love on the rocks

FIC: Superheroes make poor patients and other facts of life, PG

2010-10-01T09:39:26Z

Title: Superheroes make poor patients and other facts of life
Author: calcus
Rating: PG
Pairing: Clark/Ollie, Lois
Word count: c.1500
Summary: Oliver is injured and Clark has to put up with him for the month and a half it takes for him to get better, which is as hard as it sounds. Written for my schmoop_bingo card prompt, ‘nurse back to health’.
Spoilers: For season 6’s Justice probably? But this is future fic so no spoilers really.
Warnings: (If any) Slash.
Note: Unbeta’d. Point and I shall correct!

“What happened?” Clark asked, watching Oliver limp across the room. He was cradling his ribs with one hand and heading towards the kitchen.

“Nothing.” Oliver insisted.

“Nothing?” Clark heard the freezer open and close, then watched Oliver walk – even slower than he had a few moments before – over to the couch, sitting down slowly.

He put his foot up on the coffee table and began to remove his boot. Oliver winced as he bent over.

“You’re ridiculous.” Clark said and abandoned his laptop and his admittedly very boring story about a funding cut for the local fire service.

(“Slow news day,” Perry had said, sounding disapproving. “I hate slow news days.” Lois had smirked and then said “We could always make it more interesting with pictures of shirtless fire-fighters. I would read that.” Perry had then spent ten minutes yelling at Lois, which had been the high point of his day, mostly because that meant Perry wasn’t yelling at him.)

Clark sat down on the coffee table, pushing aside the centrepiece of fresh flowers that the housekeeper put there every morning. He picked up Oliver’s injured foot and put it gently in his lap. Oliver collapsed back against the couch, pressing his hands against his side. “Oh god.” He said.

He removed Oliver’s boot and took the sock off, snatching the bag of frozen peas from Oliver’s hand. “I should call Emil. You might need an x-ray.” He said, placing the peas on Oliver’s foot.

“It’s fine.” Oliver insisted.

“Do you remember the last time you insisted you were fine? You ended up having a stress fracture. Just insisting you’re fine won’t make you fine. Stupid maybe, but not fine.”

Oliver scowled.

“You’ve been walking on this foot?” Emil asked, gently turning the foot to the left.

Oliver whacked Emil with the magazine he’d been reading. “That hurt! And yes.”

Emil placed the foot back down on the table. “You’re an idiot.”

“I’ve been telling him that for years.” Clark said.

Oliver sighed. “My ribs hurt.”

He was ignored. “Going to need an x-ray. Shouldn’t take long. I’ll strap those ribs while we’re waiting.”

“You heard the doctor. Bed rest for a week, crutches for a month after that.” Clark pushed the wheelchair along the corridor of the Justice League headquarters, heading to the control room. Oliver sat sullenly in the chair; he glared at everyone they passed, daring them to say anything.

Not that they would. Clark was infamously protective.

Which had never stopped Bart. “Didn’t feel like walking?”

Oliver ignored him, staring resolutely forward.

“You know he could have carried you. The big guy in blue does have super strength. Like a bride, over the threshold and into the control room.” Bart said dramatically, walking as though carrying something very heavy in his arms.

Oliver kicked out sharply with his uninjured foot, hitting Bart in the shins.

“Ow!”

“Oops. Sorry. Foot slipped.”

Clark rolled his eyes and rolled Ollie past Bart. “Behave.”

“It was an accident!” Oliver insisted.

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Clark said, patting Oliver on the shoulder.

“He kicked me!” Bart reached down and rubbed his shin. “Ow.”

Oliver stared up at the ceiling, arms crossed over his chest while Clark set up the TV from his study on the dresser. “Alright!” Clark said, disturbingly cheerful. “So we have a TV, a Blu-ray player and this game thingy all set up.”

“It’s an Xbox,” Oliver grumbled. “Not a ‘game thingy’.”

Clark shrugged. “Never really been big on them honestly. Lois said she’ll be over later, I figured you two could play together.”

Oliver huffed. “I’m not a child. You can’t just give me video games and chocolate to bribe me into staying in bed.”

Clark superspeed out the door and then reappeared a moment later, holding a plate of chopped vegetables in his hands. “No chocolate. How about carrot sticks?” He placed the plate on the bed and leaned down and pressed a kiss into Oliver’s hair. “I’ll be in the lounge room. Yell if you need me okay?”

Oliver muttered something that might have been ‘will do’ but might also have been ‘go screw yourself’ and picked up a carrot stick.

He and Lois played Halo for a few hours that afternoon, eating Lois’ smuggled chocolate and Oliver bitching about Clark’s very accurate mother-hen impression.

