#by the time i hate quit Smallville the first time i felt like Lex's feelings were totally unrequited

[lexkent]

fellas

[davidmann95]

Superman’s 10 Best of the ‘10s

Good Miracle Monday, folks! The first third Monday of May of a new decade for that matter, and while that means that today in the DC Universe Superman just revealed his secret identity to the world on the latest anniversary of that time he defeated the devil, in ours it puts a capstone on a solid 10 years of his adventures now in the rear view mirror, ripe for reevaluation. And given there’s a nice solid ‘10′ right there I’ll go ahead with the obvious and list my own top ten for Superman comics of the past decade, with links in the titles to those I’ve spoken on in depth before - maybe you’ll find something you overlooked, or at least be reminded of good times.

A plethora of honorable mentions: I’m disqualifying team-ups or analogue character stories, but no list of the great Superman material of the last decade would be complete without bringing up Cave Carson Has A Cybernetic Eye #7, Avengers 34.1, Irredeemable, Sideways Annual #1, Supreme: Blue Rose, Justice League: Sixth Dimension, usage of him in Wonder Twins, (somewhat in spite of itself) Superior, from all I’ve heard New Super-Man, DCeased #5, and Batman: Super Friends. And while they couldn’t quite squeeze in, all due praise to the largely entertaining Superman: Unchained, the decades’ great Luthor epic in Superman: The Black Ring, a brilliant accompaniment to Scott Snyder’s work with Lex in Lex Luthor: Year of the Villain, the bonkers joy of the Superman/Luthor feature in Walmart’s Crisis On Infinite Earths tie-in comics, Geoff Johns and John Romita’s last-minute win in their Superman run with their final story 24 Hours, Tom Taylor’s quiet criticism of the very premise he was working with on Injustice and bitter reflection on the changing tides for the character in The Man of Yesterday, the decades’ most consistent Superman ongoing in Bryan Miller and company’s Smallville Season 11, and Superman: American Alien, which probably would have made the top ten but has been dropped like a hot potato by one and all for Reasons. In addition are several stories from Adventures of Superman, a book with enough winners to merit a class of its own: Rob Williams and Chris Weston’s thoughtful Savior, Kyle Killen and Pia Guerra’s haunting The Way These Things Begin, Marc Guggenheim and Joe Bennett’s heart-wrenching Tears For Krypton, Christos Gage and Eduardo Francisco’s melancholy Flowers For Bizarro, Josh Elder and Victor Ibanez’s deeply sappy but deeply effective Dear Superman, Ron Marz and Doc Shaner’s crowdpleasing Only Child, and Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine DeLandro’s super-sweet Mystery Box.

10. Greg Pak/Aaron Kuder’s Action Comics

Oh, what might’ve been. In spite of an all-timer creative team I can’t justify listing this run any higher given how profoundly and comprehensively compromised it is, from the status quo it was working with to the litany of ill-conceived crossovers to regular filler artists to its ignominious non-ending. But with the most visceral, dynamic, and truly humane take on Clark Kent perhaps of all time that still lives up to all Superman entails, and an indisputably iconic instant-classic moment to its name, I can’t justify excluding it either.

9. Action Comics #1000

Arguably the climax to the decade for the character as his original title became the first superhero comic to reach a 1000th issue. While any anthology of this sort is a crapshoot by nature, everyone involved here seemed to understand the enormity of the occasion and stepped up as best they could; while the lack of a Lois Lane story is indefensible, some are inevitably bland, and one or two are more than a bit bizarre, by and large this was a thoroughly charming tribute to the character and his history with a handful of legitimate all-timer short stories.

8. Faster Than A Bullet

Much as Adventures of Superman was rightfully considered an oasis amidst the New 52′s worst excesses post-Morrison and in part pre-Pak, few stories from it seem well-remembered now, and even at the time this third issue inexplicably seemed to draw little attention. Regardless, Matt Kindt and Stephen Segovia’s depiction of an hour in the life of Superman as he saves four planets first thing in the morning without anyone noticing - while clumsy in its efforts at paralleling the main events with a literal subplot of a conversation between Lois and Lex - is one of the best takes I can recall on the scope on which he operates, and ultimately the purpose of Clark Kent.

7. Man and Superman

Seemingly geared on every front against me, built as it was on several ideas of how to handle Superman’s origin I legitimately hate, and by a writer whose work over the years has rarely been to my liking, Marv Wolfman and Claudio Castellini’s Man and Superman somehow came out of nowhere to be one of my favorite takes on Clark Kent’s early days. With a Metropolis and characters within it that feel not only alive but lived-in, it’s shocking that a story written and drawn over ten years before it was actually published prefigured so many future approaches to its subject, and felt so of-the-moment in its depiction of a 20-something scrambling to figure out how to squeeze into his niche in the world when it actually reached stores.

6. Brian Bendis’s run

Controversial in the extreme, and indeed heir to several of Brian Bendis’s longstanding weaknesses as a writer, his work on The Man of Steel, Superman, and Action Comics has nevertheless been defined at least as much by its ambition and intuitive grasp of its lead, as well as fistfuls of some of the best artistic accompaniment in the industry. At turns bombastic space action, disaster flick, spy-fi, oddball crime serial, and family drama, its assorted diversions and legitimate attempts at shaking up the formula - or driving it into new territory altogether, as in the latest, apparently more longterm-minded unmasking of Clark Kent in Truth - have remained anchored and made palatable by an understanding of Superman’s voice, insecurities, and convictions that go virtually unmatched.

5. Strange Visitor

The boldest, most out-of-left-field Superman comic of the past 10 years, Joe Keatinge took the logline of Adventures of Superman to do whatever creators wanted with the character and, rather than getting back to a classic take absent from the mainline titles at the time as most others did, used the opportunity for a wildly expansive exploration of the hero from his second year in action to his far-distant final adventure. Alongside a murderer’s row of artists, Keatinge pulled off one of the few comics purely about how great Superman is that rather than falling prey to hollow self-indulgence actually managed to capture the wonder of its subject.

4. Superman: Up In The Sky

And here’s the other big “Superman’s just the best” comic the decade had to offer that actually pulled it off. Sadly if reasonably best-known for its one true misfire of a chapter, with the increasing antipathy towards Tom King among fans in general likely not helping, what ended up overlooked is that this is a stone-cold classic on moment of arrival. Andy Kubert turns in work that stands alongside the best of his career, Tom King’s style is honed to its cleanest edge by the 12-pager format and subject matter, and the quest they set their lead out on ends up a perfect vehicle to explore Superman’s drive to save others from a multitude of angles. I don’t know what its reputation will end up being in the long-term - I was struck how prosaic and subdued the back cover description was when I got this in hardcover, without any of the fanfare or critic quotes you’d expect from the writer of Mister Miracle and Vision tackling Superman - but while its one big problem prevents me from ranking it higher, this is going to remain an all-timer for me.

