#kals pretty hate machine

[erotomechanixxx]

in my head everyones an album. do you get it

[suzukiblu]

continued from here, the one where Clark is trans and Kon isn't, but no one actually knows this

Kon stops thinking about stupid shit she knows better than to be thinking about and feels out with her TTK again. There's still no real vulnerabilities to exploit, but there's got to be something. Some way out. Some weakened crack or compromised seam or shitty welding job or just a lock–

Just . . . something.

She doesn't want to die as Superboy.

She doesn't want . . .

Maybe she can do something to manipulate the water or the pipes it's coming in through, if she just–like, erosion is a thing, water cannons are a thing, and she knows high-pressure water jets can cut metal, Serling was talking about it a couple weeks ago for some new little machine she was getting customized. Maybe something sharper than a fist would at least score the walls, weaken them enough for Kara's repeated punches to actually work, if they did it right. She usually hits harder than Kon does, on account of having the real and consistent Kryptonian powers and not the fluctuating imitation of them that TTK tends to provide.

It's so annoying having to think so hard just to punch somebody, but Kon is fucking sick of trying to explain that she can't always be concentrating on the plan when she has to focus on using her mental-based powers to the fullest, so she's mostly given up on it. Explaining TTK is just a lost cause, apparently.

Every time Kon says something someone doesn't understand, they just assume she's stupid or wrong or under-educated or . . .

Everybody always assumes, when it's "Superboy" talking.

Like how they all assume she's even a Superboy at all.

"Shit," she mutters, still telekinetically prodding for vulnerabilities to test the waterjet idea against, and almost thinks–if they might actually die here, does she really want to die as "Superboy"?

She could . . . she could just tell Kara. No one else would ever have to know, that way. No one could ever tell Kal. No one would . . .

"Could you quit just standing there and at least try to help?!" Kara demands in frustration, slamming her fist into the wall again. Kon bites her tongue, but does Kara actually think she's not doing anything right now?

This is why she's gotten in the habit of bragging about her TTK so much. Otherwise people just think she's not doing anything at all. That she's just a stupid meathead who can't strategize or analyze or even think herself.

They usually think that anyway, she's pretty sure.

It's stupid. She's explained it to everyone so many times, but–

Never mind.

Shut up, she doesn't say, because it's still not Kara's fault she hates her.

But it still makes her angry.

It makes her so, so angry.

It makes her–

"Come on, Superboy, don't just give up on me!" Kara says, and Kon feels a flash of white-hot fury.

[jimothy-hopkins]

More stuff about Bullworth’s rival school that I made aka Heartland Academy. (Specifically hierarchy and clique leaders)

Their clique hierarchy goes from jocks, preps, punks, bullies, and nerds.

There’s also side cliques. JROTC kids, gossip girls, the gays that you wanna stay FAR away from, the gays that are actually genuine, art kids, and band kids.

The jock’s leader is Sonny McDowell. He’s from California and is the school heartthrob. He’s very friendly towards everyone and is the last to fight. Many rumor that he is gay, when he’s actually your friendly neighborhood pansexual. He has a huge crush on the running back, Maverick. Even though Maverick supposedly hates his guts. He would probably be an ally to Jimmy throughout most of the gameplay. Sonny stands at 6’3 and has long blonde hair with sunburnt skin and green eyes. He’s lean with more build in his chest and shoulders. His HP is 450.

The second in command is Maverick Sanderson. Maverick is much more hostile than Sonny, and is always trying to get a rip at him despite Sonny’s very blatant love for Maverick. He’s a closeted bisexual who has no clue how to deal with his feelings for Sonny, and lashes out with jealousy rather than affection. He was the youngest of three and has always been made fun of and jabbed at. He stands at 4’10 with brunette hair and brown eyes. He has a very compact muscular build mulch like Jimmy. He’s also extremely fucking fast so he’s a bitch to fight. His HP is 500.

Harrison Kenshin is the leader of the preps. He doesn’t seem like much at first, but he is a mythic bitch. His weapon of choice is a golf club, and he does have a golf cart that he can run you over with. Harrison’s pride and joy is his success in golf. He enjoys old shows and music, and you can actually find him dancing in the dorms. His wit and charisma can often overshadow his spiteful and petty nature. Harrison is a huge minor inconvenience that’s infuriating to deal with. It’s small things you wouldn’t pay attention to. Marbles in halls, vending machines out of Beam Cola, and your gym clothes swapped with a hot pink Juicy couture tracksuit so you get made fun of the whole day. He’s 5’9 with black hair and dark brown eyes. He has a slim-athletic build. Harrison’s HP is 300.

Maxine ‘Max’ Gallen leads behind Harrison. Max is very cutthroat and hostile. Even with high respect she will actively taunt and attempt to attack Jimmy. Max is a very loud person, and is always ready to hack up the latest gossip. She boxes, and is on the same level as Bif. Max bears the title of the female champion. Miss girl can absolutely deck you if she wanted to. However, she is very terrified of male students, often her dialogue consists of her stressing over somebody stalking her. She’s very alert, and afraid of everyone. Max has been met with sexual harassment multiple times from the male student body, but Heartland kicks it under the rug. (As most schools do.) Harrison will actively protect her, and will be seen by her side. Rarely will you find Max by herself. She’s 5’6 with a muscular build. Her hair is shoulder length and light brown, usually styled with half of it up in a ponytail. Her eyes are a brown-hazel color, and she has a bunch of crackles on her cheeks. Her HP is 450.

Judge ‘Judd’ Jones leads the punks. He’s widely known for not complying with school rules and getting in trouble constantly. Despite his rep, if you get on good terms with him he’s actually cool. Fun fact he’s also a vegetarian, and is an animal rights activist. He’s very mature and level headed most of the time. He really just breaks rules to piss off the prefects and teachers, as he hates them. He’s always been seen as a bad influence, and decided to actually embrace it, to show adults what him being bad REALLY was. Judd has neon green hair shaved and styled into liberty spikes. He has many piercings such as a septum, snake bites, eyebrow, and multiple bars in his ear, along with gauges. Not to mention his neck and back tattoos. He’s 5’11 and has a pretty athletic build. His HP is 600.

Jonesy Kal is Judd’s second in command. He’s ridiculed amongst the student body for his former drug addiction. He lives in the slums, and has to bear with an abusive father who is an addict. He lost his brother in a shootout, and as a result spiraled into addiction that was fed by his father. However, after an overdose Jonesy put himself in rehab, and he has now been clean for 6 months. He’s your typical punk, and while he is more violent he really does care. He’s like your scary knucklehead older brother who beats up the kids who bully you. He’s also an arsonist, so yeah. Jonesy has fire engine red hair shaved into the fluffiest Mohawk the world has ever seen. He’s 6’3 and has a full sleeve tattooed on his right arm and piercings on his lips and in his ears. He’s very skinny due to recovery. His HP is 200.

Christian Beauregard is the main bully. He grew up pretty rough, he was in the foster care system because of his parents being too young to care for him. When he was 6 he was adopted by a very wealthy couple, all due to his blonde hair and blue eyes. However they have absolutely no business having a child. His adoptive parents cut him off from most of his childhood friends, and forced him to do things to make him successful. Such as piano, choir, and track. However Christian’s true passion is musical theatre. He enjoys the spotlight and singing, much like Trent. He can’t see very well, so he has to wear glasses, although his adoptive parents really pressure him to wear contacts. Christian is 5’10 and has a HP of 200.

Scotty Russo is behind Christian. He’s a baseball junkie, and a MASSIVE Yankees fan. His prized possession is a baseball signed by Babe Ruth. He could ramble for hours about baseball and it’s history, you can never get him to shut up. Scotty does not have a good relationship with his parents, since he started acting out and tormenting others his parents have no clue what to do. However, Scotty only loves and trusts one adult, his grandpa. His grandpa always understood Scotty, and was the one who gifted him his baseball. Scotty is very hotheaded and is always confrontational. He makes up for his height in attitude. He has straight natural red/ginger hair parted in the middle. His face and body are entirely covered in freckles and sunspots. His eyes are a dark grey and he stands at 5’4. His HP is 250.

Dennis Todd is in charge of the nerds. He isn’t your typical nerd, rather he’s just the valedictorian who’s got a serious case of senioritis and is so done with everyone’s bullshit. He’s got a very diplomatic personality, although he can be extremely impatient with others. He doesn’t like having to explain things, especially multiple times. He is the only member of his family to get to their senior year in highschool. His dad is a rancher with old school ways and his mother is a stay at home wife. He has a paint horse named Rootbeer. Dennis Todd is pretty lean standing at 5’8, and will not physically fight unless provoked. His HP is 180.

Cameron Brown is Dennis Todd’s best friend and is actually a class clown. He’s considered a nerd because of his very RARE moments of genius. He’s also just hella good at all of the hard classes and makes bank off selling HW and test answers. His pockets are packed and he is proud of it. Cameron usually makes jokes, but can sometimes cross the line. Occasionally he also has difficulty reading the room and picking up on social cues. He wears glasses and his hair is usually either in locks or cornrows, but he also likes to go natural or do the occasional fro. He’s very lanky and skinny, he’s 5’10 and is also less inclined to fight. His HP is 180.

There’s many more students who I haven’t fleshed out yet who aren’t clique leaders or second in commands. Right now I’m just doing skeletal work for the student body.

Anyone is allowed to make Heartland Academy ocs as long as you credit Heartland Academy to me, since it’s my work. I’d really love to see stuff about this.

[thevindicativevordan]

So I've seen some people protray Krypton as this harsh, unforgiving hellscape that gave birth to Doomsday from the get-go, I've seen other people portray Krypton as this planet that was once a beautiful, thriving paradise that the Kryptonians gradually ruined over time, leading to its tragic end by the time Kal is around. Speaking of which, I've seen some others portray Kryptonians as this cold, detached race to contrast them in conparison to Humans and put more emphasis on Kal's humanity(1/2)

Anonymous asked:

and others who portray Kryptonians as these saints, these gods who had sent one of their own to act as a guiding light for the natives of the planet he was sent to, neither of which I really like, so I wanted to know how you think Krypton and its' people should be portrayed as and how this portrayal would play a part in how Clark figures himself out growing up and lives out his life from the moment he learns he's an alien, a Kryptonian. (2/2)

Krypton needs to be shitty enough that we understand why it died, but likeable enough that we feel bad it did.

Reason being that it's not much of a tragedy if it was a decrepit hellhole that deserved it's fate. Would you feel sad in-universe if Apokolips or Warworld blew up? Maybe if their slaves were still on-site when it went kaboom, but otherwise I doubt most would shed a tear. Seeing Superman shed tears over a Krypton that clearly sucks creates a disconnect between him and the reader. Of course as a Kryptonian himself he's probably going to feel a stronger connection than we would, but plenty of fiction has gotten people attached to places that never existed and we can never go. Look at Narnia, Middle-Earth, Hogwarts, the Jedi Temples, or any other location. You can still make the reader care with a little effort.

My preferred take on Krypton is that society as a whole tended to be arrogant, stratified, repressive, and xenophobic. Aliens they may be, but they're pretty recognizable in terms of mindset and flaws. This isn't a world that's completely outside the realm of human understanding. Nevertheless it's also generally technologically advanced, culturally rich, free from poverty, disease, or war, and aesthetically colorful. It's a world full of amazing locations such as the Quantum Jungle, with animals that can read your thoughts, and machines that do the menial labor. The worst of Krypton we can recognize, the best of Krypton we can only hope to achieve one day.

Personally my favorite depiction of Krypton artistically has to be Rocafort's depiction of it during the New 52.

