely into…

The Nobility

…Raising commoners into the nobility. We know that in TRR2, the MC gains a duchy regardless of whether she’s engaged to Liam or not. I believe down to my core that Liam gave Hana a duchy because it doesn’t makes sense for him not to. During his speech before the Homecoming Ball is attacked, he mentions wanting to revitalize the old houses of Cordonia. What better way to do that than bringing some commoners into the nobility and therefore bring new ideas and ways of thinking? Liam also makes efforts to mitigate the nobles' ability to abuse the citizens of their estate. He never wants another Lady Carmine situation again.

The Government

Remember in book 1 when there was a council that helped government affairs and influenced the outcome of the social season? Remember in book 3 when Liam implied that he wanted to put commoners on his new council… and then didn’t? Pepperidge Farms remembers. In my mind, these two councils merge into one, where each duchy has a council member from the nobility and the common people. I haven’t worked out the exact mechanics of the selection process yet, but the noble council seat is typically the current head of the duchy and someone they appoint to act as their stead if they’re unable to do their duties. The common seat (I need a better name), however, is chosen by the common people of the duchy in an election. As time goes on in his reign, I see Liam giving more voting power to the common people in Cordonia.

Culture & The Arts

What are two things Liam loves? Art and history. Liam gives more royal funding to every library in the country because that is what the people deserve. The Therons’ International Arts & Food Festival becomes more well-known as the years go by partly because of Liam’s effort to attend every year. I believe it’s canon that part of the royal palace is a museum and Liam makes sure it’s well taken care of. A lot of his personal wealth is funneled into cultural events like festivals and fairs that allow more intermingling between the common people and the nobility.

[karahalloway]

DWAW 2023 - Day 1: HCs

I would not be a proper Drake stan if I didn't make some time to wax lyrically about my fave LI (okay, maybe not lyrically - I suck at poetry, but you know what I mean!) as part of DWAW 2023!

Originally, I planned to do one post featuring both HCs and Appreciation, but both parts ran away with me, so I decided to split it up into two posts. This post will feature HCs, while this other post will feature Appreciation 😇

Headcanons

If you have read my stuff, you'll know that my Drake is not 100% canon, and that I've also filled in quite a lot of blanks left by TRR in his characterisation, so here is a (near) comprehensive list of everything that sits around in my head:

🥃 Whiskey 🥃

We all know that Drake's favourite drink is whiskey, but I HC that specifically it's bourbon. I made this choice quite consciously because (a) he is half-Texan, so the primary choice of whiskey would be bourbon on those parts (rather than scotch), and (b) I HC that this was also Jackson's drink of choice, so Drake took after his father in this regard (this is explored in a bit more detail in Chapter 3 - Hotel Room Service of (Less Than) Noble Intentions and the Burnt Bonus Chapter of (Un)Common Attraction).

Apart from whiskey, I HC that Drake is a coffee addict (and won't touch tea with a ten foot pole, unless - of course - if it's sweet iced tea, in which case he'll drink it by the bucketload like a true southerner🧋)

🇺🇸 Texas 🇺🇸

As far as I remember, the location of Walker Ranch is left ambigious in canon, but in my HC, it's located approx. 2.5 hours from Dallas (in Morris County, somewhere around the town of Lone Star - I know, I know... but when I saw this, I couldn't resist!) because I also HC Drake went to university in Dallas, specifically University of North Texas (see Chapter 20 - Party Yacht of (Un)Common Attraction). I chose Dallas because I liked the look and feel of the city, as well as the surrounding countryside.

Also, as readers will know, I have upped Drake's Texan-ness quite significantly in comparison to canon - he talks with a slight Texan accent, he can put on the southern drawl when he wants to, and his vernacular is a bit of a mixed bag (though he gravitates towards southerinism). I HC that this is because even though he spent most of his life in Cordonia, he (a) had a parent who spoke with a Texan accent at home, (b) he went to university in Texas, so he woud've picked up the accent/lingo while there (yes, accents can change later in life - I am a living testament to this, having lived all over the world), and (c) this was a concscious characterisation choice to differentiate his way of talking from the aristos (who - in my fics - talk more posh British).

💂‍♂️King's Guard 💂‍♂️

Similarly to @angelasscribbles I HC that Drake is a member of the King's Guard (in my stories, he operates covertly, but he does reveal his status to Harper is Chapter 34 - Secrets and Lies of (Un)Common Attraction. This was a very targeted HC in retaliation to the massive cop out in TRR2 where MC asks Drake what he actually does around court and he answers 'Erm... stuff?' 😖😡😒 Epic fail PB... Epic fail.

This is probably the biggest reason why my Drake started to deviate quite significantly from canon during the course of my rewrite - as a result of him being a Guard, he became a lot more focused, self-assured, tactical, pragmatic... basically all the things that readers seem to like about him. Because if he has a job, he has money, he has a purpose, and a position at court - he is no longer just a freeloading hanger-on. Plus this (for me) helps explain a lot of things in canon - like why Liam asked him to look out for MC, why he was helping Bastien with the NY bachelor party photo leak investigation, why he picks up on random things like the lock missing on MC's door at Applewood, etc.

🏋️ Extra-Curriculars 🏋️

Similarly to pretty much every other Drake stan, I HC that Drake is a military routine orientated mofo who always wakes at the crack of dawn to run five miles / go for a swim / hit the gym before eating a protein-filled breakfast (bacon, eggs, toast, orange juice) and then roughing himself into shape (shaving is optional) and getting on with his day.

In addition to this, I HC that he is kind of an adrenaline junkie - in my fics he has a motorbike and a car (like @angelasscribbles' Drake), and he drives like every road is an F1 racetrack (that said, he is a very precise driver and has never had an accident - this is based on a few real-life guys that I know - go figure lol).

He also knows how to ride (I HC he rides Western and Lone Star is a Quarter Horse), snowboard*, shoot, enjoys swimming, sailing, fishing, martial arts, and has tried pretty much every sport (including polo) because he is one of those high-energy people who (a) enjoys physical activity, and (b) uses it to burn off steam. On top of this, he of course goes camping, and has a cabin in the woods that he likes to escape to when court and the nobles get too much for him.

All this kinda combines to make Drake super competitive - people who have read my fics know that he'll compete with Harper for pretty much everything (including who can get up the stairs the fastest), and this is the rationale behind the (in)famous karaoke scene in Sleepless in New York - even though he hates performing, or putting himself on show in any way, he can't allow himself to lose a bet (which is why the fact that he loses the pool game during his birthday party is that much more significant).

*I thought this was more of a Drake sport than skiing (and it was something that he and Harper could bond over), though I also HC that Drake learnt to skii first and the switched to snowboarding)

💓 Sex💓

If you've read my stuff, you know that sex with Drake is... intense. The reasoning behind this is multi-fold:

Underneath the closeted and slightly stone-faced exterior that he presents to the world, he is a raging inferno of emotions underneath (fear, doubt, uncertainty, inadequacy, guilt, etc.) So when he has sex, all the pent-up emotions that had built up inside of him get released and he actually seeks out sex (or equivalently hard-core physical activity) in order to achieve this kind of release because he does not always know how to 'deal' with his emotions in a rational/intellectual way - see the Burnt Bonus Chapter of (Un)Common Attraction and Chapter 5 - Sparks Fly of (Less Than) Noble Intentions.

Sex - especially with MC as I think this kind of applies to other Drake x MC pairings that I've read - is a way for him to express how he feels about MC, even (or especially if) he does not want to / feels he cannot express how he feels using words (so he lets his body do the talking) - see Chapter 2 - I've Been Waiting for You and Chapter 13 - Invidia of (Less Than) Noble Intentions.