3. Jeff Loveness’s stories Help and Glasses

Cheating shamelessly here, but Jeff Loveness’s Help with David Williams and Glasses with Tom Grummett are absolutely two halves of the same coin, a pair of theses on Superman’s enduring relevance as a figure of hope and the core of Lois and Clark’s relationship that end up covering both sides of Superman the icon and Superman the guy. While basically illustrated essays, any sense of detached lecturing is utterly forbidden by the raw emotion on display here that instantly made them some of the most acclaimed Superman stories of the last several years; they’re basically guaranteed to remain in ‘best-of’ collections from now until the end of time.

2. Superman Smashes The Klan

A bitter race for the top spot, but #2 is no shame here; while not quite my favorite Superman story of the past ten years, it’s probably the most perfectly executed. While I don’t think anyone could have quite expected just *how* relevant this would be at the top of the decade, Gene Yang and Gurihiru put together an adventure in the best tradition of the Fleischer shorts and the occasional bystander-centered episodes of Batman: The Animated Series to explore racism’s both overt and subtle infections of society’s norms and institutions, the immigrant experience, and both of its leads’ senses of alienation and justice. Exciting, stirring, and insightful, it’s debuted to largely universal acknowledgement as being the best Superman story in years, and hopefully it’ll be continued to be marketed as such long-term.

1. Grant Morrison’s Action Comics

When it came time to make the hard choice, it came in no small part down to that I don’t think we would have ever seen a major Golden Age Superman revival project like Smashes The Klan in the first place if not for this. Even hampering by that godawful Jim Lee armor, inconsistent (if still generally very good) art, and a fandom that largely misunderstood it on arrival can’t detract from that this is Grant Morrison’s run on a Superman ongoing, a journey through Superman’s development as a character reframed as a coherent arc that takes him from Metropolis’s most beaten-down neighborhoods to the edge of the fifth dimension and the monstrous outermost limits of ‘Superman’ as a concept. It launched discussions of Superman as a corporate icon and his place relative to authority structures that have never entirely vanished, introduced multiple all-time great new villains, and made ‘t-shirt Superman’ a distinct era and mode of operation for the character that I’m skeptical will ever entirely go away. No other work on the character this decade had the bombast, scope, complexity, or ambition of this run, with few able to match its charm or heart. And once again, it was, cannot stress this enough, Grant Morrison on an ongoing Superman book.

[mysterylover123]

My Top 10 Christmas Episodes

mysterylover123

Everyone has a favorite Christmas Episode. That time of year from your favorite shows where the characters celebrate the holidays along with you, usually accompanied by big changes in their lives, gaudy decorations, and creative traditions. I’ve included my top 10 here, along with some honorable mentions. I’ve excluded Christmases I liked from book/film/comic book series, thought I think in 2 years time there will be a grand new edition to the list (aka My Hero Academia). Hope you all like them and have a Merry Christmas! 

#10. Futurama “Xmas Story” Airdate: 12/19/1999

I don’t broadcast it much, but I love classic Futurama. This little gem of a Christmas episode - sorry, X-mas episode - is a common staple of “Best Christmas Episode” lists, and for good reason. It’s one of those “dark” Christmas stories, featuring a murderous Santa Claus robot, Fry dealing with being 1000 years in the future where his old traditions have died, and some good bonding moments among the cast of Planet Express. I particularly like the “gift of the Magi” joke with Amy and Hermes, and the Harold Lloyd reference with Fry on the clock tower.  

#9. X-Men Evolution “On Angel’s Wings” Airdate: 12/15/2001

X-Men Evolution is a nostalgic favorite of mine - my introduction to the X-men in high school, the first show I ever read fanfiction for, etc. It’s Christmas episode has a very warm feeling to it, a rare dip into sentimentality for the show. It deals with Scott and Rogue going to recruit Angel for the X-Men while the others are home for the holidays, and clashing with Magneto in their attempts to do so. I’m always down for an episode focused on Rogue, and her bond with Scott over being the X-Men without families to go home to is great. The little montage that ends the episode always puts a smile on my face.

#8. The Simpsons “Holidays of Future Passed”  Airdate: 12/11/2011

I heard this one was thought of as a potential series finale for The Simpsons, as a bit of closure for their premiere (another christmas Episode, “Simpsons Roasting on an Open fire”, which I like but find a little too ‘early Simpsons’ to make the list.). Honestly, I wish it had been. Modern Simpsons is generally such a mess, it would’ve been nice to see it get such a dignified end in Season 23. This one is a great little trip to the future of the family, and it really feels like a nice vision of what could become of them somewhere down the line. I like that this one gives Homer a chance to be a good grandad, and a bonding moment between Lisa and Bart. I hope this is where they really do end up.

#7. Frasier “Frasier Grinch” Airdate: 12/19/1995

Frasier is the only show that ended up landing 2 Christmas episodes in my Top 10. And I felt I still had to cut a few of them that could’ve made the list easily. This series really had a knack for the Christmas episode. My 2nd favorite, obviously, is this little offering from Season 3, which deals with Frasier trying to get Freddy gifts in time for the holiday when the ones he ordered got misdirected. It ends up touching on an aspect of the holidays I wish would get covered a little more often: when you buy others Christmas gifts, are you getting them what they actually want, or just what you think they should want? Overbearing Frasier has made this blunder, and the episode helps him learn that lesson. Though as usual Niles steals the show. Niles in a toy store trying out a doofy hat is more than worth the #7 spot.

#6. Friends “The One with the Christmas in Tulsa” Airdate: 12/12/2002

Friends has a lot of Christmastime episodes, but most of them are just kinda coincidentally set around the holidays. Only a few stand out as actual “Christmas Episodes”. While I enjoy “Holiday Armadillo”’s comedy and “Creepy Holiday card”’s sentimentality, my standout favorite is this one, the last Christmas episode they did, perhaps because Chandler and Monica are my favorites on the show and their romance is the OTP. This one deals with Chandler away from home, working on Christmas at a job he hates and being separated from Monica. Through some clips and a bit of soul searching, he decides to finally quit the job he hates and pursue something he wants to do. It’s a great example of how to do a clip show/Christmas episode well, move characters forward, and remind us of why we love these two together.

#5. Buffy “Amends” Airdate: 12/15/1998

This one would probably be higher if there wasn’t so much Bangel melodrama in the last 10 minutes (sorry fans, I really hate Bangel). But the rest of it is more than good enough to put Buffy’s sole Christmas episode at #5 for me. What I love the most about this one is, well, the ‘amends’ of the title. Xander starts making up for 3 seasons of douchebaggery by being a good friend. Willow makes up with Oz. Buffy makes up with Faith. That latter one puts the biggest smile on my face of the bunch; it’s bittersweet, given what happens, but when Faith shows up on Buffy’s doorstep with presents for her and Joyce, my small Grinch heart grows three sizes each time. Definitely a must-watch.