That art kept me going even with how boring the writing was. Just absolutely gorgeous science fiction art. Doesn't that Krypton look cool? Doesn't it look like some place you'd want to explore or live even knowing how it ends? Does for me anyway. Not a fan of Krypton as a "retro" place, it needs to be the Planet of the Future where Superman hopes that the best of Krypton can live on in Earth and the worst can be averted. Gene Ha and Andy Kubert did a great job of reinventing Krypton with Morrison for the New 52, and I do wish more of the New 52 Krypton had carried over to Rebirth.

Do like the Johns/Rebirth idea of representing all the different takes on Krypton. A trope in scifi that I hate is when every member of a species or an entire planet can be summed up to one attribute. There should be Kryptonians who are emotionless and obsessed with cold science like Byrne, but also Kryptonians who are much more emotional and human. Kryptonians who are genetically engineered test tube babies and Kryptonians who are natural births. Kryptonians who are devoutly religious, with worship of many different gods or followers of different philosophies, and affirmed atheists. Kryptonians who are ascetics and Kryptonians who are hedonists. Hell you can even include some retro throwback people as the Kryptonian equivalent to the Amish or hippies if you want. The society of Krypton might have a general shared culture, but individuals could vary wildly. In short they are a species and like us they had saints and sinners and uncountable people who lived uneventful yet meaningful lives that we'll never know about. You can't easily summarize what Krypton was, it's too vast and big for that. Hence why it's such a tragedy that it died.

For Superman personally, Krypton is a source of fascination just like second-gen American immigrants typically want to know about the countries their parents came from. Absolutely show him taking an interest in learning Kryptonian languages, or studying Kryptonian history. Would love to see some bonding between Kara and Kal over celebration of Kryptonian holidays (could definitely get some Passover vibes which would be welcome). Kal is able to more clearly see Krypton's flaws than Kara would be (for her nostalgia and homesickness will always color her perceptions). Both he and Zod would agree that the Science Council were fools for ignoring Jor-El, but Kal would still appreciate the good of Krypton while Zod can only obsess over "fixing" the flaws in a New Krypton. As a child of both worlds Kal can see how similar the two were and are, and that adds a sense of urgency and dread to his mission.

Krypton's role in the larger Superman narrative is to be one of the potential endgames of Earth (something Red Son played with beautifully). If we don't get our act together, we're going to end up just like Krypton did. A warning that only grows more and more relevant given the impending environmental collapse we seem incapable of handling (take no pleasure in Superman becoming more and more "realistic" in how it handled the death of a planet). The best of Krypton lives on in Kal and his family and the records/artifacts of the Fortress of Solitude. The worst lives on in the Phantom Zone prisoners, the various experiments and artifacts that survived across the cosmos, and the Kryptonian mindset of believing they're infallible which sadly isn't restricted to them as Superman knows all too well.

Honestly I'm not sure we need any more stories about it's final days, but I would like to see stories set in earlier eras. We're getting another retelling of the final days soon with Venditti's World of Krypton but it looks to be covering Kara's coming of age. Really enjoyed how he wrote her in that Annual so I'll check that out, and Oeming drawing Krypton stuff could be very exciting! Man knows how to do trippy scifi. Would be interested in seeing PKJ write a big space fantasy epic about the rise of House El, his talent for world-building would serve Krypton well here. Seeing the lives of those who lived on the planet helps enhance the loss of it for me at least.

[keanureevesisbae]

Mister Cavill, your dog is kinda fat - Chapter 18

Summary: Veterinarian Olivia Tran has zero time for bullshit. After becoming a mom at age twenty three, the one thing she wants is a good life for her daughter Vanessa. Her ex didn’t want anything to do with her nor the baby and she decided that man are officially banned out of her life. But then she meets Henry Cavill at her clinic and her ban slowly starts to crumble apart. Henry on the other hand is looking for one thing: a family. And when he meets Olivia Tran, he finds just that.

Henry Cavill x Olivia Tran (ofc)

Warnings: None

Wordcount: 1.7k

A/N: It’s a bit of a shorter chapter, but very important for the story 🤗Also, I’m writing a little something something for Chris Evans and if you are interested and want to, please check it out 🤗💕

Masterlist // Previous chapter // Next chapter

Being 25 weeks pregnant is no piece of cake and I forgot how much I dislike it, especially in this heat. I’m nothing but a sulking mess in front of the air conditioning. When I was pregnant with Vanessa, poor Belle didn’t know what hit her and every time I was in a grumpy mood (which was daily), she had to deal with that. Now Henry and Vanessa are in this together, but they somehow continue to be the sweetest. I have mad ass respect for them, because I know that I’m in no better mood than I was during my first pregnancy if not worse. This baby likes to play football with my bladder.

Today we are having an ultrasound that will determine the gender of the baby. We were supposed to find out three weeks ago, but since the power was out at the maternity clinic, we couldn’t use the ultrasound machine, only an old piece of crap, that did determine that the baby’s heart was okay.

Vanessa walks out of the kitchen with a big smile on her face. ‘Mommy, we have pancakes.’

‘That’s great, sweetheart,’ I say from the couch.

School starts in two weeks and though I love that girl with all my heart, I’m happy that she is going back to school again, so we can have a certain routine in place again. My maternity leave starts in a month and I can’t wait for that to start.

I try to get up from the couch, but I can only let out a huff. I mean, I could get up by myself, but it’ll cost me too much energy. ‘Sweetheart, could you get your dad for me, please?’

Vanessa chuckles, because she always likes it when her dad helps me out. He is setting an excellent example for her and I hope that it will be moments like these she’ll remember once she will date herself. ‘I will, wait here, mommy.’

She skips to the kitchen, while Kal places his head on my knee. ‘I know, baby,’ I say to him. ‘We have fifteen more weeks to go, until you have another baby sister.’

‘Does my lovely queen need a little help getting up?’ Henry asks, who walks into the living room with a big smile on his face. Ever since we found out I was pregnant, there was an instant switch in his behavior. He has always been sweet and thoughtful, but nowadays he shows what he has been doing the past months that I have known him, it was only twenty five percent of his love.

I can’t carry groceries anymore, I can’t clean up the house anymore, because of the chemicals and the hard work (something that you won’t hear me complain about and I really hope this continues after I give birth and years beyond) and he literally does anything I ask him to.

Around a week ago I was thinking out loud with Vanessa what kind of snack I wanted and he rushed to the kitchen to get it for me. When we are in bed, he cuddles up with me from behind and places his hand on my bump. Our bed is the only place where he doesn’t ask me permission for touching it, which on its own is adorable. Whenever we are out of the bedroom, meaning downstairs, at his parents, in the mall, you name it, he’ll hover his hand over my stomach, before he looks at me with a raised eyebrow.

Every single time.

He is so sweet and so loving and I can’t believe that I went from an asshole like Wesley to a lovely man like Henry.

I hold out my hands for Henry and he pulls me up, before pressing a kiss on my forehead. ‘My little grumpy lady,’ he chuckles.

I scoff. ‘I’m not grumpy,’ I retort.

‘You are, mommy.’ Vanessa grabs my hand and says: ‘But that’s okay. You are growing a baby in your belly.’

Vanessa has been nothing but understanding and I love her with my entire heart for it. However, though it’s true, I refuse to believe that I’m grumpy, because I feel like I was on my best behavior today. ‘When exactly was I grumpy?’

‘This morning,’ she answers. ‘You yelled at daddy for giving you tap water instead of the one from the bottle. You stomped your feet when you found out he ate the last cookie. You cried when you saw that he gave you the wrong socks.’

‘Oh,’ I mumble, already forgotten that I actually done all of that this morning. Oh poor Henry. ‘I have been mean to daddy quite a bit, haven’t I?’

She nods.

‘Have I been mean to you?’

Thankfully she shakes her head, though I feel like she only says that to spare my feelings.

‘Good,’ I chuckle. ‘Do you think I should apologize to dad?’

‘You should, but remember, he will always love you.’

That shouldn’t make you cry, Olivia, so please don’t do that! I look up to my handsome and loving boyfriend Henry and say: ‘I’m sorry.’

He starts to laugh, before he shakes his head. ‘That’s okay, my love. You can’t help it.’

We walk to the dining room and once we’re seated, we start to eat the pancakes and they are really good. ‘Are you guys ready for today?’ I ask them.

Vanessa starts to nod. ‘I am. I really want a sister.’

‘You do?’ Henry asks. ‘And when we find out it’s a boy, what are you going to do then?’

Though Henry pretends he doesn’t understand parenting and is in awe with how I raise Vanessa, he caught on so quickly, asking her those deep questions. He tells me that we should raise all our future kids just like this, causing me to reassure him that we are definitely doing that to an extent, because I have a feeling that I found the perfect parenting style for me. Again to an extent again.

‘I’ll love him no matter what,’ Vanessa answers. ‘It’s just that I get girls better.’ That’s so deep. ‘Boys in my class are dirty.’

I snort. ‘Boys are dirty, I totally agree.’

‘Excuse me?’ Henry says, with a raised eyebrow. ‘I’m a boy and am I dirty?’

‘I was going to add that all boys are dirty, except for the Cavill guys, had you let me finish.’

He smiles, holding my hand on the table. ‘That’s better.’

Vanessa scrunches up her nose. ‘I think uncle Piers is pretty dirty. His farts smell really bad.’

Now Henry can’t stop the laugh. ‘You are totally right, my sunshine.’ He looks from Vanessa, to me, back to Vanessa, back to me, all with a loving smile on his face.

‘Mommy, daddy’s been acting weird.’

I nod. ‘I know, he is probably thinking to himself how he got so lucky that he got not only me, but also you and also this baby.’

‘How did you know?’ Henry asks, honestly in shock.

‘I know everything. That comes with being a mom.’

Vanessa agrees. ‘My mommy knows everything.’

‘That’s not true,’ Henry retorts. ‘No one on earth knows everything.’

Vanessa takes a bite of her pancake, thinks about her answer and eventually says: ‘Well, my mommy knows a lot. More than you.’

‘Yeah, sweetheart, you tell him the facts now.’

Henry sighs deeply, before laughing. ‘Always teaming up against me. Let’s hope the new baby agrees with me more often.’

≫≫≪≪

Because I’m in desperate need for some love from Vanessa, I’m sitting in the back of the car and hold her hand. ‘Together with the terrible mood swings going to the grumpy part of my feelings, I also have been overly emotional. I cry while watching Winnie the Pooh, the drawings Vanessa makes, make me end up bawling like a baby and sometimes when Henry and I are in bed, I just start to sniffle, simply because he gives me a kiss.

I can’t wait for the pregnancy to be over and to hold our new little baby, hoping that the hormones will normalize a bit.

I look at Henry through the rearview mirror and I can’t hide my smile anymore. I’m so happy right now, it’s disgusting really. When I’m at his mom’s place, we talk about life and she says that though she loves her husband dearly and he was an angel throughout her pregnancies, it’s nothing compared to how Henry is with me.

When we arrived at the maternity clinic, Vanessa sits on Henry’s lap, as she looks around the waiting room. ‘Mommy, how are you feeling?’

‘I’m feeling good, sweetheart.’

‘Are you nervous?’ She resits on his laps and places her hands on my stomach. I hate it when people outside my family touch my stomach, it makes me want to punch then in de face, but when she does it, I feel so loved, I feel so beautiful. Vanessa makes sure that I’m happy and that I feel good about myself. She is an honest angel.

‘I’m not. I’m excited.’

‘Me too.’

We are the next to be called in and Vanessa is sitting on Henry’s knee, as I lay on the examination chair. I pull up my shirt and the doctor squirts some cold gel on my skin. ‘Are we ready to find out whether you get a baby sister or brother?’ I love how the doctor involves Vanessa in this exciting day.