He is just plain good at it 😆 I think several (if not most) Drake stans have the HC that before MC came along, Drake was a raging poonhound (either because he got burnt by a previous relationship, or he just feels like he does not have the time/energy/emotional capacity to invest in a serious relationship), so, he has many notches on his bedpost, and with those notches comes experience - see Crazy Bonus Chapter of (Un)Common Attraction and Chapter 3 - Hotel Room Service of (Less Than) Noble Intentions.

🍔 Food 🍔

As we all know, Drake enjoys the simple things in life, especially when it comes to food, and I kept this aspect of his characterisation in my rewrites. He loves a 99c burger, BBQ (especially ribs), basically anything you can eat with your hands, but also enjoys a good steak with fries and knows how to cook (see Chapter 2 - Sparks Fly of Sleepless in New York, Chapter 9 - Go Nuts for Cronuts of (Un)Common Attraction, Chapter 3 - Hotel Room Service and Chapter 7 - Independence Day of (Less Than) Noble Intentions).

However, I don't HC that he's a fussy eater - except when it comes to fancy hors d'oeurves at royal functions. Because let's face it - there's only so much cocktail shrimp you can eat before you start choking on it.

🕺Dancing 🕺

Anyone who's read by stuff knows that one of the biggest changes I made to canon is that Drake can dance (see Chapter 25 - When You Move and Chapter 38 - In the End of (Un)Common Attraction, as well as Chapter 4 - Showtime, Baby! and Chapter 6 - Let It Whip of Sleepless in New York).

The rationale for this is that (a) Drake grew up at court, so even if he never had dance lessons specifically, he'll have seen other people dancing, and also chances are high that Liam/Leo/Max would have roped him into dance practice, so he'd have at least a basic knowledge of the common ballroom dances (waltz, tango, foxtrot, etc.) but (b) him being Drake, he doesn't like dancing ballroom (too stuffy and formal), especially at royal events (aristos watching and judging), but he's got moves and knows how to use them 😏

This is also why I HC that Drake can speak more than just Americano - in my fics, he is fluent in French (because of his mom* and the fact that he went to school in Cordonia, which I situated between France and Italy) and Italian (because of Bastien, who I HC is from Corsica), and also understands / knows basic phrases in a variety of other European languages - if he grew up at court with the Liam, Leo, Max, etc. and travelled around all these countries, he would - at the very least! - be able to order food and drink at a restaurant in the local language (looking at you, TRR2 Italian restaurant scene 😒

*In my fics, I switched the nationalities of Drake's parents around, so Jackson is from Texas and Bianca is from Cordonia.

👖Threads 👖

Another (relatively) big change I made from canon is the way that Drake dresses. In my fics, while he 100% prefers comfortable and functional clothes (his go-to ensemble is cotton button down shirt with sleeves rolled up, distressed jeans and boots), he will dress up for formal events (even if he doesn't really go all out - he leaves his top button unbuttoned on his collar, he doesn't do ties or bowties (except very occaisonally), and he ditches his jacket the first chance he gets) - see Chapter 3 - Masquarade, Chapter 13 - Table of Exiles, Chapter 24 - When You Move, Chapter 36 - Down to the Wire and and Chapter 38 - In the End of (Un)Common Attraction.

The main rationale for this is that while he may hate court and the aristos, I cannot see him showing up to an even in jeans and a t-shirt because (a) he would not actually be allowed in, and (b) I think he has a lot more self-respect than that (also, it's physically impossible for someone to have that many jean shirts).

Permatags

@twinkleallnight @lovingchoices14 @kingliam2019 @petiteboheme @aussiegurl1234 @queen-arabella-of-cordonia @tessa-liam @alyshak92 @secretaryunpaid @princessleac1 @walkerdrakewalker @angelasscribbles @nestledonthaveone @tinkie1973 @twinkle-320 @knaussal @nikkis1983 @lunaseasblog @ficloverevie @indiana-jr @differenttyphoonwerewolf @xpandass420x @eversoaringqueen12 @peonierose @3pawandme @alexabeta @veebug8 @fangirling12566 @queenmiarys @lancelotsimp​ @coco-lina-s @lolablackwrites @ivyflowers13 @persephone13 @hollygirl1269 @adri-ja-96 @harleybeaumont @katedrakeohd @uneravine @drake-walker-appreciation

......

[cadybear420]

Happy Valentine's Day, here are some headcanons of my Choices/Pixelberry OTPs' favorite assets of each other

Ideally I'd make some edits for this holiday and I still might, but there are also a lot of edits I'm working on lol. So have these headcanons for now. Prepare to meet some familiar MCs/pairings as well as a couple of new ones that I haven't talked about a lot!

Evie x Aiden (OG HSS)

Evie: She likes just about all of Aiden. His hair, his eyes, his lips, his lean stomach, his chest, his waist, his hips, his thighs. But probably what she gives the most attention to is his sculpted ass. She's a major ass woman.

Aiden: His personal favorite is Evie's nose as it reminds him of how close she is to him, as stated in the game's canon in the premium carriage ride scene. But what he's most attracted to in my opinion is definitely her chiseled abs and especially her taut muscular biceps and slightly roughened hands. He tends to be most fascinated by hands and arms, and the fact that she's buff especially drives him wild.

Cher x Ajay (HSS:CA)

Cher: Is a big fan of Ajay's ass (fun fact, I can have MC comment on liking his "hot butt" in their premium prom scene in the canon game). But is also an especially big fan of his hourglass figure. She also appreciates his hair quite a bit.

Ajay: All of her face probably, but most especially her eyes.

Jordan x Julian (HSS Prime)

Jordan: Julian's hips (Payton comments on how he has the hips for dancing bachata in Prime so yeah). Cue Julian being surprised at someone who is attracted to an asset of him that isn't his muscles.

Julian: Jordan's muscles. She's the "ridiculously jacked for a nerd under her sweater" trope and that definitely catches his interest.

Jo x Lucas (ILITW)

Jo: Her favorite feature has to be his slender waist, long legs, and overall twinkish figure. Though the LucASS is a very close second. The gel-slicked hair, glasses, old-fashioned and body-hugging dress styles, and his face are just the cherry on top.

Lucas: Initially he can't decide and just says all of her. But in the end, he'd have to go with her hands. And her smile.

Harper/Addison x Tom (ILB)

Harper/Addison: All of him. Just all of his lean-muscle twinkish figure. Okay, her particular favorites would have to be his chest, belly, and thighs, but really they love all of his figure.

Tom: He can't decide.

Cedric x Jocelyn (ILW)

Cedric: Easily Jocelyn's abs. IIRC, Joss is also implied to be tall both in ILITW and in ILW, so I think he'd find that pretty hot too.

Jocelyn: Either his ass or his nipples (she's given these features quite a bit of extra attention in their smut scenes).

Peggy x Tyler (MAH)

Peggy: Tyler's ass, no contest. Given Tyler is a track runner, after all.

Tyler: He can't decide. Probably her lips? Or her arms?

Lew x Liam (TRR)

Lew: Liam's Royal Posterior, AKA his Perfect Royal Backside (both of these are descriptions used in in-game dirty thirty scenes), as well as his fairly hourglassy figure. Particularly his wide hips.

Liam: All of Lew.

Dick x Peg (DLS)

Dick: Almost all of Peg but especially her muscles.

Peg: Almost all of Dick but especially his ass.

[peonyblossom]

Choices Book Club COP 2, Chapter 2

@choicesbookclub

We know that there is at least a TRR connection in the CoP universe, what other books are you hoping to see, or books you HC are connected for your creations?

There is so much potential for crossover here it's insane!! First up I would love to see a Foreign Affairs connection! Trystan has a lot of siblings, I think it would make a lot of sense if at least one of them attended or is attending Vancross Institute. Or, knowing what we know about some of Trystan's family, if one of them got kicked out of Vancross lol.