#4. Parks and Recreation “Christmas Scandal” Airdate: 12/10/2009

Parks and Rec has 3 Christmas episodes and they’re all pretty good. I debated between this one and “Ron and Diane”, but since that one is more about Ron’s award ceremony, I decided to go with Season 2′s. This one is a very “Parks and Rec” kinda Christmas, dealing with Leslie getting involved in a dumb sex scandal, the Parks department putting on a “Winter wonderland” on Lot 48, some dating drama about Ann and Leslie and their boyfriends (At this point, since Ben and Chris weren’t around yet, Mark and Dave), and a very cute hug between a pre-marriage April and Andy. The biggest win in this one is the sheer Christmas atmosphere. It practically glows off the screen.

#3. How I Met Your Mother “False Positive” Airdate: 12/13/2010

HIMYM is another one with a lot of candidates, but “False Positive” really stands out to me as something special. It’s essentially an “It’s a wonderful life”-style story (as they’re going to see the movie) where Lily’s false positive pregnancy test inspires the friend group to each choose the more responsible path in life of their two choices, only to chicken out when the false part of the title is revealed. The way the episode ends is absolutely spectacular, a standout moment to me among the series’ many strong character moments, and leads to strong development for all around going forward. Definitely a highlight of HIMYM’s 6th season, and an episode full of  Christmas imagery, soul-searching, and classic plotlines.

#2. Frasier “The Fight Before Christmas” Airdate: 12/16/1999

My favorite Frasier Christmas episode feels like it combines a little bit of everything that makes the other ones good: a KACL office Christmas party with a whacky theme (we finally see it instead of having it going on in the background!), Frasier being pompous about Christmas celebrations and ending up karmically punished for it, a comedic scenario which crafts a comedy of errors, Martin’s decorating. In many ways though, the highlight of this one is how deftly it handles the romance reveal from the previous episode between Niles and Daphne. in the midst of all the crappy Christmas rom coms, it’s easy to forget how strong a good Christmas set romance can be, and the moment of tension as Daphne tries to reject Niles but just can’t quite do it is a standout for me. Definitely my favorite of Frasier’s 8 xmas episodes.

Hon. Mentions: Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire, Batman Christmas with the Joker and Holiday Knights, Frasier Perspectives on Christmas, Parks and Rec Ron and Diane, HIMYM How Lily Stole Christmas.

#1. Smallville “Lexmas” Airdate: 12/8/2005

This one isn’t just a Christmas episode. It’s pretty much the Ultimate Christmas episode. Where to begin? A fancy Christmas party jam-packed with colorful decor. Superman - Clark - delivering presents as Santa for the Daily Planet. Clark talking/saving a depressed mall Santa (or is he real?) from committing suicide with an emotional heart to heart. Sweet family Christmas  celebrations (right before tragedy strike in the next episode). But of course, the real highlight of this one is Lex’s Alternate Reality fantasy. After getting shot, the titular Luthor has a vision of what his life could be like if he did the right thing, essentially an “It’s a Wonderful Life” style alternate reality. However, that reality ends in tragedy, and the tragic twist of the episode is that instead of leading the Grinch’s heart to grow, the Christmas dream only serves to help solidify Luthor’s fall to the dark side. It is certainly juxtaposed with enough holiday magic and hope to offset that depressing ending, but I will admit to liking a bit of subversion in my stories now and then. Everything Christmas episodes could have is jam-packed into this episode. 

[impala666]

It’s For Protection Lex Luthor x reader

I just started watching Smallville for the first time and I love Lex, even though I think I figured out what happens between Lex and Clark. But in this fic the reader is Clark’s adoptive sister and is in a secret relationship with her brother’s best friend, Lex Luther. 

Your dad had asked you to take a delivery of produce and flowers to the Luthor mansion because Clark was busy, so you said yes like the good daughter that you were and took the pick-up truck to the mansion. The other reason you had said that you would do this favor for your dad was because it had been a few days since you had seen Lex, he had been pretty busy with trying to start up his own company as well as keep it out of his father’s sticky hands. When you drove up to the front door and knocked, no one answered so you had no choice but to use the key that Lex gave you and let yourself in. You had walked the mansion’s halls numerous times, and every time you were amazed by the fancy walls and the many elaborate paintings that were hung on them. Without thinking to knock you grabbed the handles of the double doors to Lex’s office and strolled right in and the sight you saw was Lex Luthor, sitting behind his desk, with his feet on the desk, and phone to his ear. When he saw you he flashed you a quick, bright smile before he finished with who ever he was speaking to. “Of course, thank you. I look forward to talking to you soon.” Lex smiled at you again as he hung up the call. “Well if it isn’t Ms. Kent. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“What? Am I not allowed to visit you?” You scoffed as you placed your bag down and walked behind the desk to him.

“Of course you are, it’s just it’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”

“It’s only been a few days,” You gently placed your hands on his shoulders. Your words sounded muffled when you placed your lips to the top of Lex’s shiny, bald head.

“Which is way too long,” Lex closed his eyes in bliss and relaxation as you continued your hands down his chest and you lips to his neck and ear. He could feel the warmth and care of your hands through his dress shirt, as well as the warmth and softness of your lips against his skin which was driving him crazy.

“It’s not my fault we both have lives,” you bit his ear lobe one last time before you decided that you still needed to bring in the produce and flowers before this man turned the logic side of your brain to mush.

“Where do you think you’re going? I didn’t say we were done,” Lex sat up straight as he watched you walk back to the other side of the desk.

“And I don’t want to be, but before this goes any further I need to get your delivery from the truck.” You were about to turn toward the door, but him continuing to speak made you stop and turn to face him again.

“Don’t, I can just have someone else get it,” Lex shrugged it off.

“But I want to,” you rose your eyebrows at him. When you were at the mansion Lex never made you lift a finger or a toe which you always loved, but it still felt nice to do something and be needed once in a while.

“You are so stubborn, just like your brother and your father,” Lex threw his head back in exasperation and stood up from his seat behind the desk. “If you’re so animated to do all this heavy lifting I may as well help you.” Before you could say another word you turned around and walked out the door while he followed you.

“You know I like to do things and feel useful. Besides, I would prefer to get all of the heavy lifting done first instead of you distracting me and it not getting done at all. Do I need to remind you of last time?” You asked Lex as you opened the bed to the truck.

“Of course I do,” Lex chuckled at the memory. “You got halfway back home and remembered that you left everything in the back of the truck, and you panicked so you just dumped in the dam.” The more he continued with the story the longer and louder his laughter got.

“But at least you got a good night of it,” you chuckled in response. You took one box of the produce and turned around to walk back in the mansion while Lex grabbed the flowers and followed you back into his home.

“That I did, but I didn’t have fruit or vegetables for a week.” Lex defended.

“Wow for a genius and millionaire that can beat his father at his own game, I think that was your thinnest argument.” You glanced back at him when you heard Lex laugh again.

“Just put them down here,” Lex instructed once you reached the doorway to his office and he placed the flowers down just a little inside of the room like the many times he’s had Clark and you do in the past. After you placed the box down and stood back up, you felt arms wrap around your waist. “Now that that’s out of the way, what do you want to do?” Lex pecked a kiss to the side of your head and rested his head against your own.

“I don’t know,” you mused with a shrug. “What did you have in mind?” You turned your head slightly to look at him.