We hear the baby’s heartbeat filling the room and I already get emotional, something that was inevitable, because hearting their heartbeat always makes me cry. I hold onto Henry’s hand and he clears his throat, before he kisses my fingers. ‘Okay, this is the baby’s head,’ the doctor explains, as she points to the screen. She continues to look at the baby and say: ‘This baby looks really strong, so that’s good.’

‘Is it a boy or girl?’ Vanessa asks with a smile.

‘Let’s take a good look at that, shall we?’ With a frown between her brows, she tries to get the best view and eventually she smiles. ‘Well congratulations, Cavill family,’ she says, ‘you are going to add a little girl to the mix.’

I just hope that they do work now, because Tumblr has been being a little bitch about this for quite some time! Please let me know if you have received a notification!

Taglist: @thelastsock​ // @flhorah​ // @sausagefest1996​ // @laufeysodinson​ // @xxxkatxo​ // @memoriesat30​ // @henrythickcavill​ // @crimsonrae​ // @henryobsessed // @madbaddic7ed​ // @summersong69​ // @lyrafraiser​ // @peakygroupie​ // @coldmuffinbanditshoe​ // @mary-ann84​ // @thereisa8ella​ //@crazyandanonymous4u // @xuxszx​ // @emmaofgreengabbles​ // @jimmypagesandbrianmayshair​ // @onlyhenrys // @omgkatinka​ // @oddsnendsfanfics​ // @speakerforthedead0 // @agniavateira // @gearhead66 // @chamomilebottom // @diegos-butt​

[theonetheycallhannah]

The Treatment of Capt. Syverson-Chapter One: Evaluation

Pairing: Captain “Sy” Syverson x OFC (Shane Benton)

Shane Benton gets a new patient, veteran “Sy” Syverson. He’s one of the most complex cases she’s had, in more ways than one. She thinks he’s already starting to like her and what’s worse...she feels the same.

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: None, really, mentions of war and trauma and some hate on the Chicago Cubs, but like…it’s not MEAN! (I’m a Missouri girl, and for the purposes of this fic, Sy is a Missouri boy, and we will bleed for our sports teams. Lol!)

A/N: Inspired by this post right here, and hopefully turning into some splendid fluffy and smutty stuff for my lovely Cavillry babes all around including the two that essentially forced me into this. Lol! (I’m thinking I’ll have at least three or four more chapters.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, Henry is not mine, le sigh, and all mention of him, his characters, or his precious doggy, Kal, are strictly for transformative and recreational use. I neither ask for, nor accept payment for the work I post on Tumblr or AO3.

Tags: @onlyhenrys @cavillryarchive

Let me know if you wish to be added to the list! I’m happy to do it! 

Shane was working on her morning's notes as she scarfed down her lunch. So many hand's-on patients made for a busy so called "lunch hour." Time which their boss was always reminded them was only half for their personal use, and could be taken away if census demanded. She was pretty sure it wasn't legal to make such threats, but thankfully, the secretaries usually had the therapists backs.

As she typed, she got a notification in her messenger app.

Just a head's up, your 1:30 is such a major babe I could barely look at him while I checked him in, so good luck with that.

Heather, one of her best friends in the office, had warned her, as she always did when there was a potential problem with a patient.

Oh, and his KOOS score is 27.5! Yikes! Shit, she'd seen arthritic grandparents with better scores on that test, which essentially rated your ability with the affected knee. Ideal was 100. She pulled up his chart review to see what she was getting herself into with this guy.

Tricare insurance, so, a vet. And only a year older than she was, so, recent discharge, or even active duty. She pulled up his order…shit. Traumatic tear of the anterior cruciate ligament. With damage to the medial collateral ligament as well. And a patellar dislocation. Repairs had been done, but this guy was in bad shape. He was going to be coming a while.

She replied to Heather.

Damn, that's bad. I'm looking at his order, and I'm already thinking I'm gonna want to try to keep him on my schedule if we can. And three times a week. If not with me, Jordan, if he's got openings. Can you start working on that when you have time?

Sure thing…I think you'll be glad you kept him on your caseload once you get a look at his face…and like all of him. Even on crutches, he's tall as shit!

Heather, come on. I'm a professional. I have a doctorate ffs. Lol

You also have a uterus, to the best of my knowledge, and it's about to explode. Promise.

Haha, okay. I'll be out for Prince Charming in about ten. Lemme pop a breath mint and run a brush through my hair.

Good call.

Shane did just that, but still pulled her dark hair back into her customary functional high ponytail, made sure there was no stray food on her shirt, and headed out of her treatment room for her patient.

As she walked down the hall to the waiting area to get him, she noticed a slumped and bearded figure leaning forward on a set of crutches, a KC Chiefs baseball cap slipping up off of his forehead revealing short cropped dark hair. She smiled at his repping one of her home teams, and stepped up to him, greeting him warmly, but formally.

"Mr. Syverson?"

"Ma'am." he said, as he adjusted his cap and stood immediately at attention, still relying on the crutches, but making himself as tall as possible. He really was a soldier. Despite her proximity to Fort Leonard Wood here in St. Robert, Missouri, she didn't see many military men.

"Hi, My name is Shane. I'm a physical therapist. I'm going to be working with you today."

"Oh, okay. They told me my therapists name was Shane, I figured…"

"Yeah, I get that a lot. Don't worry, I act like one of the guys. You'll hardly notice."

"I doubt that." he muttered, but she ignored it. She didn't know which would be worse. Him being a macho chauvinist who couldn't deal with a female therapist, or having a crush on her and making things weird. She'd had both. And it never ended well for her.

"Well, let's go have a chat in the treatment room."

They walked toward the room she'd just left, and when they arrived, she asked him to set on her plinth mat.

"Could you please verify your date of birth for me? Gotta make sure I got the right patient in here."

"May the 5th, 1983."

"Thanks, and the last four of your social?"

He told her, quietly, and against her will, a shiver ran up her spine at the softness the bear of a man exhibited in his voice when trying to maintain privacy. But she kept her composure.

"Excellent." she began typing her eval note, and asking him questions. He began telling the harrowing story of the mission, the mission that effectively ended his career in the military as he knew it. At lest, what he could tell her. Obviously some of it was classified, but certain details she would need to know in order to know how he it and how to treat him. She could tell he was trying to hold it together. Reliving the trauma was probably triggering to an extent. Her heart went out for the broad-chested, blue-eyed man.

"God, that's incredible. The fact that you're alive is amazing, Mr. Syverson."

"I go by Sy, ma'am. And as aware as I am of that, it's tough to feel good about it when some friends in my squad weren't so lucky." he examined the pattern on the tile floor as he rubbed the heel of his hand against the wide thigh of his injured leg. A nervous habit, she presumed. She had similar quirks.

"That must be difficult for you." she knew she was getting off-track from what she needed for her SOAP note, but after all, he was going to be on her caseload exclusively for the foreseeable future. She'd have time to flesh out the goals and basically finish the eval next visit.

"Yeah, but I know there's a lotta guys' got it worse'n me, ma'am."  

"We think that should make it better, but it never does. And if I'm calling you 'Sy,' you have to cut the ma'am business. It's Shane, even to my patients." she smiled.

"Sorry, m--sorry. Habits die hard."

"Just like John McClean." she chuckled, not expecting him to get her ridiculous movie humor. But he laughed.

"Did you just make a Die Hard reference?" he smiled, and the sunshine of it paired with the stunning blue of his eyes nearly sent her flying into the wall. Thankfully, she had something to occupy her gaze in the form of her laptop, where she tried to document on him.

"Did you just get one of my movie references? Because nobody around here appreciates that I'm a total movie nerd. I'm wasted on these people."

"Ya know, maybe you're right about feeling like I'm getting PT from a guy." he chuckled.

"I told ya!" she laughed, but tried not to let her heart sink too far.

The evaluation continued with her doing strength and range of motion measurements on his knee. "Okay, push against my hand…now resist when I push…now bring your foot back against my hand…and resist when I pull." she did this with both sides to compare relative strength. "Great job. Okay, I'm going to see how much range you have in your knee. Lay back on the table for me, please." she thought she saw a flirty glint in his eye, but again, she ignored it. She had a job to do. And it was to hold this goniometer up to his knee and see how many degrees of flexion and extension this man had in the joint while trying not to think any salacious thoughts about the thigh connected to it.

"Okay, now, listen, Sy, I know it goes against your instinct, but I'm looking for pain-free range of motion, here, so don't be a hero. Don't move it farther than you can without hurting it. And let me know if it starts to hurt when I move it."

"Yes, ma'am." he winked.

"I'll let that one slide, I guess." she giggled. She concentrated on the numbers she was getting from the big protractor, and typing them into her eval, and not the man lying before her.

"Okay, I'm gonna get the other knee now to compare for goals."

He nodded.

"Were you pretty active before this happened?" she was more or less making small talk, as she could tell by the condition of the rest of his body that he was incredibly fit.

"Yes, m--yes, I was. We had a gym on base, nothin' like what y'all have here, just some machines and a few free weights."

"No bikes or treadmills or anything?" She herself liked the elliptical, but knew it was a considered more of a girl's machine in the gym world.

"Nah, with electric being spotty where we were stationed, we sorta had to…get creative, I guess you could say, for cardio." she let it slide, apparently there was an inside joke to which she wasn't privy.

"Right, understandable. Well, here, we don't have to get that creative. I'm gonna put you on some equipment gradually, and just warm up the knee, then get to work on joint mobilization and myofascial release. But at this point in Dr. Potter's protocol, he only wants gentle stretching and weight bearing as tolerated. We can start a bit of strengthening after next week."

"So, you think I'll be back to running anytime soon?"

"We can make that a goal, Sy, because I can absolutely get you there. But you're going to have to take it slow. You've got not one, but three major injuries we have to contend with, and there is major trauma in there. But it will heal. With time and effort. And like I said, don't be a hero. The number one rule of therapy is 'if it hurts, don't do it.'"

"I'll hold you to that, m--Shane."

"You're a quick study, Sy. I think you'll be alright. Looks like Heather's put some appointments in for you already. If any of them don't work, call us, and we'll try to get them swapped. I'd like to keep you on my schedule as much as possible, but if there's a conflict in your schedule, any of our therapists will be terrific. And I'll make sure they're looking at your chart and protocol thoroughly before seeing you."

"Sounds like a plan to me."

"Okay, I'm gonna print out your schedule for you, and a few exercise handouts I'd like you to work on, especially on days you don't come here. And I'll know if you don't do them, because you won't have improved…so, you better do them."

"Yes, ma'am." she half expected a salute. She rolled her eyes.

"Okay, maybe I'll give you three strikes on the ma'am thing."

"Baseball fan, too?"

"Not that three strikes is so obscure that I'd have to be to know it, but, yes! Major St. Louis Cardinals fan."

"I knew I was gonna like you from the start. Although, being brought up 'round Kansas City m'self, I'm more of a Royals fan."

"Hey, only time I don't root for KC is when they're playing my Redbirds. And even if my team loses to them, it hurts less than if they lose to, say…the Cubs." they shared a scowl of disdain for the Chicago team. "Although, I was happy for them and their fans when they won the series back in 16."

"Yeah, I guess we could afford to let them win one in a hundred years…I'm hoping their next one comes long after I'm in the ground." he chuckled.

"Can't have them getting a big head, can we?"

"Nope! Sure can't!" they both laughed at their mutual interest in dissing rival sports teams.

"Okay, I'll be right back with those handouts." she ran to the office all in one machine to grab the papers she'd printed for him, making sure they were all his and not another patient's. She put them in one of their folders and headed back to her room where he sat on the mat, waiting for her with a smile under his rather impressive beard.