My other big one is The Heist: Monaco. I don't think we'll actually see this, but I am definitely thinking of an AU where Jenna is hired to solve some crime that The Heist MC and Crew committed. It's just tough to decide who I would want to win!!

Also, another one I don't think we'll see, especially since book 2 is taking place primarily in Drakovia and not New York, but Hot Couture! Since Marguerite works in fashion and Hot Couture takes place in NYC, it's fun to think my Hot Couture MC and Marguerite might work together! This is my new headcanon and you cannot take it away from me.

[lorircreates]

Hii 😍

What if your MC / LI sent the wrong picture to the wrong number? It can be a fun or spicy pic

Hi!

I usually would create a little ficlet to answer this kind of ask, but I have many OCs, so there would be many different responses. And my brain is fried lately... So I hope it's okay to just share some headcanons.

I can absolutely affirm to you Daphne (D&D MC AU) would never send a wrong pic to anyone. Ever. Because of her past issues with revenge porn and cyberbullying, she's extra careful and double checks her messages and the sender at all times.

Evelyn (OPH MC) probably is the one who has more trouble with sending wrong messages. Specially when she's tired or sleep deprived. But it wouldn't be something serious. Most likely, she'd just send silly memes in the work group chat. Also Rafael gets a lot of pics of medications or prescriptions Evelyn was supposed to send to a patient or a friend who asked for help in the middle of the night 😂

Natasha (PM MC), Samantha (BB MC), Jade (TRR MC) and Ayla (MOTY MC) are the ones who like sending nudes and mostly send them to the wrong people. Natasha would just apologize and make a joke in case it happens. Though it'd be a scandal to send a nude on the Bernhardt Academy parents group chat, Ayla would know how to get out of trouble with ease and even earn a few fans in the process 🤣🤣🤣

Samantha would have a lot of trouble in this department, given her history of a love triangle including her boss and her now boyfriend. But the one who would be in serious trouble would be Jade. She's a politician, Cordonian are prudes, you get the idea... 😑 She would find a way to get out this kind of mess eventually, but it certainly wouldn't be easy.

Thanks for the ask, dear 😊

[miniwolfsbane]

This is long, go get a drink and a snack!!

Legend (for those not in this fandom):

MC=Main Character/you

TRR=The Royal Romance

TRH=The Royal Heir (Sequel books)

Not that anyone cares, but I've been playing Choices on my phone for like a year. It was like my comfort game when my mom was passing away. Not every book in Choices is something I would support or read for myself, but The Royal Romance, Distant Shores and Perfect Match are a few of my favorites. I'm sure I'd write them a bit differently and I won't get into the hows or whys here, but I would.

I got suuuuper into The Royal Romance, so here's headcanons for my game and random crap, just because it's a niche fandom and no one talks about it except for like here and Reddit. (I only lurk on Reddit.)

I don't think the early character designs are THAT bad. (Saw a post really bashing into them once.) One that could use some work is Maxwell's. Oh, and the actual blonde Liam the book wants you to use is ewww (to me anyway). Yeah, I'd change him up A LOT! I believe this was one of Choices first books they put out, so that explains it.

Liam is named Vincent for me, and since I adore hot Asian men, I picked that face. ((Purrs)). Gonna get a button of him off Pixelberry's tiny TRR selection in their store sometime. Maybe that cuters corgi phone case if it fits mine or my future phone.

Naturally, I got to the point of madness and started using Taylor Kitsch's voice in my head for Drake, since he looks like him. (My first thought in my first play was "LOL, he looks like Gambit!") So, looks like Gambit, acts like a more romantic verison of Wolverine and loves his whiskey. Vincent has him one upped for being a Prince/King. Drake and I's daughter will be named Morgan. Simple, but fitting as Drake is no frills and I've always loved that name. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_OmNBXes3k

I felt bad for Vincent, so instead of doing my usual "take 30,000 years to pick a name" rigamaroll, I let him choose Elanor for our daughter. Maxwell's baby is named Baylana, because that's actually my top pick if I ever had a girl. (It's pretty to me, can be shortened to Bay and nicknamed Bayleaf, like the Pokemon...or the spice.)

I don't know where my brain pulled Vincent's voice, but it reminds me of a gentler, softer sounding Cyclops from X-Men:Evo, but not exact. If I ever hear it anywhere specific, I'll let you know. (1) X-Men: Evolution Jean and Scott favorite moments - YouTube

Since Maxwell starts off the immature, fun one, I got it in my head he should sound like Iceman from X-Men Evo. I think it fits. https://youtu.be/wtoQjM8eX3A?t=79

Hana's voice is another one pulled from some obscure part of my brain. It's pleasant sounding, but not from any specific character. Closest would be a sweeter sounding 90s Sailor Mars, probably after SMR, because she didn't do that whole "grr-ing" shrill (??) noise with her voice that the earlier one did. And voice file not found!

Bertrand sounds like a smarter, slightly deeper version of Nigel Thornberry, who was voiced by the awesome Tim Curry. Gen Z, go look that crap up about The Wild Thornberry's, it's great! I just saw him and thought "butler"! Hence the voice. (I know he's NOT a butler, but he looks like one.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vr-CFZCphjM

It was soooo stupid, but with Vincent's baby in TRH book 2, I picked the Mexican/other looking baby because I thought it was the cutest. Looks TOTALLY out of place in the pictures with the family together, so in my headcanon, she's lighter. Probably should've just gone with the Asian looking baby, but I wanted her to look more like me, because the book didn't already have enough narcissism. (Kidding!) Edit: Bahahaha! I'm not the only one who said "That one single white brown-haired baby we get is ugly, I'm picking this one!" (3) Pinterest (But really, picked her for my Maxwell route and she looks TONS better smiling!)

My heart lies with Vincent and his stability, even if he is a bit bland and straightforward with a fun/smexy side, but my hormones want Drake, as explained above. Maxwell is the bestie who I really thought was super sweet in my first play-through, but I probably wouldn't go for usually (in fiction or real life because I've almost never fallen for the funny, goofy guy), but I gave him a shot. He's the personality of the three and has a lovely character arc.

Hana is great, a good friend, but I would've given her more character flaws besides "my parents controlled me and I had no friends before you guys, so I'm insecure in my decisions and have low self-esteem/self-confidence." All the characters could use more flaws, but I guess that's why they're games and not a TV series or something. At least they're fleshed out, fully realized (whatever that means) and mostly well-written. MC is a bit naive or something though.

Savannah should've been less bland in personality. (again, an issue.) There's literally nothing that makes her stand out. It's reeeeally hard to see why she fell head over heels for Bertrand. I know the book explains why, but...I don't see it? IDK, maybe she would've looked better as an auburn brunette or another redhead besides Olivia. Maybe more like this? Look-Alike Face Models/Women - 2018 | Choices: Stories You Play Wiki | Fandom

Also, this is Savannah: Savannah Walker | Choices: Stories You Play Wiki | Fandom

Likewise, it's hard to see why Bertrand falls for her because of her personality. She's a bit fiery and outspoken, and she's a nice girl, but that's about it. What the heck? Missed the mark with her. She could've been Drake's complete opposite; Tough looking but shy and introverted. (Or would that be beautiful, but tough on the inside? Crap. Well, you get it.) Just SOMETHING INTERESTING!!

Olivia is awesome, like, super awesome, but sure goes on about smiting her enemies a lot for someone who's never canonically killed someone. Not that I want a bunch of gore and violence, but a bit more drama like she accidentally killed but got off on a technicality or it was never proven. Edit OR...or something lighter. Don't know why I went so dark, sorry. Maybe she accidentally stabbed a few awful people or something in her mis-spent youth, lolz.