“Well before I knew you were coming here I was going to take a nice, hot bubble bath when I was done with my phone call.” He whispered in your ear and kissed just under your jaw the way that you liked.

“Hmmm, that sounds good,” you slurred in agreement while you got lost in Lex’s actions and smell.

“I’ll go draw the bath then,” you thought Lex was going to walk away from you when he started to walk away and take your hand. But he lightly tugged your hand to get you to follow him up the stairs. “There’s a bottle of champagne in the liquor cabinet that I have up here if you want to get it.”

“I think I will,” you told without a second thought. Even though you were under 21, Lex let you drink when you were with him, but only the smallest bit since you usually had to drive back home.

“I’ll meet you in the bathroom, then,” Lex let go of your hand and winked at you before walking away towards the bathroom.

“Okay,” you smiled like you were having the greatest dream of your life come true as you watched him walk away.

After you found the bottle of champagne for the two of you and found two classes, you made your to the bathroom. There he was, Alexander Luthor in all his glory, wearing absolutely nothing but a smirk. When he saw you walking in he held his hand out toward you. You took the hand and he brought you into him, when you were close enough Lex leaned down and wrapped his arms around your waist as he pressed his lips lovingly to yours. While he had you preoccupied, Lex ran his hands down to the button on your jeans and started undressing you. “I forgot something, go on ahead and get in.” Lex told you rubbing up and down your arms, and he reluctantly turned away to get whatever it was he needed. When you put just a toe in the water you could feel the heat and smell the chamomile salts he put in the water, the bubbles enveloped your foot as you entered the tub. As you sat back against the expensive porcelain you let out a long overdue relaxed sigh; you wished you had more time to take bubble baths but living in a house with 3 other people and having farming as a chore and school, you rarely had time. It had been a couple of minutes until you heard Lex’s footsteps walk back into the bathroom.

“What did you forget?” You opened an eye to watch him as you ran a hand through your hair. When you heard something being placed into another one you opened your other eye.

“I forgot the ice bucket,” he replied as he popped the cork and placed the bottle in the cold bucket next to the tub after he poured each of you a glass. He gestured for you to sit forward and he slid into the tub behind you.

“Thank you,” you smiled as Lex handed one of the glasses and then you took a sip. Lex was totally spoiling you; you weren’t even 21 and you were probably drinking the most expensive champagne. You didn’t actually know how much it costed, but if Lex Luthor had it, it must be super pricey. You reached to set the glass down and leaned back so that your head was against Lex’s chest and your forehead was against his neck. It was very quiet for quite some time, the water even got a little cold, but whenever that would happen Lex would just fill it up again with hot water. You were almost asleep when Lex started talking.

“You really needed this didn’t you?”

“I really did,” you answered him as your eyes fluttered open. “Before I came here Clark and I were moving bales of hay and bags of feed for two hours. My muscles are so sore.”

“Ohh, poor baby,” Lex soothed as he kissed your bare shoulder. “By the way, where is your brother?”

“Apparently he was busy,” you shrugged not thinking anything of it.

“So I got you instead of Clark? I might just prefer it that way.” Lex thought out loud to himself. Which made you chuckle because you knew that he was joking.

“Me too,” you agreed.

“Do you have to get back anytime soon?” He asked and you shook your head.

“I just have to be back by dinner, but no. Why?” You looked back at him.

“I just don’t want you to get in trouble or make us look suspicious.” You looked away in slight disappointment; you hated with everything in you that the two of you had to hide your relationship. You couldn’t take it anymore, you gathered yourself slightly and got up and out of the tub. “Y/N,” Lex tried to get you back into the tub and enjoy the time you had together right now. But you were already out of the tub and wrapping a towel around your body. Lex hated himself for opening his mouth as he watched you make your way out of the bathroom and to somewhere else in the mansion.

After you walked out of the bathroom, you found yourself laying on the leather couch in front of the fire place in Lex’s office still wearing your towel around your body. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” Lex sighed with relief once he found you in his office. “Are you okay?” That made you snap your head at him and the look you gave him was telling him that he should have known better, and you were right, he should have. Lex knew that you were having a hard time with keeping the relationship you had a secret from everyone that you loved and cared about deeply. “What are you thinking?” Lex asked, trying to get into your mind a little.

“Nothing,” you shrugged not turning to look at him.

“I know this is hard on you, hiding this is hard for me too.” Lex went to wrap his arms around your shoulders, but when you felt them getting closer you shook him off. Making Lex feel guilty, but also a little frustrated. “You know we can’t tell anyone yet. Clark’s my best friend and your brother, your dad still hates me, plus if my father ever found out I don’t even want to imagine how that would go…” Lex listed the reasons. He knew that if your dad found out that you were dating him, your dad probably wouldn’t look at you the same way.

“I just hate this, why can’t we be a real couple.” You were trying really hard not to get upset, but your voice wavered and your voice cracked while your eyes watered.

“I know, I know, I know,” Lex tried to soothe you even though on the inside he knew he wasn’t good at it. This time you let Lex wrap his arms around you and take you into his chest. “We just gotta keep it a secret a little while longer, be able to protect ourselves.”

[jupitermelichios]

Smallville S2E16: Fever

Giving actual emotions and human reactions to Smallville characters creates an effect not unlike those human-looking robots with moving faces. I didn’t even know you could do uncanny valley with normal humans...

Okay, why the fuck is Martha still hiding the key to Clark’s spaceship in the flour?! A) I don’t understand why she’s hiding it in the first place, B) there could all kinds of weird space germs on that thing!

Well she dropped a drink and it’s falling in slow motion – Martha is fucked. Told you you shouldn’t have been eating space-germ flour, moron!

Oh hey, it’s anger management doctor! I was really just expecting you to be gone as soon as you refused to have sex with Lex in any more cupboards.

Chloe Sullivan – world’s worst friend! At least she seems to feel bad about it this time! Maybe she’s growing as a person. (She’s definitely not growing as a person.)

Wait, Martha’s pregnant?! Honestly my biggest question is why? What do the writers think they’re going to achieve?

Wait, does Pete have superpowers?! He and kryptonite weakened Clark between them just pushed a truck out of a ditch. A truck containing a medium sized space-ship. That is definitely not normal human boy strength!

Oh good, it’s not space germs it’s fucking Kryptonite poisoning! Hurray for radiation sickness. What a shame the writers couldn’t be bothered to research the symptoms of radiation sickness!

Wait, we’re like a third of an episode in already and Jonathan Kent has acted like a reasonable human being the entire time! And Lex has a pleasant conversation with his ex. And Chloe got called on her bullshit. God, it’s almost like an actual professional writer worked on this one!

Oh good, now Clark has collapses. To be fair, all they ever seem to eat is cake and pie – Martha’s been feeding Clark Kryptonite for breakfast lunch and dinner ever since she quit working for Lionel, no wonder he’s got non-specific weakness.