"Before I let you out of here, what questions can I answer for you about what we did today?"

"Oh, uh, nothing comes to mind. You explained everything really well. Did you look at my schedule? Am I with you all the time?"

"Hmm, let's see here, looks like the next two, yes, but I'm off next week, so Heather put you with Jordan, which is what I asked her to do. You two will work great together and he's got a great instinct for injuries like this. And I'll talk to him before I leave. He's one of the best PTAs I've ever worked with, I promise."

"I guess, if you have to take a vacation. I'll see you next time though."

"I'm looking forward to it. That's when the real work will begin, Sy. And our number is on in this paperwork if you have questions, and I've put my card in here, too." they shook hands, and he grabbed the folder from her.

She saw him out of the room and into the lobby. She'd finished with him a bit early, but her next one was already waiting. She needed a break. To collect herself. To breathe.

"Jason! Hey! Go on and get on the recumbent bike, level two. Ride until I get there. We'll get a lot done today if you're already warmed up. I've got a note to finish. And then I'll be in. I should be 15 or less."

While the 19 year old with a torn meniscus hopped to her instructions, she went back to her computer to attempt to finish Sy's eval and pretend that she didn't already have a serious and intense crush on him. This was going to be a long twelve weeks…at least.

Up Next: Chapter Two-Therapeutic Procedure

[theliterateape]

I Like to Watch | Zack Snyder’s Justice League

by Don Hall

Mythology is fun.

As a kid I loved reading Edith Hamilton’s book on the Greek gods and the myths. Hercules, Perseus, Apollo, and Hera—this fell completely in line with my love for superhero comics. The strangely petty human traits of envy, greed, and lust combined with the power to level cities make for some great storytelling.

Zeus was basically Harvey Weinstein in the retroactive revision we’re mired in today. If Harvey could’ve changed into a golden animal and boned unsuspecting ladies looking for careers in Hollywood I’m pretty certain he would. The gods and demi-gods of the Greeks dealt with daddy issues, mommy issues, bad relationships, and fighting. Lots of fighting. Sometimes for the good of humanity but more often for the glory of winning.

Zach Snyder is in the business of tackling myths and reframing them with a style all his own. His career has become its own myth.

From Dawn of the Dead (not so much a reboot of Romero's zombie mythology but a philosophical reimagining of the genre that arguably jumpstarted The Hollywood fascination with it), 300 (a borderline homoerotic take on the myth of the Greek underdog), and Watchmen (a ridiculously ambitious attempt to put one of the most iconic takedowns on the potential fascism of the superhero legend machine ever written) to his nearly single-handed hack at answering the Marvel juggernaut with Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice, Snyder is in the artistic business of subverting and re-envisioning the mythologies we embrace without even seeing them as such.

Snyder's style is operatic. It is on a grand scale even in the most mundane moments. The guy loves slow motion like Scorcese loves mobsters and Italian food. When you're tackling big themes with larger than life stories, the epic nature of his vision makes sense and has alienated a good number of audience members. With such excess, there are bound to be missteps but I'd argue that his massive take on these characters he molds from common understanding and popular nomenclature elevates them to god-like stature.

Fans of Moore's Watchmen have much to complain about Snyder's adaptation. The titular graphic novel is almost impossible to put in any other form than the one Moore intended and yet, Snyder jumped in feet-first and created a living, breathing representation of most, if not all, of the source material's intent. Whether you dig on it or not, it's hard to avoid acknowledging that the first five minutes of Watchmen is a mini-masterpiece of style, storytelling, and epic tragedy wrapped up in a music video.

Despite a host of critical backlash for his one fully original take, Sucker Punch is an amazing thing to see. More a commentary on video game enthusiasm with its lust for hot animated chicks and over-the-top violence that a celebration of cleavage and guns, the film is crazily entertaining. For those who hated the ending, he told you in the title what his plan was all along.

The first movie I saw in the theaters that tried to take a superhero mythology and treat it seriously (for the most part) was Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie. Never as big a fan of the DC characters as I have been of Marvel, it was still extraordinary to see a character I had only really known in pages to be so fully realized. Then came Burton's Batman movies. The superhero film was still an anomaly but steam was gaining. Things changed with Bryan Singer's X-Men in 2000, then Raimi's Spiderman, and those of us who grew up with our pulpy versions of Athena, Hermes, and Hades were rewarded with Nolan's Batman Begins. A far cry from the tongue-in-cheek camp of the 1966 TV Batman, Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne was a serious character and his tale over three films is a tragic commentary filled with the kind of death and betrayal and triumph befitting the grand narrative he deserved.

I loved Singer's Superman Returns in 2006 because it was such a love letter to the 1978 film (down to the opening credits) but by then, the MCU was taking over the world.

Snyder's first of what turns out to be an epic storyline involving perhaps seven or eight movies was Man of Steel. It was fun and, while I had my issues with the broodiness of Kal El, the odd take on Jonathan Kent, and a redheaded Lois Lane, I had no issue with Superman snapping Zod's neck. Darker and more tragic than any other version of the Kryptonian, it was still super entertaining.

Then came Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. By 2016, Marvel had codified their formula of serious characters wrestling with serious issues of power and responsibility peppered with lots of good humor and bright colors. Snyder's desaturated pallete and angst-filled demi-gods was not the obvious road to financial competition.

I'll confess, I hated it. BvS felt half-rendered. Lex Luthor was kind of superficial and played as a kind of Joker. The whole Bruce Wayne wants to kill Superman thing felt undeveloped and the "Martha" moment was just stupid.

When Joss Whedon's version of Snyder's Justice League came out in 2017, I was primed for it to be a turd and I wasn't surprised. So much of it didn't work on any level. I dismissed it as DC trying and failing miserably and was comforted by the coming of Thanos.

Following Thanos and the time heist was COVID. Suddenly, we were internationally sidelined and the movie theater industry caved in. Streaming services started popping up like knock-off smartphones and Hollywood was reeling, doing anything and everything to find a way back. Since Whedon's disastrous helming of Snyder's third act, fans online had been demanding to #ReleasetheSnyderCut but no one was ever really taking them seriously until all movie production was shut down for a year.

The stage was set to remedy a mistake (or at least make some bucks on a do-over of a huge box office failure). Snyder had left the production in part because of the suicide of his daughter and in part due to the constant artistic fights over executives looking for the quippy fun of the MCU but he still had all the original footage. Add to that the broiling accusations that Joss Whedon was "abusive" during the reshoots, the path seemed destined. For an additional $70 million and complete control, Snyder delivered a four hour mega-movie streamed on HBOMax.

Of course, I was going to watch the thing as soon as I could.

The Whedon version opens with an homage to the now dead Superman (including the much maligned digitally erased mustache on Henry Cavill). The SynderCut opens with the death of Superman and the agony of his death scream as it travels across the planet. It's a simple change but exemplifies the very different visions of how this thing is gonna play out.

Snyder doesn't want us to be OK with the power of these beings unleashed. He wants us to feel the damage and pain of death. He wants the results of violence to be as real as he can. When Marvel's Steve Rogers kicks a thug across the room and the thug hits a wall, he crumples and it is effectively over. When Batman does the same thing, we see the broken bones (often in slow motion) and the blood smear on the wall as the thug slides to the ground.

The longer SnyderCut is bloated in some places (like the extended Celtic choir singing Aquaman off to sea or the extended narrations by Wonder Woman which sound slightly like someone trying to explain the plot to Siri). On the other hand, the scene with Barry Allen saving Iris West is both endearing and extraordinary, giving insight to the power of the Flash as well as some essential character-building in contrast to Whedon's comic foil version.

One thing I noticed in this variant is that Zach wants the audience to experience the sequence of every moment as the characters do. An example comes when Diana Prince goes to the crypt to see the very plot she belabors over later. The sequence is simple. She gets a torch and goes down. Most directors which jump cut to the torch. Snyder gives us five beats as she grabs the timber, wraps cloth around the end, soaks it with kerosene, pulls out a box of matches, and lights the torch. Then she goes down the dark passageway.

The gigantic, lush diversity of Snyder’s vision of the DC superhero universe—from the long shots of the sea life in the world of Atlantis to the ancient structures and equipment of Themyscira— is almost painterly. Snyder isn't taking our time; he's taking his time. We are rewarded our patience with a far better backstory for the villain, a beautifully rendered historic battle thwarting Darkseid's initial invasion (including a fucking Green Lantern), and answers to a score of questions set up in both previous films.

Whedon's Bruce Wayne was more Ben Affleck; Snyder's is full-on Frank Miller Batman, the smartest, most brutal fucker in the room. Cyborg, instead of Whedon's sidelined non-character, is now a Frankenstein's monster, grappling with the trade-off between acceptance and enormous power. Wonder Woman is now more in line with the Patty Jenkins version and instead of being told about the loss of Superman, we are forced to live with the anguish of both his mother and Lois Lane in quiet moments of incredible grief.

To be fair to Whedon (something few are willing to do as he is now being castigated not for racism or sexism but for being mean to people) having him come in to throw in some levity and Marvel-esque color to Snyder's Wagnerian pomposity is like hiring Huey Lewis to lighten up Pink Floyd's The Wall or getting Douglas Adams to rewrite Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

I loved Snyder's self-indulgent, mythologic DC universe.

So much so that I then re-watched Man of Steel and then watched the director's version of BvS (which Snyder added approximately 32 minutes). The second film is far better at three hours and Eisenberg's Lex Luthor now makes sense. Then I watched Zach Snyder's Justice League a second time.

After nineteen hours of Snyder's re-imagining of these DC heroes and villains, I saw details that, upon first viewing, are ignored or dismissed, but after seeing them in order and complete, are suddenly consistent and relevant. Like Nolan or Fincher, Snyder defies anyone to eliminate even one piece of his narrative no matter how long. With all the pieces, this is an epic story and the pieces left at the extended epilogue play into a grander narrative we will never see.

Or maybe we will. Who knows these days?

[81scorp]

Consctructive criticism: Man of steel

(Originally posted as an editorial on Deviantart May 1, 2015. It has not been changed from how I originally wrote it.)

With Superman Returns not being the success Warner Bros hoped for, no more sequels that take place in the Superman universe that Richard Donner created have been made since. But since a reboot worked for the old Dark Knight it could work just as well for the big, blue, flying boy scout.Superman`s movie franchise got a reboot in a movie directed by Zack Snyder and written by David S Goyer. The result was... a little bit divisive. Some loved it, some hated it but never the less it made money, enough to greenlight a sequel... or rather: a bigger, shared movie universe. Not unlike what they were doing over at Marvel.Personally I kinda, sorta liked it, at least more than Superman returns. But, like I mentioned in my "More thoughts on Frozen" Editorial where I briefly talked about Avatar, I can see it`s flaws. Otherwise it wouldn`t have ended up here.

Where did it go wrong and how could it have been better?

The S stands for SPOILERS

The colour saturation

With the failure of Green Lantern and the success of The Dark Knight trilogy, the film makers came to the conclusion that future DC movies has to be more "Dark and Serious". Just because it worked for Batman it doesn`t necessarily mean that it would work just as well for their other characters. The tone of the story differs a tiny bit from Batman`s because Superman`s image of a beacon of hope rather than justice lurking in the shadows is heavily ingrained in the public`s perception of him. That left the film makers with one thing left to "darkify": The colours of the movie. A little bit more colour wouldn`t have hurt.

The shaky cam

Usually I don`t care (much) about this, but in this case I noticed it while watching the movie for the first time and it bothered me a little. Less of the shaky cam please.

Johnathan Kent`s advice to young Clark

Young Clark: "What was I supposed to do? Just let them die?"