*Shrugs* Like, if you're gonna make your character all...light violent (she talks about having knives all the time, but never stabs anyone, thankfully)...at least give us some kind of thing to chew on to finalize her mystique, her personality, give it some weight. Make her satisfying for us so it makes more sense. Committ to how you made her, Pixelberry! Hope this makes sense. Also, as much as I love Hana, I'd trade her straight across for Olivia as the there-all-the-time best friend. She doesn't quite avoid or subvert the action-girl trope, but at least she's equally feminine. That's not always the case.

Other:

VARIED BODY TYPES ALREADY!! I knoowwww the art is hard enough to create with just skin/hair colors alone, as I draw for a hobby, never mind objects and those killer, stellar animated backgrounds, but they already re-use characters to make it easier. I'm a sad panda that TRR (and all other books) can look mostly like me, but don't have my body type. I would DIE HAPPY if Drake/some other man were drooling over me as me and not skinny-minnie-Mary-Sue-esque-Main-Character-body-number-five!! (No offense to skinny or average weight people, but we don't all look that perfect.) Come to that, more skin types and vitiligo like Disney Dream Light Valley graciously put out would be awesome. They wouldn't have to give us moles and whatever, but some more variation would be beyond lovely!! Dear gawds, could you imagine seeing even side characters with vitiligo in a Choices game?!?!

Edit: I'm not saying EVERY book should be re-tooled to have chubby/really skinny MCs, but maybe just a handful of books that are popular or proven to have done well. Then go on to do that for newer books. If you're gonna have 5 faces and one body type and give all this time and attention to the details, just go whole hog and put the body types in there too! Giving us even one big girl and one waif-like one would be a major improvement. I can play as a girl two sizes bigger than I actually am, no complaints. We're just not all shaped the same and by now, Choices should really try and reflect that, even if it's a small change in one or two books to start.

I wish the VIP weren't the price it is, but I find it's worth it and it's painful waiting for more keys.

WHEN ARE WE GETTING A MERMAID BOOK?! THAT IS NOT 17+ glorifying abuse or whatever...stuff? (Not my cup of tea, thank you.)

I just want more fantasy books, dagnabit!!

My stupid dipstick self thought my Drake route for TRH couldn't POSSIBLY be that far along even though every book saves your stopping point if you leave, so I restarted the book. I AM AN IDIOT!!...But I'm not complaining too much because it's a bit nice doing the book all over again with my other favorite fictional hubby. ^_~

If there's TRR fan fiction, I probably need to find it. I want more of this series.

Okay, getting all these feelings out was kind of tiring. And it's only Thursday. 0_o Hope you enjoyed reading this insanity.

[somerandomjewelleryonthefloor]

Small spoilers for TRR book 3 and a headcanon for Prince Liam

I feel like that fondness is instead a hyper fixation Prince Liam, and you're so real for that if true.

I fucking bet at random in the night if he can't sleep and he's with MC, he'll tell random facts about tall landmarks. Such as how the Eiffel Tower is taller in the summer as all the metal spreads out from the heat.

I don't think he's neurotypical in the slightest, this is coming from someone who may be neurodivergant (not tested, but my dad has ADHD and sister has told me of how I don't fall into neurotypical territory in the slightest) and has neurodivergant friends too who exert these traits.

He's probably not diagnosed since he's been masking since birth and is seen as "fine". it would make sense for how he's always doing stuff for others since he doesn't want to be seen as selfish- especially with being a prince/king, and also how he always wears the same clothes usually since they're the only ones not itchy/comfortable. That navy satin cloth on the inside around his neck has to be for stopping the itchy tag/collar from rubbing against his skin (because I do that sometimes)

Yes, most sprites don't change clothes, but like let me have this.

[sazanes]

So I'm trying to replay TRR books for Liam Week to find new inspirations, but i can ignore all this problems anymore, it's too much 🤧 I'm concluding that Liam and Sophie (my MC) are a lot A LOT better on my headcanon and i will finally accept that TRR is better in my mind 🤧

opinions on lena rys? (sorry if this has already been asked LOL! I'm just interested to see your take)

Thank you for that question @elusetta! It's a pleasant and lovely surprise to get a question like this one... though idk if you'll actually like what I have to say here.

(Also lmao half the fandom will probably hate me for this essay, but everything I've written here is the truth. If y'all want to cling to your biases instead, fandom, be my guest and skip this essay)

I have two kinds of opinions regarding Lena - Lena as an individual character, and Lena in terms of what the writers wanted narratively.

As an individual character...eh. She's okay. On paper she could be promising, but on the whole she starts from one tangent and lands somewhere else altogether midway (and while one can say this of any character in the series, the fact is that, in her case, those inconsistencies all co-exist in the same book!).

Lena is an incredibly self-contained character. Sure, she is both the key to the VI's takeover of Cordonia and the weak link that facilitates their downfall - but there is very little she has to give the story or the other characters, and far more that they are constantly expected to give her. She is first presented to us as more of a loyal soldier to the VI, but mid-story she would have us believe that she'd be a better monarch and had always wanted to be queen. She is part of a cult that claims to be anti-monarchy, yet decides she must be queen and operates under a cult filled with monarchs. And there isn't enough pushback against the notion that a glorified puppet to a murderous cult would make a good monarch, and Lena gets away far too easily with her own crimes at the end (thanks to the brother she had spent the whole book mocking). Most of our time is spent coddling her and pampering her and convincing her that we genuinely like her, and very little on her actually self-evaluating. Like Olivia before her, she's there simply to be cosetted by us (by her brother Liam in particular) before she can afford us even a tenth of the grace she's been given.

And while I'm sure a horde of Lena stans may land on this ask to bleat about her tragic childhood and Sigrid's brainwashing, I'd like them to ask themselves one thing. Even the most conditioned person will find themselves questioning beliefs they grew up with from time to time. (Hana had done that on her own - several times - during the original TRR series, and this same fandom had no problem calling her "weak"). It takes Lena forever to even question Sigrid's weird logic. Yet I'm supposed to believe she'll make a great queen just because she's got military skills? Even though her critical thinking is...barely there? (And believe me, enough people in fandom were celebrating the notion of Lena replacing Liam and what the VI were doing for a portion of the story).

There are possibilities to make such a character compelling - someone who believes they have agency and independence only to realize they are lowly pawns can make for a good inner conflict, and could provide the core group with a good contrast as well - but not with this team, or this fandom. Not with a head writer who will simp for the Val Greaves/Olivia Nevrakis character type against all logic, not with a fandom that is forever desperate to make Liam their personal scapegoat. Not with a team and fandom who are uncomfortable with acknowledging their own favourites' actual flaws. Both of these groups only saw her armor, snark, gun skills and hatred of Liam, and decided she was a great character based solely on that.

Personally and out of the larger context of this story, I don't particularly mind Lena as a character. In a better story that had more balance, I'd probably be more sympathetic. I prefer some of the sweeter and softer female characters, or the characters that represent diplomacy in a series like this. I'm a lot more protective of them nowadays because they tend to be looked down upon most of the time (especially if they are default WOC!). And that happens more often than not with this series!

--

On a narrative level...well. Buckle up coz I have a real bone to pick with the writing team and the fandom on this specific issue.

Narratively, Lena is the most obvious sign of the TRR writing team's cravenness and shamelessness, and the biggest sign of their disdain for the character that gave them the whole premise of this series.

Mind you, I cannot blame solely Lena for this. She is just a culmination of what the team was already doing to Liam. Kneecapping Liam was a process that began early and went on for six books, with fandom encouragement. Liam, contrary to the fandom's claims (and the Drake stans - whose favourite was himself eating up other characters' space on the regular - complain about this the loudest), was already being disadvantaged in several ways.