Okay, I get that talking to people in a coma is a thing, but is talking out loud to people who are napping a thing? Is writing down your feelings on pink paper and reading them out loud to your napping friend when his dad is in the next room a thing? Because it shouldn’t be!

Wait, Chloe is complaining about being friendzoned. Why is everyone on this show a fucking proto-Incel?!

Okay, so Jonathan Kent is breaking into a government facility with patrolling police and the music has gone insanely dramatic and the who set up looking like a level from an MSG game! There’s patrolling guards, lots of even space cover, and Jonathan just got in by keeping pace with a truck and then rolling under a garage door just before it slammed shut.

This episode’s music has been brought to you by Stomp! (At least it makes a change from discount Nickleback).

Oh don’t bother showing us how barely conscious slowly dying Clark broke into the facility. I’m sure that wasn’t interesting or tense at all!

Oh my god the Kents are in a car chase with the fucking US Military. What the actual hell?! (Also once again, A+ use of your military sponsorship to make the army look like dicks!)

I love that that police officer had to check Pete Ross’s ID to make sure that this black teenager isn’t two white men one of them in his 40s.

Okay, so they got the spaceship to the hospital carpark and it conveniently exploded and healed Martha and Clark. They had no idea it was going to do that. Last time it exploded, Martha was touching it. Where they going to carry it through the hospital?! Smuggle Martha out?! WHAT WAS YOUR PLAN?!

I really hope anger management doctor doesn’t turn out to be evil, she and Lex are really cute together.

Wait, Chloe didn’t write out her confession, she printed it. She put pink paper into the school printer just so her secret confession no one was ever going to see was on pink paper. And obviously when Lana finds it in the bin she’s going to read it, because she’s a horrible person. Everyone in this show is a horrible person. Lex just purchases someone’s medical records illegally so he could spy on them so now even he’s a horrible person!

Oh good, Lana’s using the secret confession she found as leverage to try and get with Clark, while she knows Chloe is watching! Hurray! Guess their bonds of sisterly affection doesn’t matter compared to possibly dicking down with middle America’s worst Alien! God I hate Lana Lang.

You know, horrible as everyone was, this felt like a real episode of a real TV show rather than an extended terrible joke, and I’m not sure I like it. Giving the characters actual human emotions and dialogue really just emphasises how morally bankrupt they all are. At this point, being a dick with style is closest to good of the characters get, which I think makes Lionel Luthor the best person on the show. Really didn’t see that coming.

[obsessedauthorchan-blog]

Shakespearean Chapter 16

Title: Bigger

It was Monday again and Jason was so not ready for this. Though he hadn't procrastinated once, he was still up until the early hours of the morning working on perfecting his essay for this week. It had been an incredibly tough assignment for him, more so because of the topic, but he was sure that everyone in the class had probably struggled with this one. Since it followed logic that the difficulty would only progress as the class went on, Jason winced as he realized that this was only week three in a 15 week course. He had a very long road ahead of him.

He arrived early, as was his usual, but instead of greeting Clark and making conversation, he used his time to read back over his essay. He knew he couldn't really edit it, seeing as it was a printed word document and any changes he made would be obvious and detract from the professional look of the assignment, but he thought that maybe if he read through it and was satisfied then it would give him some peace of mind.

He wasn't satisfied. At all.

He sighed in resignation and looked up to see Clark watching him with a look of concern. "You look tired, Jason. You doing okay?"

Jason faked a smile and nodded. "Yeah, I was just up really late working on this." He waved his essay for Clark to see before setting it back on the desk. "They're just going to get harder, aren't they?"

Clark's lips twisted as he thought about how to answer for a moment. "Maybe. Some students will have an easier time after this, because now that they have all of their information and they better understand their topic, they'll have an easier time writing the future essays about it. Some topics, though, become more difficult the more you understand them and know about them."

"Why?" Jason thought that maybe he already knew the answer, but he still wanted to hear Clark's explanation for it.

"Well, I think that's because, with some topics, the more you know about it the deeper a connection you feel with the topic, and the more you understand it, the more you care about the issue. Human Trafficking is an especially difficult topic to know about. William Wilberforce once said, 'You may choose to look the other way, but you may never again say you did not know.' The more you know about that issue, the more you care about the victims, and the more you hate the sick people who do this to them. It makes sense that people would get tired of the topic after a certain amount of... exposure."

Jason nodded his understanding as Clark called the class to order. He agreed with Clark's answer, but he wasn't sure that was his main reason for particularly hating this topic. "Alright, everybody. Luckily for you, nobody will have to read their assignments aloud." The class gave a small cheer. "I'll just ask the class a few questions and then, since I'm required to teach you about kinds of journalism other than written, I have a documentary for you to watch." The class cheered again. "First question: how many of you felt you did manage to do a decent job of representing opposing sides with no bias?"

One of the cons of sitting in the front row was that you couldn't see anybody else in the class when people were raising their hands. You had to turn awkwardly, and obviously, to look over your shoulder at everybody else. No knowing how many others agreed with you was difficult under normal circumstances, but this topic, and assignment, had Jason wired. He swallowed thickly and raised his hand.

Nodding once, Clark began pacing slowly back and forth in front of the podium. "And how many of you found it to be difficult to do this assignment, whether or not you succeeded?" Just from the sounds of weight being shifted and clothing rustling, Jason could tell a whole lot more people raised their hands this time around, Jason among them.

Clark nodded again and paused for a moment, presumably to take in the information. "How many of you feel you have a better grasp of your topic after this assignment?"

A lot of people raised their hands this time too, but not quite as much as they had for the second question. "Well, that's good. That was the purpose of this assignment, in addition to the obvious stretching it would do for your journalism muscles. Sometimes, as journalists, you will be forced to represent an issue without taking sides. While the obvious goal of many journalists is to convince their audiences to agree with them, the main purpose of journalism should be, first and foremost, to inform them that the issue exists, and then let them make their own opinion from the facts." He stopped pacing and faced the class, a wistful smile gracing his lips. "I know that's an old-fashioned notion, but I believe it with all my heart."

The class was silent, either absorbing what Clark had said or just ignoring him entirely. Clark turned on the smart board on the back wall and set up the documentary. Jason tried really hard to pay attention to what it was about, the history of journalism or something, but he was more than a little distracted by his thoughts. He could see where Clark was coming from about letting people make up their own minds, but Jason really didn't see how there could be any other real response to Human Trafficking than that it's absolutely evil and should be stopped at any cost. Jason wondered if maybe that was why he had said it was an old-fashioned notion. Back in the day, maybe there weren't such complicated issues with so many sides to pick from. Or maybe you could just generally count more on people being decent and making good choices.

When the documentary was finally over (thank God, that narrator's voice was fucking annoying), Clark turned off the smart board and faced the class. "So how did you like it?"

The class groaned. Apparently, they agreed with Jason.