Jonathan Kent: "Maybe." He`s not saying "Yes! You should`ve let them die!" So he`s technically not giving him bad advice, but he`s technically not giving him good advice either.

He should have focused on teaching Clark to have a low profile. That doesn`t have to mean that he shouldn`t help. He can still help as long as he does it in secret. So instead he could have said."If you`re gonna keep doing this, try not to get seen. Think before you act."Then he could pause and then add: "But at least your heart was in the right place." If it was my hypothetical kid from another planet with great powers who did something good and heroic I`d want the discussion to end on a positive note to give him the feeling that technically he did not do a bad thing.

Johnathan Kent`s death

Yes, I get that he did not want Clark to expose himself, but still. He died not because Clark couldn`t save him but because he wouldn`t let him. How about: Jonathan dies from a sickness. Yes it is similar to the Donner version but the difference is that in this version it doesn`t happen as suddenly and Clark gets time to say goodbye to his dad on his death-bed. Jonathan can remind him about the "Think before you act" bit, and say something about how he will change the world.

Lois telling Superman about her mindprobing

Movies are a visual medium and there`s a rule called "show don`t tell". Telling through pictures is a more universal language. Instead of Lois telling Superman what she went through they could have showed it in some way. From what I remember we saw what was going on in Superman`s head when they probed him but not what was going on on the outside. Here`s what they could have done: After we have seen Superman`s little nightmare landscape we could see what is going on outside his body as Zod`s voice keeps talking about how he`s gonna revive Krypton. We see him lying in an alien chair with a mindprobing helmet on and his face twitches as if he`s having a nightmare. Move the camera a bit to the right and we see Lois lying in an alien chair going through the same thing. Cut to: close up of Lois`s face, then cut to: inside Lois`s mind: pretty much the same thing we saw in Superman`s head. Cut to: close up of Superman`s face, then we go back inside Superman`s mind.

Yes, I said "lying in a chair". The correct word is "sitting", but I imagine them as kind of like dentist chairs...evil dentist chairs.

Zod showing Superman all that nightmarish landscape

Besides that it would "look cool for the trailer", what reason is there for Zod to scare Superman with that nightmare-landscape? Shouldn`t he try to make Superman trust him and see him as a friend?

How about: Supes is shown what Krypton looked like before it blew up.

Zod: "Behold Kal-El, this what Krypton once was, and what it can be again." Clark wonders what would happen to the people of earth. Zod uses the cold, empathyless logic that "simpler civilizations will have to make way for the more advanced ones."

"Krypton had it`s chance"

I get where they were going with this but still, it sounded a bit too cruel. This would have sounded better: "Krypton should not live at the expense of Earth!"

Saying it like that would make it open for the interpretation that he does want to see Krypton resurrected, (just not at any cost).

The level of destruction

They could have toned it down a bit. Some say: "But this is what realistically would happen if someone with Superman`s powers were to have a big fight." Someone with Superman`s powers yes. But how about someone with Superman`s mentality?

Yes: most of the destruction was caused by the terraforming machine, but when that destruction was over and it was just Superman and Zod they still plowed through a few buildings.

Let`s forget that it`s Superman. Someone with concern for human life and the ability to strategize, at least a little bit (which Superman is fully capable of doing), should try to direct the fight away from heavily populated areas. Yes, Zod would try to use this weakness and direct the fight back to said populated areas, but Superman would still do his best to keep the fight in safe/safer places.

Plus: The "Think before you act" lesson from his father could come back to play a part here.

"But he was new at this, he was learning to be a Superhero." We saw earlier in the movie that he had been doing this for a couple of years, so he would have gotten the hang of (most of) it by the time he donned the cape." It`s the first time he fights other super-powered Kryptonians." I can`t argue that much with this statement, even Supes has limits. On this point the fault is not on Superman as a character but rather the filmmakers who wrote him into a corner and made sure that there was no other way out than to destroy almost more than half of Metropolis. They seem to suffer from a "darker-and-more-action-is-always-better" perception. Not all DCCU movies have to be the Dark Knight.

On the fence: Jenny

First I thought that she had a last name, and that it was Olsen. So I thought she was a genderbent Jimmy Olsen. But last time I checked (on imdb) she didn`t have a last name. Could she be an original character created for the movie? I`m OK with that. But I want to talk about what I feel about if they were to change Jimmy`s gender.

This makes me feel like the film makers haven`t bothered to check the comics that the movies are based on. Not because of the change, but some seem to think that there are only four people working on the Daily Planet: Clark, Lois, Perry and Jimmy. The majority of the people that I mentioned are male so I agree that there could be at least one more woman. But instead of changing one of the characters they could just pick one from the comics. How about Catherine Grant? Or Alice the intern? And if you`re looking for a black character, how about Ron Troupe?

Sorry for being a purist, but I feel that if you want to add a little diversity, look for a character that has what you are looking for in the source material before changing one or some of the other characters.

That`s why  I hope that we in future DCCU movies get to see Maggie Sawyer and/or Renee Montoya.How do I feel about Perry White? Well, he`s played by Laurence Fishburne. So I`m good.

On the fence: Superman killing Zod

When I heard about it at first I thought "Oh come on! Superman doesn`t kill!" But then again, he could be pushed to a point where he would have no other option. Then I thought "If he`s gonna kill someone he should at least feel bad about it." And he did, so I guess I`m OK with it. But still, the way they did that scene made me feel like there was more that could be done before they went in for the kill. Technically, Superman could have just knocked him unconscious. And then there`s the film makers`s explanation: "He needs to kill so he learns that it`s wrong to kill." I haven`t killed anyone and I know it`s wrong to kill.

I think the real explanation is: He needs to kill because the movie needs to be dark, because DCCU movies needs to be dark to be good, because it worked for the Batman reboot. The thing is: Nolan`s Batman had a little thought put into it. Man of Steel`s darkness didn`t have much thought behind it.

A light-hearted, silly and campy movie with a bad script is a movie with a bad script. A dark, gritty and serious movie with a bad script is still a movie with a bad script.

If I were to change this, here`s what I would do: Zod and Superman are flying around, fighting each other. The spaceship (that was sent far away thanks to Clark`s babyship`s warp drive) is still on earth. Superman punches Zod so hard that he is knocked back onboard his ship. The warp drive is activated and Zod and his friends are warped to God knows where.I also want to point out that I´m not too crazy about when they kill characters that have played an important part and/or has been in the comicbook  a long time. That`s why I`m a bit critical not only to Zod`s death but Prof: Emil Hamilton`s as well. (Though he may not be dead.)

Yes, there are other things wrong with this movie. But if you did the changes that are mentioned here, I personally wouldn`t care about those other things

I want to finish with two things that, while they aren`t constructive criticism, are at least Superman related.

Joe Quesada`s reason for not liking Man of Steel

“As a comic book fan, I wanted to love that movie so much,” said Quesada. “I wanted to love it so much, and I didn’t love it so much. Again, there are little things here and there that you could pick at and things like that, but I just think at the end of the day, Zod was the hero of the movie to me.”

Interesting defenition of a hero you have there.

“He wanted to save his race, and Superman didn’t let him."

Oh poor Zod, all he wanted to do was to rebuild his planet at the cost of billions of lives on an already inhabited one. It`s not like there were any other Earth-like planets in the solar system, suitable for terraforming, like Mars or Venus. No. Clearly Superman was the bigger badguy here.

“I was in the mood to watch that Superman movie, and afterwards I was just angry,” said Quesada.

Well, I, and many others, felt similar after reading One More Day so I guess that makes things even.

In defense of the Clark Kent disguise

I`m sure many of us has questioned that no one can recognize Superman in his Clark Kent disguise just because he wears a pair of glasses. However, here are some examples from real life:

An author who interviewed Marilyn Monroe later wrote of an incident that occurred when they were walking down the street talking. The author was confused that, although they were in plain sight, no one seemed to recognize her. Monroe then said, "Do you want to see her?" She changed her posture, walk and way she was speaking to what she used in the movies and suddenly people saw Marilyn Monroe, movie star and sex symbol, and reacted accordingly. Shakira, a famous singer, managed to spend an entire summer at UCLA posing as a normal person. She went by her middle name and dressed up in a cap and pants. The fact that it hit the news after she was done with the classes proved how effective her disguise was. Comedian Groucho Marx painted on his famous mustache with grease paint for most of his career. He was surprised to find a large crowd of fans who had gathered to see him at a train station completely ignored him when he got off the train. Realizing what had happened, he ducked into his car and smeared on a grease paint mustache, and was instantly recognized. So you see, real people are pretty stupid too. ^_^

[bookdragonlibrary]

Second Tuesday YJ appreciation

1-3 ; 4-6 ; 7-9 ; 10-13 ; 14-16 ; 17 ; 18 ; 19 ; 20 ; 21 ; 22 ; 23 ; 24-26

—————————— First Impression

- Is that... a Reach ship? Could it be linked to the machine? It’s fonctionning, nothing good...

- 4 days later. 

- I love how Garfield is respectful and aknowledges Kaldur and M’gann efforts despite the situation. Batman should take him as an example...

- A public Team. So is that what he had in mind in the previous episode? I’m relieved. So much clever that what I thought! But the bad guys will probably guess if there is a public Team, there also is a covert Team. Not all of them were aware of this...

- Kaldur being a protective Big Brother :)

- Lex restricted even more the JL? What does he want them to do? Charity missions and gala?

- Strikes against meta people :( Not really surprising as we have strikes against POC and queer people... Humankind really doesn’t like difference, does they? :(

- Of course bad guys would find a way to make profit of humans. We already do it with pollution,

- Gar has good points actually! My boy had mature so well!

- It’s me or Traci is drown way differently when she is in civics and hero costume? Her face seems different.

- It’s them at the end of the previous episode! And there’s a picture with Gar and Perdita. #RelationshipGoals I agree!

- “We’re gonna start a revolution! A... a small one anyway.” xD It would be a revolution in YJ verse and against the Light actually :)

- “Get on board or get out of the way!” xD And Conner is not really proud about this and probably wonders who told this to Gar xD Who bet Wally?

- “Green skin. Can’t hide.” He’s already a famous star anyway. But easily recognizable because of it.

- “Public doesn’t always get I’m a different guy.” Aw sweetie :( 

- “They already know what I have become. Now I want to show them who I have become.” So powerful :)

- “And there were no way I was gonna let this be a no girl squad.” / “Group needed a little color.” Seriously writers? Can’t they have real character motivation? Like Cassie wanting to be aknowledged as a true hero (to show her growth since her insecurities in season 2) or Virgil wanted to be known as a hero (since in the previous episode the girl didn’t know Static). This kind of comments are in the 4th wall dimension, something the fans see, not something the writers say to show they have included diversity in their characters. It’s something you show, not tell, or it doesn’t have the same impact on the fans. 

- But I like Jaime and Virgil friendship

- “Not ready. Noy yet.” That would also have been a great occasion to give them character development. Like Forager is supposed to be dead, Terra still copes with her abduction and Traci doesn’t trust her control on her powers yet (her hero insecurities) and develop why Halo isn’t ready yet. 

“Guessing we’re too old. Whoa. When did that happen?” Technically Conner is 8 so he can still be part of their Team and I would have love Artemis being with them as their Team lack of martial arts :)

- So it’s Teen Titans Tower but in Hollywood instead of San Francisco? And it’s called the Hub.

- Wait... where’s Traci? I know she’s the only one who isn’t part of the Outsiders or lives there but still!

- “This is so crash!” I agree Bart!

- “Finally! I mean: thank you!” Brion is so glad to have his own personal space again :) The bioship should have felt pretty small compared to his room in a royal palace.