“He only does it because he cares.” Lois pointed out, throwing a plasma grenade that killed several Covenant troops.

“I know,” He shrugged. “I’ve been alone so long it’s hard to get used to what people do when someone they love is hurt. My parents died and then I went to boarding school, which are about as warm and loving as standing in the middle of a snow storm in Siberia. I don’t want to just sit here but I don’t want him to worry either. Guy behind you.”

Lois’ avatar ducked behind a pillar and then ran up a flight of stairs. “You need to rest. That injury could become chronic if you don’t. Also, what kind of idiot are you? Patrolling while injured is Bruce-level stupidity Ollie. You could hurt yourself even more seriously than you already have.”

Oliver’s avatar was run through with an energy sword and he scowled, throwing his controller down onto the bed. “I know. I wish he’d just –” Oliver let out a frustrated noise.

“Not care?” Lois suggested, smirking.

“No,” Oliver said. “I don’t know.” He picked up his controller as he respawned and he shuffled down the bed so he could rest his head on Lois’ shoulder.

Clark looked up from his computer as Lois walked down the stairs, her feet bare and her heels held in one hand. “Hey, he sleeping?”

Lois nodded. “Just about.” Lois took a moment to bury her toes in the plush carpet and then put her shoes on, trying to smooth out the bed head that she’d developed lying on Clark and Oliver’s bed.

He leaned back into the couch, smiled and said, only half joking “Should I be jealous?”

Baffled, Lois said “Jealous?”

“I saw the two of you snuggling before. I thought maybe you’d decided to rescind your no Superheroes policy.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You better be joking mister, or I’m going to find some of that green stuff you hate so much and shoving it where the sun don’t shine.”

He laughed. “I am, mostly. He’s just been kind of grumpy and irritating.”

Lois sat down beside him on the couch, smoothing out her wrinkled skirt. After several moments of awkward silence, she said “Give it a few days. He’ll want sex and then he’ll be sweet as apple pie.”

Clark rolled his eyes. “I’m just remembering why no one goes to you for relationship advice.”

She shrugged.

As it turned out, Lois was right. A few days later, after Oliver’s mood having gotten worse and worse with each day that he spent in bed, Oliver’s mood changed dramatically. He smiled and was sweet and understanding and inquired after what stories Clark was working on and didn’t try to go further than the bathroom and then back to bed. That evening Clark played hooky with his usual rounds of the city. If the world fell to pieces because Superman took a night off, then he wasn’t doing his job right.

By the time Emil proclaimed Oliver ready to begin rehabbing (and hobbling around on crutches on) his foot, Clark was considering moving into his fortress full-time and Oliver was trying to work out the best way to murder a Kryptonian and get away with it.

Being driven around by a chatty Eastern European man, being in immense pain by lunchtime and still not allowed to patrol ensured that Oliver spent a great deal of his time in a foul mood. Clark however, no longer feeling like he had to ensure that Oliver kept to his doctors orders regarding bed rest, felt gloriously cheerful about the whole thing. “We never spend this much time together!” Clark said one evening over dinner, laughing, and had duck to avoid the dumpling that Oliver threw at him.

A month later, Oliver was deemed healthy. When Clark rang the physio to confirm it himself, the man said “He’s fine. Me, I’ll be needing therapy. And not the physical kind.”

In the very early morning after Oliver’s first patrol for almost a month and a half, the two did their usual evening routine of dancing around each other in the bathroom, brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed. Clark was in bed, dozing, when Oliver dropped down onto bed beside him, smiling. “You don’t appreciate the simple things in life, like being able to walk from one place to another, til you can’t do them.” As Oliver settled into bed and let out a very amusing satisfied sigh, Clark buried his face into the pillow and tried not to laugh too loudly.

FIC: Beautiful and Attainable, PG-13, Chloe/Oliver

2010-06-12T11:09:35Z

This is the only piece of het fanfic I've ever written. It is possibly the only piece of het fanfic I will ever write. Perhaps predictably it does have very subtle homoerotic content LOL! Also, it's possible that I'm only posting this because I'm actively avoiding uni work. Ahem.

Title: Beautiful and Attainable
Author: calcus
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Chloe/Ollie
Word count: c.1330
Summary: Everything is normal!AU. Clark’s new roommate is rich, handsome and unattainable. Except in the way that he isn’t that last one.
Spoilers: None. Really. It's AU.
Warnings: (If any) None really. The f-bomb gets dropped once, hence the rating.
Note: I've read through it several times but if you spot any typos please point and I will fix it. :D

When Clark said he was moving out of the dorms and into an apartment off campus, Chloe had been disappointed. Same dorm, different floors and she’d never had such easy access to her best friends, with Pete only a short walk away in another dorm. (Chloe’s offer to hack into the system to make sure they were all in the same dorm had been turned down. “There’s no need to start off our time at Met U with an expellable offence Chlo,” Clark had said, to which Chloe had replied “Start as you intend to continue Kent!” Since arriving a year ago, however, Chloe has yet to engage in an activity that could get her expelled. She blamed Clark.)