Clark laughed and nodded. "I know, they really need to get a new narrator." Clark had just become even cooler in Jason's mind. "I really am sorry, but information from this video will be tested on in a quiz in a few weeks. It has to be done, my friends." Clark snickered through another round of groans from the class and moved on. "Your assignment this week is to write a paragraph. Yes, you heard me right. A paragraph. Sometimes, as a journalist, you might get enough room to write a couple thousand words, but many times you won't. All great issues can be summed up into a few sentences. Your job is to do just that. Explain your issue, pick a story to tell, I don't really care. You're assignment is to write one paragraph, no more than 200 words, that accurately gets across your issue to the reader."

Jason sighed, wondering how he was going to pull this off. Two hundred words sounded like a lot, but it really wasn't. He'd learned as much from NaNoWriMo.

"For the lesson this week, I'm going to tell you a story. It's a great story, very interesting, really. It's the story of how I decided to become a journalist." Clark pulled the chair out from behind his desk, turning it around and straddling it so he faced the class. He folded his arms on the back of the chair, cleared his throat, and began. "I was raised in a Podunk town in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas. The great farming town of Smallville - yes, it is really called Smallville - had a population of barely 1000 people. One high school, one middle school, one elementary school, one library, one post office, two banks, one grocery store, etc. People in good ol' Smallville didn't really get out much. Ninety percent of the people who lived there had never been farther than Kansas City, and I only knew two families who'd ever been to Metropolis.

"One of those families had a son a few years older than me. His name was Lex, and he was a good friend of mine. He and his dad traveled back and forth between Smallville and Metropolis a lot, and it seemed to me like he knew everything that was happening in the world when I didn't know a thing. Lex taught me to investigate things, to discover things. He encouraged and facilitated my curiosity in a time when most people in Smallville would rather we all kept to ourselves.

"Lex moved to Metropolis for good when I was starting high school, and in an attempt to prolong and honor my friendship with him as much as possible, I joined my high school's newspaper. Instead of reporting on who was dating who or how the crops were coming that season, I did what I could to find out as much about the world as I could and tell everyone in my high school about it. I fell in love with keeping others informed. And when I moved to Gotham City for university, I discovered that journalism was basically what I'd been doing all that time. So I became a journalist so I could continue telling people about the bigger issues, the things in this world that go beyond individuals.

"So the lesson for this week is this: there are people all over the world who have no idea what is happening outside of their corner of it. They are completely ignorant of anything that isn't happening to them, at their home, in their community. It is your job, as a journalist or even as just a person who has things that you are passionate about, to tell the world about what's important. Inform them. Make them care. If you don't, who will?"

Jason nodded along with the rest of the class, realizing why Clark gave them all topics that most people didn't know or care about. "And one more thing, guys. Always remember that the world is bigger than you are." Clark cleared his throat once more and took a deep breath. "Class dismissed. Turn in your essays on my desk to be graded as you leave the room. Good luck with your paragraphs."

Jason filed out of the room with everybody else, dropping his essay on the stack. As he headed out into the world, Jason couldn't help but wonder why Clark's last words, "The world is bigger than you are," had made him feel convicted.

[babygirl06301]

Random (but fun?!) questions relevant to two of your/our fandom obsessions :) Smallville or Charmed overall? Clois or Phole (Phoebe/Cole)? Your three favorite characters from Smallville? Three favorite characters from Charmed? (In order, if possible!) What are your top 2-3 OTPs, NOTPs and Brotps from each show? And name five unpopular opinions about both Charmed and Smallville! Have fun :)

I love your asks! They’re always so fun! Okay, here we goooooo! (that was meant to be in Peter Pan’s voice, just so you know!)

Smallville or Charmed?

So, I’ve gotta go with Charmed on this one. As much as I love Smallville, Charmed is my ultimate nostalgia show. I’ve been watching it since I was a kid, I’ve seen it through multiple times, I know it like the back of my hand, and it never gets old. It’s super special to me, so because of that, I gotta go with Charmed.

Clois or Phole?

Again, simply for the nostalgia factor, I have to go with Phole. Although, taking out the nostalgia factor, this is actually super hard for me to answer. I do love a tumultuous romance, and that goes to Phole, for sure, but I’m also a sucker for a super slow burn, and that’s definitely Clois. I remember I waited for so long, since the first season, actually, for Lois to enter the show/for Clark and her to get together. However, overall, the relationship that has the most passion and fire is Phole, so they’ve gotta be the winners of this question!

3 favorite characters?

Smallville

1. Lois 

2. Clark

3. Chole

**runner-ups include: Oliver, Lex, and Zod**

Charmed

1. Paige

2. Piper

3. Phoebe

**runner-ups include: Prue, Chris, Cole, and Leo**

OTPs, NOTPs, and Brotps!

Smallville

OTPs

1. Clois (obviously!!)

2. Chlollie (I always thought they fit together in a beautifully unexpected way)

3. Chimmy (^ that being said, Chloe and Jimmy were also adorable!)

NOTPs

1. Clana (like I said above, I waited for Clois since season 1, soooo....)

2. Chlavis (Chloe and Davis came at the wrong time for me, I think)

3. Grois (I mean, Lois and Grant’s ship name sounds like “gross”, so yeah)

Brotps

1. Clark and Oliver (I loved their little superhero powwow moments!)

2. Clark and Lex (I did also love the bit of ironic friendship that was there)

3. Lois and Chloe (most badass ladies on the block!)

Charmed

OTPs

1. Piper and Leo (just one of those endless, unbreakable loves)

2. Phoebe and Cole (so much passion and excitement)

3. Paige and Henry (I loved their sort of gentle, loving romance)

NOTPs

1. Paige and Glenn (honestly, I preferred them as friends)

2. Prue and Jack (they were okay, they were just never it for me)

3. Piper and Dan (because... just no)

Brotps

1. Halliwell sisters (of course!! The best brotp there is!)

2. Cole and Leo (a classic demon-angel tag-team!)

3. Phoebe and Leo (dunno, I just always appreciated the love there)

Unpopular opinions

**honestly, I’m not super involved in either fandom, so these may not be unpopular, but I’ll give it a go!**

Smallville

1. I hate Lana. Honestly, I don’t know what it is, but I hate her. She always rubbed me the wrong way. I think it’s the self-righteousness... anyway.

2. I sort of felt like Lex’s purpose toward the end of the show was lost on me. Like, the last season Lex was seen on (besides the finale, obviously), was season 7. I didn’t really see much merit in having him on the show that long. It would’ve been more effective, to me, to have him leave the show earlier on.

3. I didn’t much like Tess. Not because she bothered me for a specific reason, but because she didn’t have much to her character. Like, she was just boring to me, I guess.

4. Same thing with Kara. Which is strange to say about Supergirl, but there ya go.

5. I didn’t like the Justice League episodes. I get they were trying to usher Clark into the present day Superman that we know, but those episodes were so dull.

Charmed

1. I prefer Paige over Prue. I don’t think this is unpopular, as most people seem to prefer her, but the people don’t get really mad about it, so that’s why I’m putting it down.

2. I never liked Christy’s addition to the show. In adding Billie, they sort of had to give her her own plotline, but they really didn’t hit it right with Christy. It’s just a storyline that I was never on board with.