- “Who’s paying for all this?” “Gretchen Goode.” xD

- “Now that what I call payback!” “This is a sympathy bump.” I love Cassie and Virgil frienship! Finally a girl and boy being BF without love involved! :D Please, writers, let’s them stay BF! :( I want Cassie to give poor flirty advice to Virgil when he meet a girl he like xD But fans, still feel free to ship them ;)

- Poor Forager :( 

- “No way 6 teenagers are gonna to live here alone and unsurpervised.” *she says while looking at Violet and Brion* “Yeah, who knows what might happen?” Those two make love (with their respective boyfriend) in the Cave, didn’t they?

- “I would be happy, honored to act as a den mother.” Helga, stop saying honored, that’s weird and suspicious... What everyone else doesn’t find it suspicious?!

- 3 days later. It feels like it’s the same day, doesn’t it?

- Nowadays teenagers reflex: record it before to go in safety...

- Does he... play against himself? Super cute!

- EyeSpasm? What kind of technology is that? Something to make livestream? I don’t like the “Spasm” on it... Look like Granny’s goggles to me...

 - So the Reach ship makes a move 6 days after?

- “Mother of God!” Brion is still so funny while he’s angry xD

- “No drill, the Reach are back!” “No, just no!” My poor babies, please no more trauma for them :( maybe we’ll have flashbacks of Bart’s past and Jaime’s while on mode?

- Kaldur is so great and... beaten to easily? I know it’s Reach tech but I thought he would manage longer as he put Blue inconscious in season 2...

- He’s DEAD? No, he’s ok! Don’t give me heart attack like that! I had enough with Forager already!

- “Chill, Aquaman!” Is that supposed to be a joke? You know, because it’s winter and/or Kaldur is Atlantean.

- *fangirl laugh* I hated that... I just hope she won’t get hurt because the fangirling makes people dumber...

- “My spectacles” Is that an old word for glasses? “Gratitude.” This girl definitely has a high rank vocabulary.

- “Stay calm, citizen, and stay inside.” Cassie feels a little unease and  in a confident character :) Not confortable yet with speaking with the population yet :)

- “Superamalgamated.” No clue of what she said...

- Love that Virgil has a techonological plateform now :) 

- Helga seems so proud of Brion :) Ok, maybe she’s not evil, but just overprotective like I thought...

- “Please, miss, you must get to cover.” Give up, Kal, she’s a teenager AND a fangirl, no way she stay out of danger...

- Wait, why Joan is at hospital? What happened to her? :(

- Aw... Ed showing the Team to his proteges :3 And Wendy is laughing!

- “Maybe it was a bad idea to do this in mid-air.” You think? Didn’t Scarab tell you about this? “This is a really bad idea, Jaime Reyes. You should...” “Don’t worry, Scarab, I’ll handle this!” By the way, why we don’t hear him? It would be interesting to have his pov since it’s the Reach in front of them!

- The scream doesn’t seem to be Jaime’s voice but Brion’s...

- Aw... Mom Arty is sad they’re leaving :( Or did they already have? Violet is crying :( “One last sleepover.” They haven’t leave yet.

- So cool Gar is introducing his team :)

- The Sheriff is funny but what kind of American accent is that? Is it cliché? I find it annoying :/ (no offense, it’s just difficult to understand)

- “We prefer protégé.” = “don’t call us sidekicks!” in season 1 xD But more diplomatic.

- Whisper A’Daire and Intergang are back! Blue already met her in season 2 with Superboy. And here are Scorpia A’Daire (her little sister I guess?) and Cairo Defrey. Is she from Egypt? Is she old or does she have metapowers with her white hair?

- Scooby Doo vibes? I mean the Team appeared in an episode, so why not? Wait, so the two girls are from Scooby Doo Team too? (Don’t know their names in English...)

- This bip doesn’t look good... The big ship is awake again! So the Reach will come? But it seems pretty empty so? Did the signal activate because of Whisper’s line? As she said they didn’t succeed?

- “Look what they’ve done to our library!” It’s just a glass sir, pretty sure it’s no big deal compared to a destroyed city... Have you seen Central City after Neutron?

- Tommi Tompkins, sound like a boy name... Wait! Is Tommi transwoman and his dad just use his dead/birth name? He’s really a jerk :( 

- He’s on Lex Luthor’s side, that’s why...

- The ship is huge! Is it the same than where the heroes and Runaways were abducted in season 2?

 “This is so moded!” “No way...” “Yes way! I mean: look at us! We’re in chackles!” They still have the same dynamic! :’)

- When the bad guys told you to call the JL, you know you’re in trouble! Except if you’re a dumb jerk...

- He called the US Air Forces. Is he dumb or... No, there’s no other explanation that stupidity (I mean a lack of knowledge, but essentially common sense...)

- And... they’re dead... Mayor, your stupidity caused two deaths (maybe 4?) of soldiers. Are you proud? Remorsed? “No, no, no!’ He’s a stubborn dumb jerk, isn’t he?

- “Mine aren’t (tied). Just handcuffled.” and they break free so easily it’s funny xD Why do you think they use collar in Belle Reve, stupid mayor?

- Tara’s flashbacks are heartbreaking :( She couldn’t see her parents again after her kidnapping :( 

- “Do you see how brave Tara and Violet are? You can be brave like them.” *Violet hides because of thunder* It was sweet and funny :) And Artemis is educating Lian to be brave like her parents and auntie :)

- Big sisters Artemis and Tara :) It’s rare to see Tara smiling, those family moments do good to her :) 

- Gar still likes to perch on people’s shoulder :) 

- “No baddies, just their bones.” Bart, the Reach are insect-base, they don’t have bones... Wait, could be the bones of the abducted teens in season 2 who didn’t have the metagene? Virgil said there were kids they never saw again and they were only 5: the Runaways plus Chimmer. Where were the other kidnapped kids? Dead. And that won’t make any sense the Reach stay on that ship to die at the end of season 2... And the Team didn’t kill anyone while saving the abductees. So yeah, it have to be the murdered abducted kids :’( 

- “bad news, there are still militaries air force.” The mayor is really stupid or the soliders didn’t get the memo their colleagues are dead in one blow?

- “Good news.” “Please no bad news, Please no bad news.” “Bad news.” “Urg!” xD

- Virgil’s sarcastis comments are back! xD

- Gar still has clever solutions :) 

- Of course, Ed is worried :) And Wendy doesn’t have the collar anymore! The Team did inspire her! :D 

- Joan :( 

- Big Bro Kaldur is so proud of them!

- “No concept of how much that thing is gonna cost to get out of my lake?” Sorry, mayor, we thought Brooklyn was a democraty, not Tompkins’ kingdom... And the taxes aren’t your money either but serve the city... --’

- “A Young Justice League” that a recall of the show title, isn’t it?

- “We are all Outsiders.” Catchy indeed!

- “Relax, your time will come.” Tara can’t wait to act, but against what? against who? Those family moments didn’t stop Tara for working with Slade :( 

- Is she looking at Lian? Why? :o :(

- So the ship was indeed empty for 2 years. Man, Jaime and Bart would be so mad at them when they’ll learn the Anti-Light thing and that they knew there were no Reach on it... 

- Lag’aan! Is still in the hero game! Only for Atlantis or he’s part of the League now?

- Oracle!

- So Kal was indeed holding back!

- Who is the second guy? He looks like Garth’s old brother. Edit: name’s Wyynde. he appeared in the tie-comics. 

- “I don’t think he’s ready for that, for this.” M’gann also talks about the lies and secrets the Anti-Light has to come up with. She doesn’t want that responsibility and burden on her brother’s shoulder. And maybe fears his reaction to this.

- What is the Anti-Light mission?

- Brucely and Wally plushie! Wait... is that text sounds? This’s Tara but where is... In Lian’s room? In her own room? Are they sleeping in the same room just like Violet and Artemis?

[couchmonkey]

PILOT season!!

When I was young, Brandon Tartikoff was a hero of mine. I always fancied myself a closet programmer, so I love pilot season. THR published a list of the projects moving forward and as I was procrastinating, some are already on the air.

Let’s start with Stumptown. Inspired by the Oni Press graphic novels, Dex Parios (Cobie Smulders), a strong, assertive and unapologetically sharp-witted (but, let’s face it, hot mess) Army veteran working as a P.I. in Portland. Michael Ealy plays the cop because there must always be one. His boss is Camryn Manheim (yes!!), and the whole reason I heard about the show is Tantoo Cardinal, a powerful local Native American tied to Dex’s past. Oops, almost forgot the best friend, JakeJohnson of New Girl. His past is a little messy, too. He now owns a bar and employs Dex’s brother Ansel (Cole Sibus). It’s a tight cast, and Dex really is a hot mess nut she gets things done.

All Rise, it looks like, was originally pitched as Courthouse, good thing they changed the name! Simone Missick is a former DA who just became a judge and is encircled by Ruthie Ann Mills as her assistant, Lindsay Mendez as her stenographer, J. Alex Brinson as the deputy in her courtroom, and Marg Helgenberger as her mentor. I was not familiar with the first three when I started the show but they are a strong team. The 2 main lawyers are Wilson Bethel, a DA and old friend of Missick’s judge, and Jessica Camacho, a VERY determined public defender. I like the dynamics of the show, it’s very seldom a case of the week situation (even though there is one). Viewers get little snippets of most of the characters’ lives organically so, in my opinion, you enjoyed the show more the more you watch.

Evil is one of the most unique shows on the air this season. It pits science and religion, Katja Herbers plays a skeptical clinical psychologist who joins a priest-in-training (Mike Colter) and a blue-collar contractor ( Aasif Mandvi)  to investigate supposed miracles, demonic possessions and other extraordinary occurrences to see if there's a scientific explanation or if something truly supernatural is at work.The give and take between science and religion is truly engaging and Michael Emerson is truly creepy and possibly playing for the other side in this battle.

Bob Hearts Abishola follows Bob (Billy Gardell) who, after having a heart attack, falls in love with his Nigerian nurse (Folake Olowofoyeku). I think I saw the pilot, the rest of the episodes are on my DVR at the moment and thanks to some of the promos and Christine Ebersole, I do plan to get to them. ETA: I’ve watched a couple.  Folake Olowofoyeku is really great but because this whole thing seems to involve the progress of their relationship, it runs a little slow for me.

Carol's Second Act is also piling up on my DVR.  I’ve been on bedrest because of an injury and have been mostly streaming. But, like Bob, I do plan to get to it. I do like that Patricia Heaton is the lead, a med student of all things. I have to think it’s also still on the air because it also has a strong male lead, Kyle MacLachlan, although I’ve never personally seen him do comedy.  Cedric Yarbrough is a strong motivator for me as well as I saw every episode of Speechless. ETA: Well, plans change. I erased them all. I thought if I hadn’t gotten to them by now, watching them would be a chore.

The Unicorn is a sitcom I actually have been watching. I didn’t want to at first because, although I’d heard of Walton Goggins, I had never actually seen him in anything. But it’s kind of like Seinfeld in that there is such an impressively strong group playing the couples who are his friends. Omar Benson Miller (yes!!) and  Maya Lynne Robinson are a couple with 4 kids and essentially a no nonsense approach and Rob Corddry and comedy goddess Michaela Watkins are the white color kid with a single kid who is well on her way to nerdhood.  These four a Goggins’ lifeline after his wife passes and he becomes a single father. The whole widower thing is handled well. His wife is mentioned or remembered in a completely organic way and allows the show to stay away from a trajectory that could have become maudlin.