Here are just a few ways that events that happened to Liam (or storylines that should have been his) but were instead centered on other people, including the MC:

1. Traumatic events:

The assassination attempt that left Liam so traumatized that he could barely eat, and made him shut himself off to everyone, was never incorporated for his benefit. He never gets to talk about it, the MC herself never bothers to ask him about it. It only exists so Drake can sound less whiny about staying in a place that he hates.

The assassination attempt that kills Constantine? At a time when Liam had to grapple with questions about his own rule? Guess what Liam gets. A solitary tear at the finale, and a small scene for the Heir about growing apple trees two books later.

We find out in TRH1 that Godfrey was involved in the plot to kill Eleanor, and in TRH3 that Bartie Sr was his partner in the crime. We center the children of the murderers for the rest. Liam gets barely 10 seconds to attempt to banish Godfrey (the book ends on the latter's successful escape, and the MC conveniently goes into labour at that moment), the next two books require us to pamper the everloving shit out of Madeleine, and Maxwell - who, might I remind you, emotionally blackmailed his brother into giving Bartie Sr his title as Duke and made his father's coup possible - spends more than half of TRH3 playing the betrayed victim.

What does Liam get? A few seconds of the MC mouthing platitudes when they find out, and one scene where Liam is allowed to gaze sadly at daisies. Maxwell gets to weep about his traitor father ad nauseum while barely acknowledging the friend who lost his mother thanks to the same man, Madeleine gets to spend most of TRH2 and 3 expecting us to treat her with kid gloves otherwise she will help Bartie Sr kidnap your child. Honestly, Drake Walker got way more time to moan and gripe about his sister living safely in Paris on Beaumont money!

Most times we hear about something tragic that happened to Liam, it serves to benefit other people - notably team favourites like Drake, Olivia, Madeleine or Maxwell. The entire base of TRH is the mystery of Queen Eleanor's murder, yet the person whose feelings matter least in this story is Eleanor's own son.

Most times when something horrible happens to Liam, or when he discovers something disturbing about his past, the MC hardly pays much attention to him, while showering whiter characters with sympathy and diamond scene moments for less horrific revelations. The same MC who can tell Olivia that it's okay to seek support, or comfort Drake with a drinking game, or convince Bertrand to go easy on Maxwell...has barely any time or interest to support Liam, even when she's married to him.

A Drake stan I'd spoken to around the time of TRH3, once claimed that the narrative may have been trying to balance things between "prominent" LIs by "giving Liam the plot elements" and "giving Drake the emotional baggage". This is an argument I have seen often in the fandom - that "the story makes sense only with Liam as your spouse" ergo he has the biggest advantage of all the LIs. This is directly related to Liam's role as king. Let's take a minute to explore how that is dealt with in the story.

2. Power and Monarchy.

One of the arcs that was promised for Liam was about the kind of king he hopes to be. As a Crown Prince he grapples with this question, and as a King he faces constant doubt and fear over his capability to rule. When he discovers that his father masterminded the plot against the MC, that moment was written as if it could be a turning point in how he views ruling. At the TRR2 finale he vows to never let fear overpower him the way it did Constantine, and before that in NY he tells the MC that she inspired him to take the reins and have more belief in what he wanted to achieve.

In TRR3, the writers barely bothered to address this conflict at all, besides a line (said in passing, only in his playthrough) about his plans for compensating the Applewood farmers until the new crop could harvest, and a couple lessons on diplomacy for the MC's benefit. Even his role as a king was viewed more in terms of how the MC could use his knowledge, not really as an important aspect of his character. The writers spent far more time forcing Liam to look sadly at the MC that wasn't marrying him, just to appease certain nonLiam stans who missed the love triangle. He was essentially given no real plot of his own in TRR3. This definitely didn't track with the promises made for his storyline in the TRR2 finale in any way or form.

TRH is far more brazen in this respect. From the point that the MC becomes Champion of the Realm/prospective Mother of the Heir, the narrative cedes so much power to her...that it almost treats Liam as a noble rather than the literal King of that country! The royals at the first Ball she hosts in Valtoria address her as if she's the only "monarch" that counts. Isabella questions her about Eleanor rather than Eleanor's actual son. Amalas stalks her constantly. Nobles directly address her as if she's the only one ruling (eg: Kiara's comment about "reactive ruling" elicits a response from the MC, rather than from Liam who is actually standing there).

Even if the MC was the consort ruling alongside the rightfully-appointed King, it still didn't make sense for the narrative to replace him with her in discussions that were meant for the actual person in power. In addition, the narrative itself views her - across playthroughs - more as the Duchess of Valtoria than the Queen of Cordonia - we see her duchy more often than we do the Capitol, there is very little reference to what she does as Queen Consort or any duty she may have to perform on that score, and King Liam himself is made to behave more like a Duke (eg. The only time he's allowed to push back independently against Bradshaw and Isabella in TRH2, is a ballroom duel that is proven pointless by the Auvernese drone attack that they framed Monterisso for).

Most of the power to make decisions is taken out of Liam's hands and given to the nobles who run the Royal Council - and once those decisions turn out to be bad ones, the blame is placed solely on his shoulders even though it was made jointly. Half the characters talk over Liam and directly to the MC about "her rule", even though she is a Queen Consort at best and a random new Duchess at worst.

The MC - who is never really shown doing any actual work for the country or thinking about her people. The MC - whose only political act outside of the shenanigans she gets into with her friends, is a line about contributing to charities. This woman has a wholeass library in her duchy and access to endless resources before that...and still needs to be spoonfed information about neighbouring places by the likes of Hana Lee. This woman started out working in a bar close to a rat-infested dumpster yet never shows a lick of concern for the average commoner in her duchy - forget her kingdom if she is the Queen. She is literally given all of Liam's power, while hardly having to do any of Liam's work (and if you're going to pretend he doesn't do any work? I suggest you read this essay to see what you missed!). And all that is fine - but if this fandom is alright dragging Liam for "being a sucky king" and "partying all the time", I'd better see you guys hold everyone else - including your favourite characters who rule over entire provinces, and your darling MCs - to the same parameters.

By the time we get to TRF, this is the amount of power the narrative gives to the MC:

Not only is Liam's role nerfed to that of a Duke, the narrative itself has no qualms saying the quiet part out loud: Liam isn't the one that matters, the MC is. Liam's decisions and opinions mean nothing, the MC's does.

And this isn't something the MC herself is against, canonically. She enjoys having that power. She revels in it. No matter how badly the fandom wants to make a victim out of her and a Rumpelstiltskin out of Laim - this is a role she accepted wholeheartedly and enjoyed, while not having to work much for it. As a reader you may assume that your vision of the MC wouldn't be comfortable with this role, but canon in no way depicts your assumption as true. So it's not even as if - contrary to fandom's claims - these were roles Liam forced on her.

To revert to what I said in the previous section - the plot runs because Liam is the king of the country and was the reason we came to Cordonia. But in a context like this, that is not at all an advantage. The farther into the story you go, the clearer it is that Liam's role benefits the story more than the story will ever benefit him.

3. Family

Another thread that runs through all the LIs' stories is that of their families. Most of the mystery surrounding the past revolves around Liam's, Drake's, Maxwell's, Olivia's (and briefly, Hana's) parents and their histories - but it would be helpful for once to look at how the narrative frames these stories, and how these characters benefit from them. Are the LIs' themes explored adequately through the inclusion of these stories? Does the LI's feelings get validated by the group, or dismissed? Does the narrative try to downplay the pain they may have endured in childhood, depending on which LI/prominent character the writers preferred?

A prime example of how the narrative uses the family background to their character's advantage is the Drake-Savannah story. Savannah is constantly viewed from Drake's lens, even when it is revealed that she's actually living a comfortable life thanks to a pair of nobles. Drake is STILL allowed to use her "experience" as an example of the "bad, no-good, dastardly nobles", is allowed to look down on the one noblewoman who befriended Savannah, and is allowed to punish Bertrand all the way into TRR3 for perceived slights.