When Clark said that his roommate in said apartment was a PhD candidate training for the Olympics, she’d gone from disappointed to sceptical. Clark came and went at all hours and had seemed to have decided that college was the time to get his man-whore on. It’s funny because she’s not sure who it bothers more: Lana or Lex.

“Wow,” Pete had said when they helped Clark move in. Chloe was taken by the architecture and the high ceilings. Pete appreciated the flat screen a bit more. “You know if you decide that you want to move back to the dorms, I’d be more than happy –”

“Shut it Pete,” Chloe said, kicking him sharply in the shins. “Where’s your room Clark?”

They spent the next hour and a half helping Clark unpack, time which Chloe mostly spent bitching about the gorgeous view Clark got from his bed out over the city. Clark then invited them to a housewarming ‘thing’ they were having. His words. “Just you guys, maybe a few others.” He said.

“Like the entire football team…” Chloe said.

“The cheerleading squad…” Pete said.

“The track team…”

“No,” Clark said with surprising firmness. “No parties guys. Just us, maybe Victor or a few others. Ollie doesn’t want any parties. Says he has enough distractions.”

Pete glanced around, baffled. “What’s the point in living in a place like this if you can’t have parties?”

“Uh, how about access to a fully stocked fridge? Or a massive plasma tv? Or the fucking library he has that takes up an entire floor?”

Chloe would never get used to Clark swearing.

At the ‘housewarming thing’ the Saturday before classes start, there’s really only the three of them plus Victor, AC, Bart and a sullen, dark haired boy who’s apparently in the same PhD program as Clark’s roommate but doesn’t look old enough to have even graduated from high school yet. “It takes all kinds,” Pete said while they were getting drinks.

Chloe was in the bathroom grumbling to herself about testosterone central when the as yet unseen roommate arrived. Seriously though, didn’t boys have anything in common besides football?

“If you can’t come up with something more interesting to talk about than football, then I’m leaving,” Chloe said crossly once she got back downstairs. Victor nearly fell off his chair laughing as Clark looked around and said “Hey, you’re the only girl. I really didn’t mean for that to happen.” He looked so genuinely apologetic that Chloe couldn’t stay mad. The conversation then moved from football to seventies horror flicks, a subject in which Chloe was well versed.

It was only when she left that she realised she hadn’t even been introduced to the roommate. Typical. Clark was kind of a flake when he’d been drinking.

It was weeks later when she finally got introduced to him. Clark had been standing with a stunning blond man when he ran over, latched onto her arm and pulled her halfway across the lawn and positioned her in front of said stunning blond man and said “Have you met Ollie?”

“No Clark,” she replied. “And that would be your fault.” She held out her hand to be shaken and went bright red when he bent down and kissed it instead.

“It’s a pleasure, Miss Sullivan,” he said. “Clark never shuts up about you.”

She was so busy stuttering that Clark had to come to her rescue. “I don’t think she’d mind if you called her Chloe right Chlo?” Clark said cheerfully.

“Right.” She said lamely, trying to decide whether it would be worth damaging her new shoes by kicking him.

She ran into Oliver the next day at the school library, when he walked up to the table where she was studying and said “Hey.” Three people turned around and said “Shhhhh!” and glared but he just shrugged and stifled a laugh. “Nice to see you again,” He mouthed as he backed away.

Chloe couldn’t remember the last time she actually giggled. She wasn’t sure it was progress from last time.

A week later, he was the guest lecturer in one of her Journalism classes, where he talked about having worked in the White House and the relationship between journalist and source. He claimed he was too boring to have ever been a source but there were plenty of people he knew who had been. He also mentioned, when asked, that he’d left after he worked out three days in that politics wasn’t for him.

At the end of the class there were far too many people crowded around Oliver to even think about stopping to say hello so she was surprised when he said “Hey Chloe,” when she walked past. Trying not to grin like a lunatic, she replied “Hey Ollie,” and was too busy being relieved that she hadn’t made a fool of herself for the third time in a row to notice the surprised looks being thrown her way.

Clark’s apartment had become the default hangout of he, Pete and Chloe for studying, fun and drinking and she was surprised they didn’t run into Oliver more often. “He’s barely ever here,” Clark said. “Either he’s on-campus, at the range or he’s cooking.” Clark paused. “He does that last one here.”

“Cooking?” Pete said hopefully.