Prodigal Son is another fairly unique concept for this season. Tom Payne plays Malcolm Bright, the son of a notorious serial killer called The Surgeon (Michael Sheen) who understands how killers think. The criminal psychologist uses his skills to help an NYPD unit led by Lou Diamond Phillips, a cop he’s known since his youth. What is interesting for me so far is that Bright’s mom, Bellamy Young, is her own kind of nuts, and Malcolm, who started off as a little nutty (I mean consider his past), is well on his way to possibly off his rocker.

Bluff City Law is a case of the week legal drama set in Memphis. The viewer is getting smidges of the character’s private lives each week but character development seems a little slow. I like Caitlin McGee’s performance but I’d never heard of her before watching this. The anchor for the show and the law firm in it is Jimmy Smits. The supporting cast, especially Barry Sloane who’s mostly navigated a single case for the first part of the season, is just starting to get noticed. It’s not something I race to watch but I like it. ETA: It has gotten cancelled. Poor Barry Sloane.

Emergence was a show I was waiting for as it marked the return of Allison Tolman.  She plays a sheriff who takes in a young child that she finds near the site of a mysterious accident who has no memory of what has happened. The investigation so far has been weird and sometimes violent and definitely is affecting her family, including father Clancy Brown and ex-husband Donald Faison. But, bless her, she is nowhere near ready to give up. The cliffhanger before Christmas break was very illuminating.

I have watched a couple of episodes of Perfect Harmony (the rest are on my DVR). I love that Bradley Whitford is doing outright comedy although his character, an Ivy League music professor, is quite cranky. But I’m not in a rush to get back to it because it doesn’t seem like there’s enough material for it to run for multiple seasons. ETA: Like Carol’s Second Act, these got dumped off my DVR.

While we’re talking about enough material, Sunnyside was one of the first casualties of the season and, I have to say, I saw it coming. The pilot was well done, Kal Penn played Garrett Shah, a disgraced former New York city councilman who finds his calling when faced with immigrants in need of his help and in search of the American Dream. I know the immigration and nationalization process in the US is a lengthy process but it just didn’t seem like there was enough to keep people coming back despite the presence of talent like Diana Maria Riva.

Almost Family revolves around Julia Beckley (Brittany Snow) having her life turned upside down when it's revealed that her father, a pioneering Nobel Prize-winning fertility doctor, used his own sperm to conceive dozens of children over the course of his career. She connects with two “sisters” in particular and I think that’s what they’ve built the show on but I had a hard time believing any of the negative effects of all this coming from Snow and chose to stop watching. I do have the Australian show it’s based on as part of my Netflix list, I think I will probably end up watching that first.

I did start watching Batwoman before my injury, it being female led and all. Ruby Rose does inspire a bit of monotony in the voiceovers that populate the show but I get it, she’s tired, she’s working hard and only making minimal progress, I understand she’s not full of pep. It is kind of weird to watch her slip into the suit and try to make it work for her and watch Camrus Johnson, the steward of the life Bruce Wayne abandoned, do his best to both avoid and become her Alfred. ETA: That got dumped off the DVR, too. There’s SOOOO much TV.

FBI: Most Wanted is a spinoff of FBI (somebody may have to stop Dick Wolf) featuring 
Julian McMahon of Nip/Tuck as the head of team tasked with hunting down fugitives. Sadly, it’s been pretty run of the mill so far except for McMahon’s in-laws, which include Nathanial Arcand as his brother-in-law and a member of his squad.

The CW did reboot Nancy Drew and while I did not hate the concept, I’m still loyal to Pamela Sue Martin and chose not to watch it.

These are the shows that are on the air. Some mid-season shows are still ready to roll out. Some are already being bolstered by promos like Deputy. I am looking forward to that one and watching Stephen Dorff unexpectedly be made the sheriff of LA County. I think and really hope Yara Martinez, last seen and underutilized on Bull, will get to be a meaty part of this drama. ETA: Yara has gotten some featured episodes and done well but she’s essentially in the same boat as David Conrad on the Ghost Whisperer and Jake Weber on Medium.

Tommy is another cop show but thankfully Tommy is Abigail Thomas’ nickname and Edie Falco is front and centre as the first female chief of police for Los Angeles. She got the position as part of a court mandate after some ugliness in the department and often has to deal with the mayor, Tom Sadowski. Tommy’s assembled a pretty tight circle so far and, of course, does things her own way, so I’ve been trying to watch this live.

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist is SOOOOOO good. I’ve missed Jane Levy so much and this has not only a lovely story but singing and dancing (with choreography by Mandy Moore). After an accident in an MRI machine, Levy’s character can hear people expressing their feelings through song. Her supporting cast is top notch. Alex Newell of Glee plays her neighbor who is trying to help Zoey figure this out, Skylar Astin of Pitch Perfect and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is her BFF, Lauren Graham is her boss, and Mary Steenburgen and Peter Gallagher are her parents. Some of the most touching scenes (and songs) have involved Levy and Gallagher, who has lost many functions, including speech and a lot of movement. Thanks to Zoey’s condition, he is able to express himself to her through song and Gallagher’s voice is so sweet.

Geniuses has become Outmatched and features Maggie Lawson and Jason Biggs as parents of 4 children, 3 of whom are geniuses. I’ve seen 3 episodes so far. Everyone except the “normal” child seems to be waiting for a rimshot. I did enjoy Tony Danza as Jason Bigg’s dad but I am not going to be busting my butt to watch it. 

Uninsured has become Indebted. Adam Pally and Abby Elliott end up having to take care of Dave's parents (Fran Drescher and Steven Weber), who have mismanaged their finances and need help paying down a sizable debt. Sadly, like Outmatched, everyone seems to be waiting for a rimshot and the jokes seem really repetitive. Weber’s character, for example, is constantly talking about spending extravagant amounts of money even though he is deep in debt and I doubt they’re going after a dementia storyline with him. When the name Dan Levy popped up on the credits I did a lightning fast search on IMDB to make sure it was not, in my mind, THE Dan Levy of Schitt’s Creek, and thankfully, there are 2 of them.

Lincoln Rhyme, who was played on the big screen by Denzel Washington, is now Russell Hornsby from Grimm and Fox’s failed Proven Innocent. There’s still an Amelia Sachs, there’s still a Bone Collector, and Michael Imperioli is always a strong utility player but I’m finding it collecting on the DVR because of the plethora of good stuff available on Thursday and my need to get through that because sampling Friday’s mostly guilty pleasures.

Katy Keene has made it air. It’s a Riverdale spinoff on the CW and they are spending a lot on advertising but not enough to rope me in. Not that I think it’s not a good show, I’m just not the target audience.

Of the rest of the list, I know the planned reboots of New York Undercover and NYPD blue did not make it out of the gate. 

I’m never going to get this post finished if I included all of the pilots on the list I still haven’t talked about, so I’ll go with bullet points about the ones that stood out to me:

Nana: Katey Sagal playing a grandmother. Yeah. 

An untitled comedy pairing Leslie Odom Jr. and Kelly Jenrette: GREAT team, well matched I think.

The Republic of Sarah: Sarah Drew of Grey's Anatomy goes from mayor to president. So much story potential there.

Broke: Jaime Camil and Natasha Leggero plus Pauley Perrette - uh, yes please. Sounds like a very strong team to me. 

Next is a vehicle for Jon Slattery of Mad Men, who I adore, but I don’t recognize much of the supporting cast, which could be a problem if none of them are able to rise to his level.

Filthy Rich features Kim Cattrall and Gerald McRaney, a very strong base but I’m wondering how the religious community will respond to a story about how imperfect true believers can be. Another plus for me, it’s supposed to be filmed in New Orleans.

Richard Lovely is a vehicle for the uber talented Thomas Lennon, who plays the disgruntled author of the best-selling children's book series, Mr. Mouse. It looks like he’ll have Wendie Malick as a frequent scene partner and I believe that to be an ideal pairing.

Council of Dads is getting a lot of advertising but will involve death. If they handle it as well as The Unicorn has, I think it might have a chance.

That’s all I’ve got. I wish I’d finished this sooner. My DVR is 63% full. I’m going to match more TV.

[inquisitorextraordinaire]

Pssssst your character music is good do you have playlists or songs for your friends' OCs too??? Will you share? *~*

oh fuck where do you people come from. (God dammit Kay if this is you YOU COULD HAVE JUST ASKED.)

Okay, first I’ll do @caezsucksdangs OCs because they have A LOT LESS THAN KAY.

P.S. sorry if there’s a bit of overlap from my other list…

Caez:

- “Flawed Design” by Stabilo

- “Body” by Mother Mother

- “Ghost Towns” by Radical Face

- “Try To Change” by Mother Mother

- “Red Stars” by The Birthday Massacre

- “My Skin” by Natalie Merchant

- “The Devil Within” by Digital Daggers

- “It Took Me By Surprise” by Marina Mena

- “The Beast” by Imogen Heap

- “River Below” by Billy Talent

- “Ignorance” by Paramore

- “Smother” by Mother

- “Broken Tines” by Casey Lalonde

- “Disintegration” by Monarchy

- “Always Hate Me” by James Blunt

- “Heaven” by Messengers

- “Black Sheep” by Metric

- “Girls/Girls/Boys” by Panic! At the Disco (Ollie Piano Cover)

- “Mists Of Avalon” by Peter Jeremias

- “Run Or Die” by Christian Baczyk

- “Set Fire To The Third Bar” by Snow Patrol

- “Dread In My Heart” by Mother Mother

- “EET” by Regina Spektor

- “Arsonist’s Lullaby” by Hozier

Stix:

- “You’re Not Good Enough” by Blood Orange

- “Family Portrait” by Radical Face

- “I Found” by Amber Run

- “Guillotine” by Yadi

- “Don’t Let Me Down” by The Chainsmokers

- “Stronger” by Kanye West (RaveJaxx Remix)

- “Yin Yang” by USS

- “Where The Lonely Ones Roam” by Digital Daggers

- “Die In A Fire” by The Living Tombstone

- “Everytime” by Broods

- “Buzzcut Season” by Lorde

- “Headstrong” by Trapt

- “Almost Human” by Monarchy

- “East Of Eden” by Zella Day (Matstubs Remix)

- “Dorian” by Agnes Obel

- “Ocean Eyes” by Billie Eilish

- “Oh Be Clever” by River

- “Wolf” by Leø

- “All You Are” by Memtrix

- “Pessimist” by Koven and Memtrix

- “The Good In Me” by Jon Bellion

- “Fuqboi” by Hey Violet

- “We Ride As One” by James Paget

- “Never Be Like You” by Flume (Crywolf Cover)

- “Colours” by Halsey (Stripped Version)

- “The Real Thing” by Forget Tomorrow

- “Francis Forever” by Mitski

- “I Bet On Losing Dogs” by Mitski

- “Mistakes Like This” by Prelow

- “Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea” by XYLØ

- “Believer” by Imagine Dragons

Geht:

- “Ava” by Famy

- “Always Gold” by Radical Face

- “Iscariot” by Walk the Moon

- “Make You Better” by The Decemberists

- “Until You Were Gone” by The Chainsmokers

- “The Run And Go” by Twenty-One Pilots

- “When You Were Young” by The Killers (Kier Kemp Cover)

- “Here Comes The Hotstepper” by Ini Kamoze (Yuksek Remix)

- “You Can’t Hate Me As Much As I Do” by Casey Lalonde

- “Last Resort” by Papa Roach

- “Jesus Christ” by Brand New

- “Starboy” by The Weeknd

- “Gravity” by EDEN

- “The Last Saint” by Mario M

- “Garbage Truck” by Sex Bob-Omb

- “LOL” by EDEN

- “IDFC” by Blackbear (Tarro Remix)

- “Love Stuck” by Mother Mother

- “Jump The Fence” by Mother Mother

- “Infinitesimal” by Mother Mother

- “Junkie” by Kill Paris

- “The Drugs” by Mother Mother

- “Did You Wrong” by Sweater Beats

- “Frame Of Mind” by Tristam and Braken

- “The Good, The Bad, And The Dirty” by Panic! At the Disco

- “All Time Low” by Jon Bellion

- “Afraid” by The Neighbourhood

- “I’m Not Famous” by AJR

- “BADBOI VIP” by Pegboard Nerds

- “Handclap” by Fritz and the Tantrums

- “Destiny” by Jame Paget

- “Cupid’s Chokehold” by The Gymclass Heroes

- “Better Than Sex” by The Midnight Beast

- “Rustie” by Attak

OKAY. These next ones are all my friend @kalamitis OCs.