While Savannah likes Bertrand enough to want to marry him, it is Drake's judgement of him that is centered - Savannah brings what he said about Bertrand up whenever she wants to badger him into doing her bidding, and Drake himself is allowed to humiliate Bertrand just to give his agreement to their match. Savannah's wedding is literally the wedding Drake described in a TRR3 diamond scene as his dream wedding (Ice Palace, TRR3 Ch 11), even though canon had her aspire more to the noble life than her brother. That wedding lasted half the book, and involved Bertrand being further humiliated by Drake's family. Despite her many flaws, canon chooses to view Savannah as "perfect" primarily because that's how Drake views her...and Drake can never be proven wrong on anything (even if the team has to do a retcon to make it so). This extends to the rest of his family as well. Canon attempted to create Leona out of whole cloth so that Bianca could appear less of an asshole (an attempt that failed), and Jackson is depicted as a close friend who Queen Eleanor trusted with the news of her pregnancy, yet somehow he never did anything nor asked any questions after she was dead and there was a potential child out there. His father is still the innocent among innocents, the best person and friend that ever existed. Drake is centered in most stories surrounding his family, and so is his perspective.

Maxwell gets something similar to this treatment later on in the story, specifically with the way Bartie Sr's coup and Bertrand's perceived betrayal is handled. The coup itself begins with Bertrand handing over his title and responsibilities to his father - a move facilitated directly due to Maxwell's lies and retcons about Bertrand in his book. Maxwell spends more than half the book clinging to some weak hope that the man - who is literally staging a coup of Maxwell's friend's throne, and later kidnaps a child - is a good man. His tirade against Bartie Sr being a bad parent, in Valtoria, hardly acknowledges what Bertrand had to suffer. As mentioned earlier, when Bartie's treason was revealed Maxwell centers that truth around himself even though the son of the woman Bartie killed is right in front of him (there's a vague promise about how he'll do anything to bring his father to justice, but that's about as far as his communication with Liam on this goes). And finally, even after it's been made clear that Bertrand was secretly supporting the core group, Maxwell and the group still behave like he did something wrong and continue to mistrust him, to the point of expecting him to apologise and suspecting him in the next book to be in the VI (though Maxwell does initially stage a weak protest to this). All this, while never having to acknowledge Maxwell's own role in getting Bartie Sr closer to power!

The team pretends to do something similar for Hana, but with egregious retcons. While in TRR her parents' motives are tied to Hana having a beneficial marriage and furthering their fortune - and they come close to disowning her for wanting to follow her own path - in TRH the narrative aggressively retcons their story so that their motives are attributed to affectionate worry and protection, rather than control. While it is great that Hana still isn't required to forgive her mother, the narrative forces her to soften Lorelai's motives in a way that is insulting to her original story. I won't speak more on how Hana's story was handled, as I do so in detail here. Olivia, while not an LI, was given far more grace from the narrative; she was given an entire holiday book to ruminate over what to do with her traitor aunt's necklace. Throughout TRH, she is involved in and heartily lauded for various "spy missions", most of which culminate in nothing because all she does is sit on that information and not tell anyone (with very few exceptions, like the reveal about Bartie's murder of Eleanor). That story is wholly centered around Olivia and her comfort. Ergo, even a side character can get plenty of space for their story if their writers actually give a damn.

Which brings me to Liam.

There were problems already in the way Liam and his family issues were explored, even before Lena came along. Stoicism and the pressure to show a sense of calm at all times was an accepted trait of Liam's, and it was one that his fans had hoped he would emerge out of as the story progressed. Yet the narrative only allowed him to show strong emotions when it was centered around protecting the MC (see: Liam's confrontation of his father in TRR2 Ch12, or fighting Anton in TRR3 Ch 21). The MC was far, far less proactive in this respect, even as she acted as counselor and teacher and guide and angel of mercy to numerous white characters in the same book.

When Liam's father dies right in front of him, the narrative forces Liam to deflect and keep it moving, only allowing him to shed a single tear at the end of the book. TRH finds Liam hit with reveal after painful reveal of the plots behind his mother's death, and he is allowed barely seconds to even show an emotional response to this - much less be comforted. In each case he is meant to move ahead as if this wouldn't affect him, as if the next mystery is more important, as if he didn't deserve support.

A support that the MC doesn't mind lavishing on Drake, Maxwell, Olivia, Madeleine, Penelope, White Noble no. 1, 2, 3, 4...the list is endless.

Into this already-skewed situation, enters his sister Lena, who hates him. She spends half the book verbally shitting on him and the group, calling Liam weak, claiming without any actual experience (besides heading a company) that she could do a better job leading and fending off coups and plots that he and his friends already managed to thwart. The narrative uses Liam's love for family and need to reconnect to this unknown sister to make sure Lena is centered in whatever reveal comes forth about their mother.

This wouldn't even have been as big of an issue if every other instance where Liam bore immense loss wasn't pushed aside as less important. If they didn't restrict the MC's concern to lukewarm platitudes and the occasional causal question. Lena getting this moment all to herself wouldn't have mattered as much if Liam wasn't constantly forced by the narrative to push his hurt, pain or anger aside when he discovered his father's illness...or when his kingdom was under attack...or when his father died...or when he discovered his mother had hidden a pregnancy...or when he discovered his mother's first attacker...or his mother's second attacker...or the King Guard who betrayed his family...or the cult that clearly wanted to kill his mother and keep him away from his sister...you get the picture.

In fact, the lack of care extends to the way the core group deals with the Lena situation as well. When Lena is first revealed to be both The Fist of the VI and Liam's long-lost sister, the core group callously scoffs at Liam's suggestions to communicate with her, rather than trying to comfort him. Even Hana, who has to sympathize and speak positively about the likes of Madeleine and Olivia - women who have harmed her and have regularly undermined her - is made to sound like she has no patience for Liam's obvious internal conflict. If anyone could understand how hard it would be to let go of family whose motives can be harmful for you, it would be Hana. Yet the team has her place timelines on Liam's emotions in a way the group never bothered to do to Maxwell in a somewhat similar situation, in the previous book.

Of course, once the MC decides it would be a good idea to win Lena's trust, the group magically sees this aim as legitimate. For the rest of the book, Lena is pampered, cosetted, coddled, shown around Cordonia and treated with kid gloves, all while trashing on Liam without much significant pushback. The entire story revolves around her journey from a skeptic of the group to realizing they are genuinely good people. All while her brother who gave us this series languishes in the background - his own power snatched from his hands and passed to the MC, his own traumas and tragedies forgotten, his own emotional baggage thrown away so Lena and Drake can take centerstage.

At the end of the book, when the group gets closure from Sigrid over VI and her multiple betrayals, it is Drake who gets the most space to react out of the group alone. The book begins with his discovery of Bastien's involvement in the VI, and allows Drake ample space to grieve and ruminate over it (btw, let's forget entirely that Bastien has been King Guard this entire time, and that meant that for all five years of his rule and for many many years before that, Liam and his family had a walking talking security risk "protecting" them. Coz who cares if the King of Cordonia dies, amirite?) When it is discovered that Jackson died while working undercover to expose the VI, it is Drake who gets the most time among the group to confront Sigrid, and it is Drake who gets to give a lengthy monologue to his dead parent, for which the MC and Liam are required to stand there and comfort him. In contrast, Liam gets just one line in a scene about the person who masterminded his mother's death. It is Lena instead, who gets to react emotionally to that - because the Sigrid story itself was created specifically to pander to this one just-created character.