3. I wanted more of Phoebe and Coop. They were just never developed enough for their relationship to seem good enough for an endgame relationship. That being said, I love Coop and I would’ve loved him for Phoebe even more if they’d brought him in in season 7 and developed him more. I just feel very deprived.

4. I didn’t like Inspector Sheridan. She felt really unnecessary and annoying to me.

5. Paige should’ve had more focus, Phoebe should’ve had less. The show overall has always seemed to have a Phoebe-centric focus, but it became quite obvious after Prue died. Phoebe’s romances (namely with Cole) gave her a front seat to almost every season. And, don’t get me wrong, I love Phoebe. But Phoebe-centric storylines came at the expense of fleshing out Paige’s character like it should’ve been. Basically, I’m bitter because Paige never got a center role like she deserved. Being part of the Power of Three, she should’ve gotten a more completed character focus like Prue, Piper, and Phoebe got.

That is all, folks! Thanks once again for the asks! It’s always nice to have these in my inbox! 

[wr8tur]

SUPERGIRL RANT TIME FULL 1

WARNING THIS IS GOING TO HURT FANS SO PLEASE SKIP IT

 I’ve been trying so hard not to disparage any pairings because I don’t want to hurt people’s feeling since we are all entitled to our opinions. And this is just my opinion so please do not hate and stop reading my fics because you don’t agree.

 I knew this show would not be pushing boundaries and it’s sad because they missed a lot of opportunities to. I wanted it to because we got a heroine stand alone TV show when we couldn’t even get a heroine stand alone movie! But then it wasn’t even a heroine stand alone TV show because Martian Manhunter is there and Superman and Flash appear too.

And I know other heroes made cameos on Smallville but that was like later on when the writers needed to extend plot and audience interest because Clark saving the day by himself wasn’t captivating enough.

 The only reason I stayed as long as I did was because of Cat Grant! I freaking loved how unapologetic she was, a perfect contrast to Kara, and a contributor to her personal growth as a character. And no, I didn’t ship them. I kind of saw it as a cross between a mother/daughter and a master/padawan relationship.

 And yes we have Sanvers but like I said that isn’t pushing boundaries. Alex is a character created for the show and Maggie is already out and proud in the comics.

 Doesn’t mean I don’t like either of them. I just mean that their homosexuality is a safe and obvious writing choice.

 What boundaries were really pressed when CW already greenlit Clexa (who I know ended but I’m blaming Fear the Walking Dead for that), bisexual White Canary, and Rafael Solano’s crazy ass sister? Point is girl on girl loving’s been around the CW for a while.

 But for Kara be with Mon El? The cliché of the girl next door falling in love with the bad boy while she’s helping reform him so he may change the error of his ways? I mean, come freaking on!

 That might have worked if this were a show about teenagers! But this isn’t The Breakfast Club or Dawson’s Creek because despite her name, Supergirl is not a girl. She’s a young woman who should know better than to fall prey to love interests who offer her no growth as a character because the only thing Mon El taught her is that MAYBE not all Daxamites are douchebags.

 And even then, that’s not a very big moral lesson for Kara to learn, seeing as she should already know it! She’s spent enough time on Earth to know about racism, sexism, and whatever else ism there might be.

 I suppose she’s learning to forgive, a lot. Because Mon makes a plethora of mistakes that people are supposed to just brush off because he’s from a distant planet and doesn’t know better. Basically, he’s like a child learning the ways of people on Earth hence why I think he’s infantile and frequently acts immature when he doesn’t get his way or he doesn’t understand why he’s wrong.

 I think the intention was for Mon to be a character that would push Kara to see the worst in herself so that she and the audience will realize she has faults and is far from perfect.

 He’s supposed to humanize her, make her more relatable for audiences because we don’t want pure and perfect. We want them a little damaged, broken along the edges. We want to be able to empathize, put an aspect of ourselves or something we aspire to be in a character so we’ll love them more.

 But I feel like the reason it doesn’t work is because it feels like he’s attacking her, who she is at her core and not just simply challenging her beliefs and ideals. He’s putting her down and it feels as though it’s so he can justify how cowardly and self centered he is. I find it hard to sympathize with the words of someone who really has no moral standing to be teaching a lesson seeing as it is coming from a petulant and narcissistic need to be right and superior than Kara rather than an actual helpful approach.

 I mean take Snapper Carr. He’s harsh with Kara but we can sense it’s because he wants to push her to be better. Mon just feels like he’s lashing out, retaliating, because Kara’s been calling him out on his obvious character flaws.

 Lena is the one who challenges not out of spite but out of a desire to educate. And maybe yes, she’s looking for sympathizers to her cause but her opposition mainly stems from intellectual differences and not solely emotional. Lena’s managed to engage Kara’s mind by offering different views about the bad aliens and bad people. Lena is teaching Kara that there are sides to every story, Lena is showing a different path/view than the one she knows and always follows, Lena is encouraging her to dig deep and think about things from another person’s perspective.

 If that isn’t character growth, I don’t know what is!

 Ugh… Let’s put this in genderless terms for those who may claim that I’m being biased because of the Katie McGrath issue.

 On one corner, we have someone who, may or not come from royal lineage which means they’ve been entitled their entire lives, gets stranded on a planet after discovering they might be the only one of their species left, has to adapt to the ways of the new habitat.

 Then on the other corner we have someone who’s been disparaged all their life, who has been earning the right to their name because they felt like they didn’t deserve it but then to find out that they do and now is solely responsible of bringing their entire lineage to the light, to rectify the mistakes of their entire family, by whatever means necessary, all on their own.

 And this person is choosing to do it simply because they believe it’s what they should be doing, not just because they are worried what a potential love interest/ best friend might feel.

 Because Lex spent a lot of his time feeling sorry for himself, only stepped up his game in Smallville after he met Clark. Besides, that episode where Lex got split in two made it seem like his evil side gained dominance over his good so it’s quite different from what Lena’s going through where she’s choosing the path for herself.

 Tell me, which character arc you’d want to see more?

 Because I’ve seen similar characters of the first one but I have yet to see a character who has been so close to actual darkness and have no one in their corner yet manage to retain some semblance of light all on their own?

 Because that’s who Lena is, a person who’s been struggling with darkness even before she met Kara, even before she may or not have fallen for Kara/Supergirl. She’s been alone because she’s been cast aside, repeatedly reminded she’s worthless and undeserving, but finds the strength within her to constantly prove everyone wrong and succumbs to no one’s ideals but her own.

 Which I know is hypocritical of me to demand since in my fics Lena’s reason for wanting to be better/good/not really evil has something to do with Kara.

 Then again she’s a proficient conniver in Winning Ways thus retaining the whole she’s not totally bad but she’s not totally good either thing I think she has going for her. Plus, she didn’t really change who she is so she can get Kara. I mean she totally used Kara’s weaknesses to her advantage so maybe not so hypocritical?

 Then again, my Lena’s never masked her intention in my fics. She’s always managed to let Kara know she’s her reason for doing things as opposed to Mon El’s approach of wanting to change just so he can be around Kara.