Ty:

- “Hope Of Morning” by Icon for Hire

- “Sleep Alone” by Two Door Cinema Club

- “Halo” by Starset

- “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” by Say Lou Lou (Tame Impala Cover)

- “Still Here” by Digital Daggers

- “You’re No Fun Anymore Mark Trezona” by Mindless Self-Indulgence

- “Eyes Wide Open” by Gotye

- “Exile Vilify” by The National

- “Bad Wings” by The Glitch Mob

- “Little Bird” by Imogen Heap

- “Feels Right” by Godwolf

- “Suffocate” by Whipped Cream

- “Wanderer’s Lullaby” by Adriana Figueroa

- “Somethin About U” by Astronomyy

- “Bit By Bit” by Mother Mother

- “Arrival” by IHF

- “Rude” by Dilistone and LILI N

- “Sober” by Dilistone

- “Remembering Myself” by Stephen

- “Don’t Leave” by Snakehips

- “Hand Of God” by Jon Bellion

- “Sweet Revenge” by Phantom Power

- “Nothing Left To Lose” by Ethos Music

- “Believe” by James Paget

- “Say It, Just Say It” by The Mowgli’s

- “Boats And Birds” by Gregory and the Hawk

- “Rockabye” by Clean Bandits

Kos:

- “St. Patrick” by PVRIS

- “The World Has I’ts Shine” by Cobra Starships

- “Coin Operated Boy” by The Dresden Dolls

- “Pretty Thing” by Broods

- “Pretty Face” by Soley

- “Bodyache” by Purity Ring

- “Cake By The Ocean” by DNCE

- “10,000 Emerald Pools” by BØRNS

- “Moondust” by Jaymes Young (Stripped Version)

- “Bare” by Wildes

- “Cosmic Love” by Florence and the Machine (Seven Lions Remix)

- “Weak When You’re Around” by Blackbear

- “Superlove” by Tinashe

- “Side To Side” by Ariana Grande

- “YALA” by M.I.A.

- “Fandango” by The Clarstone

- “Love Me” by Jane XØ

- “Anchor” by Novo Amor

- “Blow Your Mind” by Dua Lipa

- “Beyond The Void” by Cody Still

K:

- “Gooey” by Glass Animals

- “Nasty Freestyle” by T-Wayne (Prizmo & Cpz Remix)

- “Powerful” by Major Lazer

- “Go Hard” by Kreyshawn (Valentino Kahn Remix)

- “Bitch” by Allie X

- “Get On Your Knees” by Nicki Minaj

- “Move Like A Soldier” by Kristina Maria

- “She’s The One” by Arkasia

- “Slay It” by Cryptex

- “The Prestige” by Kraddy

- “Let You Let Me” by Savoy

- “Bravado” by Lorde

- “LET ME TOUCH YOUR FIRE” by A R I Z O N A

- “Into You” by Ariana Grande

- “Mine” by Phoebe Ryan (Illenium Remix)

- “See Right Through Me” by Set Mo

- “All We Do” by Oh Wonder

- “That’s My Girl” by Fifth Harmony

- “Cool Girl” by Tove Lo

- “Brand New Moves” by Hey Violet

- “The Sound” by The 1975

- “Army Of Steel” by Red Noise Industries

- “Brutality Code” by Christian Baczyk

- “Instant Crush” by Daft Punk

Triis:

- “Stay” by Kygo

- “Fake You Out” by Twenty-One Pilots

- “Cat And Mouse” by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

- “Black And Gold” by Sam Sparro

- “Hymn Of Acxiom” by Vienna Teng

- “Keep Your Hands Off My Girl” by Good Charlotte

- “Mister Simple” by Super Junior

- “Tear You Apart” by She Wants Revenge

- “SADIST” by Crystal Castles

- “Make You Feel Loved” by CADE

- “Single” by The Neighbourhood

- “Wrong” by MAX

- “Somebody” by Natalie La Rose

- “Dessert” by Dawin

- “Gangsta” by Kehlani

- “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd

- “Weak” by AJR

- “Closer” by The Nine Inch Nails

- “All I Wanna Do” by J-Park

- “Gangsta Sexy” by Hollywood Undead

- “The Cure” by Lady Gaga

- “That’s What I Like” by Bruno Mars

Kal:

- “Let You Go” by The Chainsmokers

- “GDFR” by Flo Rida (K Theory Remix)

- “Pursuit Of Happiness” by Kid Cudi (Steve Aoki Remix)

- “Freak” by Estelle

- “Recover” by Churches

- “Stranger Than Earth” by Purity Ring

- “Selfish Man” by Francis Lung

- “Learning To Hate You As A Self-Defense Mechanism” by Flatsound

- “The Beautiful Ones” by Monarchy

- “Pa Pa Power” by Dead Man’s Bones

- “Drugs” by EDEN

- “Tipsy” by J-Kwon

- “Alone” by Bazzi

- “Party Favours” by Tinashe

- “Sweatpants” by Childish Gambino

- “Company” by Tinashe

- “Drop That Kitty” by Ty Dolla $ign

- “Love This Shit” by August Alsina

- “Player” by Tinashe

- “Don’t Threaten Me With A Good Time” by Panic! At the Disco

- “I Wanna Get Better” by Bleachers

- “Fake Love” by Drake

Cam:

- “Do You Feel It?” by Chaos Chaos

- “Oh Miss Believer” by Twenty-One Pilots

- “Maps” by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

- “Forget” by Marina and the Diamonds

- “#MINDCONTROL” by Hot Sugar

- “Tether” by Chvrches

- “Let Go” by Frou Frou

- “Oblivion” by Bastille

- “Elastic Heart” by SIA

- “Young Blood” by Bea Miller

- “Jenny” by The Studio Killers (Lily Sevin Cover)

- “Living Without You” by Monarchy

- “Never Be Like You” by Flume

- “How Long Will I Love You?” by Ellie Goulding (EMBRZ Remix)

- “Jealous Of The Rain” by Labyrinth

- “Reforget” by Lauv

- “Ghosting” by Mother Mother

- “Perfect Illusion” by Lady Gaga

- “Bad Habits” by Monsieur Adi

- “One More Time” by Jon Bellion

- “Sex” by The 1975

- “End Of All Things” by Panic! At the Disco (Rain Demo)

- “Greenlight” by Lorde

- “Liability” by Lorde

- “I Don’t Smoke” by Mitski

- “Your Best American Girl” by Mitski

- “Be Happy” by FRND

AHHHH I think that’s it? I basically just redid my playlists for these.

[kalgroup]

Welcome to Kal

The days are getting longer and work is in full flow for the year ahead. After the first couple of weeks settling back in and echoes of ‘I can’t believe it’s 2018’, everything seems to be back to normal. So, as we look set for the year, we thought now was the perfect opportunity to tell you a little bit more about Kal, how we started, our staff and the offices.

Where we are

When clients come to visit us the two things that shock them are the size of the team and how nice our offices are.

With so many different personalities and types of people working here it only makes sense for us to work in a building with just as much character. The original brickwork walls, open plan offices, floor to ceiling length windows and windows into the board room make our offices quirky and different; after all you couldn’t put our designers into a plain room, they’d hate it!

Our offices have a relaxed feel, and with nearly everyone in the same open room, you really feel connected to the people you’re working with, although three Chris’s in one room can get quite confusing at times.

Where it all started

Kal Designs Limited was set up in 2000 by our manging director Andrew Wood, it was originally called Kaleidoscope but with many people struggling to spell it, the decision was made to rename it Kal Designs Limited. Initially set up in Andy’s front room in Lincolnshire, the company grew organically over the years meaning that in 2010 the team moved into new offices in Marshall’s Yard in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire where we’re still based today.

Marshall's Yard site was formerly occupied by the Marshall family's Britannia Iron Works which was founded in 1848.  The company built steam engines, threshing machines and agricultural machines which were exported all over the world. Appropriately enough, our offices are located in a part of the complex known as The Pattern Store, where designs and blueprints for the company’s products were kept.

Kal has quickly established itself as the leading provider of marketing solutions for the mobile leisure industry and has grown to a team of 21. That growth shows no sign of stopping, so watch this space for some exciting announcements throughout the year!

Through the doors

Walking through the doors into Kal the first desk you pass is Rick, our bubbly operations manager; he’s a keen vlogger and never fails to lift the team’s moral with his funny stories and smiley face.

Rick is part of the management team along with MD Andy, sales director Helen and creative director Martyn. The management team are very hands on; with them all in the same office we have regular catch ups and team meetings, and they certainly know how to keep us sweet with a high-tech coffee machine, breakfast deliveries and trips to Dublin!

After Rick, you reach the digital team which is made up of six (two being called Chris), they all do something slightly different, from backend developers, whose screens always seem to be full of little dots and dashes, to frontend developers, who work in much more plain English. There are also our application developers, who are currently designing some very exciting, top secret, new apps.

The digital advertising department took off rapidly and has had good continued growth. SEO stands for search engine optimism and PPC stands for pay per click, not that this ever made it much clearer to some of us in the building! In short it means making sure as many people as possible see your website! Kelly, our SEO/PPC manager, is a huge part of our team; when she’s not getting clients to the first-place listing on Google, she keeps us all entertained with her latest cat stories or spiritual theories. With our client list continuing to grow, this department saw two new additions last year with both Lottie and Hannah joining as SEO/PPC executives.

Our design team, the ones that make everything look pretty, eye-catching and stylish, are one of the busiest departments in the business. All artwork that leaves the building is built completely from scratch by this talented bunch and they are continually successful at making everything unique and individual. Although Martyn, our creative director, won’t reveal any of the work that is currently being produced (it’s all very hush hush), we have in the past produced the Coachman website, the Auto-Trail brochures and various e-shot campaigns for many dealerships, to name just a few.  

The business development and support department deals with a wide variety of work, in this part of the business you have administration, which controls all the jobs in the building, ensuring you all receive work on time. Charlotte joined the team in September as administration apprentice and is already making sure everyone is super-organised by overseeing time sheets and workload.  

If you move through to the smaller office in the building you have PR and sales. The PR team look at all things fluffy, they have a varied role, from proof-reading work to raising the profile of the company and client copywriting. Both Michelle, communications manager, and Jess, communications assistant, can usually be found knee-deep in press releases and magazines.

Our sales team is made up of managing director Andy, Helen, sales director and Emma, sales executive They all work continuously at pulling in new clients and keeping our current clients happy. The sales team often attend industry shows to meet potential clients and catch up with our current clients, the next show they are attending is the Scottish caravan, motorhome and holiday home show.  

The list is endless…

As the leading digital marketing company for the leisure industry, we’re always looking at ways to improve our work and offer more services to our clients. Currently, just some of the things we offer are websites, brochures, apps, SEO/PPC and software. So that’s us! If you ever want to pop in and say hello, we’ve got a posh coffee machine and we love a chat!