Lena wasn't created to add to Liam's story like Savannah was. She wasn't meant to share their joint history like Bertrand and Maxwell initially were, or sidelined for the sake of another side character related to another LI like Bertrand was. Lena was created to replace Liam as the center of a tragedy that happened to him, that affected him, that haunted him for years, that had repercussions on his life...that he was never given any real space to emotionally explore.

Drake's story benefitted from Liam's trauma, to the point where only he was allowed to talk about it and where his perspective was the only one given value. The MC's story benefitted from Liam's power, to the point where she damn near replaced him narratively in that role despite never doing the work, while the fandom laid the entire blame on Liam ad nauseum and not her. Over and over, in plots and coups and murders that hurt his family, other people were allowed to talk, allowed to think, allowed to feel...while Liam got maybe one teardrop per parent.

In the same trajectory, one can clearly see why they developed a character like Lena in the first place. The writers spent 6 whole books heartlessly picking at parts of Liam's story and giving those bits away to their actual favourite characters. Bit by bit, from his experiences to his work to his role, they whittled away Liam as a character until he was left with practically nothing. Do you think they would seriously just stop that process with TRH3? I mean, the head writer is someone who likes "mean characters who speak their mind" and her disdain for characters who represent diplomacy and peace isn't even thinly veiled. Of course they'd go further!!

Lena was created with the sole purpose of ensuring Liam never got adequate closure for himself. They simply passed on that luxury to her, and the fandom who hid behind "Liam gets everything!!111" while never speaking up once about the gross favouritism directed towards their own beloved LIs and side characters, cheered the same team on in this.

I can say this with complete confidence: had Liam been a default white man, like Drake and Maxwell were (or like Ethan Ramsey in OH or Ernest Sinclaire in D&D were), Lena's story would have looked very, very different. In fact, I highly doubt she would even exist.

[bobasheebaby]

Get to Know my MC & OC

I was tagged by @jovialyouthmusic​ @texaskitten30​ and @dcbbw​, thank you ladies. So at first I was sure who to finish. I already had a few MC’s and OC’s started and then Athena popped in my head. I was half done with Athena’s when I decided to do Percy’s too. So two for one ladies! Under a cut since it’s long as fuck!

Athena May Morgan

How tall are they?

5’9”

How do they tend to dress?

She lives for comfort! She doesn’t mind getting dressed up but her go to looks are jeans (that may or may not be ripped), a cute top, and a pair of sneakers, light jacket or sweater if needed OR leggings and an oversized top, sweater or hoodie. If she’s trying to look cute in her leggings a nicer sweater and a pair of cute sweater boots.

Do they like how they look?

She doesn’t hate the way she looks but she also didn’t believe Percy when he told her how beautiful she was until he took candid photographs of her.

Are they an only child or do they have any siblings?

Only child, although her cousin Bailey is like her sister. Bailey’s parents died when Bailey was 12 and Athena was 5. Athena’s dad was Bailey’s mom’s brother so he took in Bailey. They grew up very close after that and Athena was super grateful for the support of Bailey when her parents died when she was a freshman in college.

Are they a morning person or night owl?

Girl likes to sleep in, especially if it means more cuddles with Percy.

Are they a cat person or a dog person?

Both!!! She grew up in a Brooklyn apartment and her parents didn’t think that was a good life for a dog, but she always wanted one. She did have two cats, Abbadon a pure black Persian and Zeus a tan Siamese. Both were failed showcats they rescued.

Got any favourite foods?

Chee-zee bread!!!! She loves it!!!

Peanut butter cups are always kept in the freezer.

Brownies!!!! The more chocolate the better!!!

How about favourite drinks?

Caramel milkshakes with extra caramel.

What are their favourite movies/tv shows?

Sappy Hallmark movies, she loves them. They can do the same plot every Christmas 10 different ways and she will still sit and watch every single one.

She also loves cop and hospital drama’s.

Do they have any hidden talents?

No.

Do they believe in love at first sight?

Shit she didn’t use to but when she looked back she realized she had butterflies in her stomach from the moment she met Percy. She had thought at the time that her stomach was in knots because of her situation with Liam, but it was Percy.

Who is their love interest?

Duke Perceval Lennon Hunter of Winchester (my insanely awesome OC)

What are they afraid of?

She used to be afraid that she’d never fall in love or be a mom, now she’s afraid of losing them.

Spiders, creepy little fuckers!

Falling, she doesn’t mind heights, but she is very afraid of falling.

What are their guilty pleasures?

Candy, she has it stashed around the estate and she knows when it’s been touched by someone else.

What was their dream job as a kid? Is it still their dream?

She was kinda all over the place, teacher, scientist, astronaut, marine biologist. She never really had one thing she wanted to be. Oddly enough she never wanted to be a princess and yet she vied for the hand of a prince/king.

Have they ever broken a bone?

Nope

Have they ever been in trouble with the law?

Nope

+ three other random facts about them!

girl loves to bake!

she learned to knit when she was pregnant with their first, she knitted the outfits for their newborn photos.

She would never tell Bailey, but she still finds it really weird that Liam started dating her cousin. Percy just tells her it shows that it wasn’t love for him either since he could move on so quickly.

Perceval Lennon Hunter

How tall are they?

6’1”

How do they tend to dress?

He is known as the most down to earth duke, he prefers jeans and sweater or tee, sneakers or work boots. He dresses up when he has to and looks damn good but he likes to be comfortable.

Do they like how they look?

He can’t complain, the years have been good to him. He wouldn’t mind less grey, but Athena likes it so he leaves it be. He does tease her she fell in love with an old man and she just smiles and gives him a kiss.

Are they an only child or do they have any siblings?

Only child

Are they a morning person or night owl?

When he spent a lot of time with Leo or Alex he didn’t mind staying out all night. Now he’s thankful the only late nighters are at home when a baby wakes in the middle of the night. And yes he will let Athena sleep if he can. He used to be a fairly early riser, now he loves lazy mornings in.

Are they a cat person or a dog person?

Both, he actually loves all animals.

Got any favourite foods?

Greasy burgers, pasta, omelets

How about favourite drinks?

Scotch, strawberry milkshakes

What are their favourite movies/tv shows?

He loves period dramas and musicals. His mom loved watching the old musicals with him, his favorite is Carousel. He likes action or thrillers, but his favorite part of watching them is when Athena scooches closer cause she gets scared.

Do they have any hidden talents?

He can repair any Harley produced after 1935. Total overhaul of the engine? No sweat.

Do they believe in love at first sight?

He barely even believed in love. His father fucked up big time and cost Percy his mom, he knew he didn’t want to be like his father. He always looked for someone that he just clicked with and had stopped thinking it would happen long before he said hello to Athena on the royal train.

Who is their love interest?

Athena Morgan

What are they afraid of?

Failing those he loves. Watching the people that mean the most to him hurt, especially because of him.

What are their guilty pleasures?

He’s gonna sound sappy as fuck but he doesn’t give a shit, every cuddle or kiss from Athena or the kids. He loves staying in bed with her but if the baby wakes and she manages to sleep through it he will go sit in the nursery just talking to the child as he holds them cuddled to his chest. If the child falls back asleep he slips them back into their crib and goes back to cuddling Athena. If the baby is wide awake he will take them into the bed around the time Athena usually wakes. He doesn’t know that she’s heard him a few times on the monitor and falls back asleep with a goofy grin on her face.

What was their dream job as a kid? Is it still their dream?

He was the only child of a Duke, he knew there was only one job that would ever be his. But he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty and taught himself to fix his Harley and to cook.

Have they ever broken a bone?

Does it count if it wasn’t his? He once dared Alex to do a backflip off a tree branch when they were at boarding school. Alex almost stuck the landing. He lost his balance and broke his wrist trying to catch himself. Alex said it was epic and thought it was the funniest thing ever.

Have they ever been in trouble with the law?