 I digress…

 Lena is a much more interesting character because even before the Luthors episode, her character already had so much going for her. She was already going through a struggle we hadn’t seen before because her freaking brother was a murderous psychopath who didn’t care who was in his way as long as he killed Superman. And yeah, Lionel killed his parents in Smallville so I’m guessing this universe’s Lionel is just as seedy.

 I didn’t even know Lena’s adoptive mom was alive, though I suspected, but I still wanted to see whether or not Lena was on the light or dark or gray. I was captivated by her character already.

 And now she’s wasted as secondary plot device….

 Maybe Mon is supposed to be the character we sympathize with? Maybe he’s the flawed individual who’s dripping with potential but needs guidance to realize his true purpose.

 Maybe if they had focused more on his adapting to human ways instead of combining the hero element, he would work more as a character because right now there are too many heroes on the field since we got a glimpse of Superman and now James wants to be a hero as well.

 Maybe I wouldn’t mind Mon and Kara KaraMel relationship if I didn’t feel it was so infantile and shallow and utterly predictable.

 Maybe if Mon was the rebellious headstrong beginner hero they intended him to be instead of the ignorant and arrogant conformist he’s coming off to be I wouldn’t feel such a need to ship Lena with Kara.

 Maybe if Mon had more time to grow, if they gave a full season for him to learn and evolve, he’d be a better character.

 Maybe if it felt like he would still be trying to be a better person and a hero regardless if Kara wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with him or not, hence the conformist comment, or confessed to Kara that she’s his reason for wanting to change then I’d respect his character.

 Maybe I’m just disappointed I haven’t found an on screen canon girl on girl couple I can totally be in love with.

 Maybe I’m just being greedy.

 Or maybe I just long for the day when I shouldn’t have to be grateful for a semi main gay character to be on a television show.

 In this day and age, I’m sick of the breadcrumbs.

 I know I’m just an amateur fanfiction writer and perhaps I’m being too harsh and critical and I’m sorry if it feels like I’m saying the cast and crew aren’t doing their jobs right. I know how hard writing can be. I know the writers are doing the best they can but it doesn’t feel like it’s enough.

 RANT TIME DONE

[cwdcshows]

Supergirl - S5 E7 - Tremors

Why wouldn't you use your inception contacts on your would be assassin from a shadow organization? Wait, Lex never found the Fortress?  Didn't he though?  Does Lena just not know this?  I could have sworn Tess was there too....

I know, I know, Mitch Pileggi has done a lot other things besides X-Files; and typecasting is a terrible thing.  But not matter what else I see him in, or even if I like his other roles, he'll always be Walter Skinner. What's with the Millennial jibes so far in this episode?  First, Skinner's girlfriend makes a crack about "the Snowflake generation," which seemed random; and then Brainiac comments about Self-culture.  These seems like pointless asides; especially considering you don't need "self-culture" to have footage of the Leviathan attack, when it occurs at a fucking press conference or whatever the hell Lena was doing out there at a podium that she made some poor intern schlep out there for.  You're telling me know one was taking video or photos for this purpose? Noah's flood? For someone who's spent so much time convincing the world he doesn't exist, there's still a surprisingly significant paper trail following him throughout history. But come on, dinosaurs went extinct roughly 65 million years ago and humans did begin to appear until roughly between 5-7 million years ago - that's a hell of a gap to just hang around on earth being the literal lord of the flies....and tiny rodents, etc. Man, either Kara's really dumb or Lena's a truly master manipulator; and I just can't decide whi.....Kara's really dumb.  Seriously, it was bad enough when Lena tricked her into stealing Lex's diary from lock-up; now she's giving away trade secrets left and right. Okay, I admit, under any other circumstances it shouldn't seem so unusual for Kara to be so trusting of a friend as to take them to the Fortress; she's done it before.  Yet knowing what we know, Lena doesn't even seem to be trying that hard and Kara's just giving her everything she wants; and perhaps the most frustrating part is Lena being oblivious to the fact that Kara is willing to be that open and trusting of Lena and it's actually Lena who is abusing the trust in their relationship. "You're going to need a jacket." Come on Kara.... you could just help keep her warm..... 🤷‍♂️ Alex: Hey, this guy we've been looking for who's just casually out in the open where anybody and everybody who's looking for can find him; and he's not moving.  I guess we're just lucky and should continue to approach him with abandon.  On an unrelated note, did you know that the only answer I got wrong on my covert agents exam was the definition of the word "booby trap"?  Something about the word "booby" made my mind wander; and in hindsight, realizing my attraction to women probably shouldn't have come quite so much as a surprise to me.  What's that Brainy?  What do you mean, "bomb"?  I didn't bomb the test.  I told you, the only answer I got wrong was booby trap....haha....booby......" Do I regret the sophomoric turn this review has taken? Not really, no. Augh, this is, for the most part, not a criticism of the show per se, and it is what it is, because it's not like they're establishing something new, it's how they've always depicted the Fortress, but I am so sick and tired of every iteration of the Fortress of fucking Solitude looking like the Fortress from the Christopher Reeve movie.  It was fine for the time; especially given the logistical and budgetary concerns that necessitated making Krypton a frozen wasteland in that movie.  But God I hate the randomly strewn crystal spikes design.  I hated when they used it on Smallville and I hate it now.  This is supposed to be the architecture of an advanced race. How the hell does Papa J'Onzz know all of this about J'Onn's brother Steve?  Ostensibly Papa J is just some sort of psychic echo of J'Onn's father inside J'Onn's mind; meaning that he actually knows all of these things and he's essentially having a conversation with his subconscious, being told things he already knows and some of it he shouldn't be able to know.... I'm so glad the Fortress computer specified the Lex Luthor that was brother to Lena Luthor; otherwise I would have assume he was talking about the stockpile of Kryptonian killing weapons created by Lex Luthor, the CPA from Secaucus, New Jersey..... So Jarhanpur was a sister planet of Krypton?  Why?  That system seems to have been really fucking crowded, between Krypton, Daxom and now Jarhanpur. Man, Kara's really booty blinded by Lena; that's the best I can figure out. I'd have given anything for Lena to say, "Lex designed that to fit underneath his many mirkins...." "If there's one weapon I could destroy, it'd be that one." So why fucking don't you? Kelly: "I can't....." Yay!!!!!!!!!    🤸🕺🕺🤸 I mean..... awwwwwwwweeee............noooooo......say it ain't so............ Jesus, Leviathan apparently has the same security as Team and Arrow and STAR Labs.... What the fuck difference does it make whether it's the Fortress or Earth?  A) That's not how matter works, and B) Wrath of Kahn isn't from Earth to begin with - you just said he's from a sister planet of fucking Krypton! I absolutely expected Lena to use her inception lenses to make Kara forget their whole conversation. The scene between J'Onn and his brother was okay; a little maudlin, a few times it felt more like a soap opera; and I feel like they could have done more with Malefic's glimpse into J'Onn's mind. Oh, good, Alex and Kelly are making up.....I'm.....so.....happy.......(sigh)