Nothing that having diplomatic immunity couldn’t get him out of.

+ three other random facts about them!

He had a wild past and definitely partied, was not opposed to threesomes but he knew if he found the right person it would be only them.

Athena was the only person he ever said I love you to, and he hadn’t even meant to say it when he did. He was trying to calm her like he always did and it just slipped out. He was seriously scared that day but he would never tell her that. When she said she might be pregnant his biggest fear was that it was his and she wouldn’t choose him.

With the amount of trouble he and Alex caused at boarding school he was lucky he didn’t get expelled.

Tagging: @sirbeepsalot @stopforamoment @janezillow @bella-ca @itsalliepg @indiacater @innerpostmentality (sorry if you’ve already been tagged.)

[masked-alien-lesbian]

Sooo don't expect pb or even ILW quality lol, this was just something I've been working on for a week now. I've always disliked canon TRR mc and had my own headcanon of Riley (mc) having a sister (Raelyn) that tags along with her to Cordonia. Raelyn ends up with Hana and treats her much better than canon mc did. This is what meeting Hana looked like with twin mcs.

Anyway, this was for my own self-indulgence, lol. It took forever, and I have even more respect for the ILW team now. If this was playable, I figure this would only be like 5 minutes or so. If I'm not lazy, I'll probably do some more of these.

@lizzybeth1986

[sfb123]

6, 7, and 12 for Liam and Riley from the Halloween questions, please! 💕💕

I feel like we should be opening these asks by saying trick-or-treat lmao

Halloween OTP Questions

6. Do they love trick or treating? If they’re adults, what excuse do they use to go trick or treating? If they don’t go trick or treating, do they love when kids come to their house asking for candy?

Shock of all shocks, Liam never really got to trick or treat growing up. According to Constantine, it was not proper for a prince to go door to door begging his subjects for candy.

One Halloween when Liam was little, Constantine was out of town, so Eleanor had some of the staff set up in different parts of the palace, and took Liam for the best version of trick or treating that she could.

For he and Riley's first Halloween, he took that memory and turned it into a new tradition, so on the weekend before Halloween, he invited the Cordonian children to trick or treat at the palace. There would be members of the nobility and the Royal Council scattered around the palace, handing out candy to the kids.

Riley loved this tradition because she loves Halloween, and trick or treating. Before she came to Cordonia, she loved giving out candy and gushing over the little kids in their adorable costumes. She always does the same thing when the kids come to the palace, and before they had Eleanor, she would always tell Liam which costumes she would 'definitely' be putting their kids in, and which ones were never going to happen.

Once Eleanor and David came along, they got to participate in the official palace trick or treat, but Liam wanted better for them then he had, so when they got old enough, he would always make it a point to open up his and Riley's schedules so that they could take the kids trick or treating, either in Cordonia, or they would fly to the states so they could experience it the way their mother did. Plus, they were able to stay a little lower key and fly under the radar trick or treating in the US.

7. Do they watch horror movies during Halloween or do they watch normal movies? Which ones and why?

They watch a few of the classics, some of the Halloweens, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th. Freddy vs. Jason, but mostly to rag on it. Liam had seen a couple of horror movies with Drake when they were younger, but for the most part, Riley was introducing him to them. He got frustrated at one point, because he noticed that she would always look at him right before something big would happen (so she could see his reaction) and it would ruin the surprise. The one horror franchise that Riley absolutely refuses to entertain in any way shape or for, is the Child's Play. She has been terrified of Chucky her entire life, and she can't even look at him without freaking out. She told Liam about this, but swore him to secrecy because she knew if that information found its way to certain people, it would be used against her (see the next answer below).

In non-horror Halloween viewing, aside from Nightmare Before Christmas (which she makes him watch for both Halloween and Christmas, and sometimes just on a random day outside of either holiday season), Riley makes Liam watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown every year. As a matter of fact, she has made it an annual tradition for every holiday that has a Peanuts special, that they will watch said holiday special. Liam loves how excited she gets to watch them, but he always feels bad for that poor Charlie Brown, and doesn't understand what everyone has against him.

"Why do those adults keep rocks in their home just to give to that one boy when he comes trick or treating? What did he ever do to them?"

12. Do they play jump scare pranks on each other, play jump scare parks on other people together or are they the ones being played jump scare pranks on?

Riley has tried to do jump scare pranks on Liam, but he's way too aware of his surroundings for it to ever be satisfying, so she just gave up.

Riley on the other hand, scares almost too easily. If she's walking down the hall and someone just happens to be opening a door or walking around the corner, she'll scream and jump ten feet in the air, sometimes even ending up on the floor. Even though he doesn't mean to do it, Liam always feels awful when he's the cause for it. Not that he doesn't laugh a little every time it happens.

Of course, once Drake found this out about Riley, he took full advantage of it. He scares the shit out of her every chance he gets. Riley tries to reciprocate, but he knows she's trying so she seldom succeeds. But those times that she does, she gets him good, and she rubs it in his face for weeks.

They have both tried to get Liam to help scare the other, but he has taken a hard stance against it. He would never plot against his wife or his best friend. Not to mention his fear of retaliation from either.

Thank you so much for the ask @queenrileyrose! 🧡🖤🎃

[ernestsinclairs]

How Rich are You?? - TRR Edition

Welcome to the MONEY Series, where I draw up how rich everybody is. Here, I estimate how rich all the TRR LIs are because literally everyone likes cash, not just me. Note, I used dollars because they’re easiest to understand. 

Liam: I could have a single brain cell and still be able to tell you that Liam is rich as ****. This wonderful man is a royal, and a royal with actual geopolitical and economic power at that. This dude owns a palace . . . and a private royal estate 

(Applewood) . . . and his own private honeymoon island. Now, many royals with actual power have private investments generating income, like the royals of Liechtenstein, Monaco, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc. I can only assume Liam and the Cordonian royal family is the same. Liam definitely has those business assets, land, houses, royal jewels/art/regalia that he’s going to drape us in. This dude is RICH af. He’s most likely in one of the top royal families of Europe money wise, seeing as Cordonia does a lot of rich people business like wineries and casinos and luxury vacation crap.

NET WORTH:  $1 billion to $1.8 billion

Maxwell: What our beautiful sweet boy here lacks in brain cells, he makes up for in money. Sort of. Now, as a lord, he’d be rich by default, but let’s remember that House Beaumont is broke like the rest of us. Second of all, Bertrand most likely got most of the inheritance and control on the purse strings (thank god he did on the last one). However, Maxwell did kind of write a hit bestseller book about us, so we’ll have to give him that.

NET WORTH: $15 - $30 million (Bertrand probably has more. Combined, the entire House Beaumont has about $250 million in total assets from EVERYTHING, not including debts and liabilities, cause that would just get too darn depressing. As a side note, many ducal families get income from agriculture and other activities on their lands, as well as real estate portfolios all across Europe, so I factored this in.)

Hana: Okie. This can get tricky. Looking at all the stuff about her, it’s pretty safe to say that most of the money behind Hana is tied up in her parents, especially her dad’s business in Hong Kong. So, I’m estimating her mom, good ol’ Lorelei’s lands and fortunes, which will definitely go to her. That earldom is smaller than House Beaumont’s duchy, so I factored it in.

NET WORTH: $159 million (worth of earldom)

Drake: Okay, I’m going to be real. Did Drake ever really have a job before the whole Royal Council thing? Or did he mooch off of Liam and the royal family? My guess is the latter. Now, I’m going to go ahead and estimate that the salary is like $180k. But he’s been on there for like a month. That’s two paychecks.

NET WORTH: $13,800, the amount of two paychecks. (I mean, it really should be like two bucks after he buys the finest whiskey money can buy cause boy does this man like his whiskey)

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@aworldoffandoms @bailey-choices @emomoustache