Considering the list of things he apparently did – and the enormity of the Met U’s campus – it wasn’t really surprising that the next time she saw Oliver he was cooking, some sort of complicated French dish with a lot of cream and butter. “Hey Chloe,” he said. “Clark’ll be back in a few minutes. He went to get more butter.”

“More butter?” Chloe said sceptically.

“Yeah, needed more than I thought.”

Chloe spent the afternoon watching Oliver cook and Clark eat and being regaled with stories from Oliver’s White House days and Clark telling them about Operation Lex and Lana: We’re not Dating! Really!

By the time Chloe left she had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She really didn’t want to fall in like with another unattainable guy. It was unavoidable however: he was too sweet not to like. He brought her coffee every Tuesday and Thursday morning, when they both had early classes, and arranged an interview for a summer internship with the Daily Planet. He bought her home cooked dinners when she studied late and didn’t even care that her roommate spent half her time ogling him when he did. She told all this to Lois in a rather despairing way but the only response she received was laughter.

It was only when he cornered her in the library one afternoon and said with uncharacteristic awkwardness “Would you like to go to dinner some time? If you’re not busy that is.”

“Dinner?”

“Or lunch. We could do lunch.”

Recalling Lois’ laughter and her roommates envy and Clark’s amused smile every time she dropped by ‘just to say hi’, she felt like the biggest and luckiest fool in the world. “Sure,” she said shyly. “I’d love too.”

Supernatural, 514, My Bloody Valentine

2010-02-13T05:13:07Z

Shorter than usual. Might have more to say on my third viewing, haha. :D Would probably spend less time shrieking "OMG, that's disgusting!!"

Okay, I'm excited. :P

I'm hoping for more Cas this episode but I think it's going to be a Sam episode, judging by the preciouslies. I'm cool with that.

Ewewewewewewewew. That's disgusting. They're eating each other that's just...ew.

Okay this' so disgusting! Yuck.

Valentine's Day is Dean's favourite holiday. LOL! He's not feeling it this year though. It's Cas. Totally. K-I-S-S-I-N-G, haha.

Okay, I'm not sure I like the way that random women are being characterised in this episode.

"Be my Valentine?" Haha, that shouldn't have been funny.

Hehehe! Cas! "I'm there now. I'm going to hang up...now." ♥

Cherub, Third Class. Interesting. "They're not incontinent." Bahahaha. Oh Cas. I miss you when you're not around.

Dean's not hungry and Cas is eating, or about too anyway. Think they're hitting us with a clue bus! It looks like we know that Cas can eat but doesn't. Good to know.

I love that they're huggers. "Is this a fight? Are we in a fight?" "It's their handshake." "I don't like it." "Noone likes it."

Cupid is a sensitive, overly emotional, naked guy! The Winchestor's send the angel with the social skills of a -- I don't know, something without social skills to comfort someone. HAHAHA! Dean upset the Cupid!

Okay, so I'm going to put this out there: I'm liking this ep so far. Knock on wood!

Oh my God. Ew. I don't like the cases in this ep. Yucky.

Sam can smell demons? Since...when? Interesting though, I guess. Oh Sammy. *hugs* You're a good boy. ♥ Most of the time.

I love the 'cars as horses' thing. It so works for me.

Dude. Okay Famine is scary. More correctly I suppose, need is scary.

I thought that Cas was eating donuts for a minute. Taste for red meat. Hmmm. I kind of get it.

Oh Sammy. Okay, Cas just pushing that massive dresser thing like it weighed nothing is cool.

Cas is smiling! ♥ "In the low hundreds."

"You're saying you're well adjusted." "God no. I'm just well feed." That kind of makes sense. Dean's issues aren't about need, in the way that Famine seems to inspire it, which is hedonistic.

NO SAMMY! D: *cuddles* You've been trying so hard.

Why do I get the feeling that Cas has gone to get food?

Ewwwww Cas. Stop it! Yucky!

"Hunger doesn't just come from the body, it comes from the soul." God that's true.

A hole that can't be filled. Jesus. "You're not hungry because inside you're already dead." I repeat: Jesus. That's way more awesome than the idea I had earlier.

Hee. It's an all you can eat restaurant.

Okay that's cool.

Oh Sammy. That's so horrible.

Okay, Cas needs to stay with Sam. Dean can be helped later, Sam needs to not be alone.

Anyone else think Dean might be an alcoholic? I know, I know, it's the most obvious thing in the world.

Oh it's 'On the Head of a Pin' all over again. Or 'The Monster at the End of this Book.' Dean you broke my heart. The only person on tv that is as screwed up as he is is Michael Weston but at least Michael Weston functions! (On a Burn Notice kick. Need something to tide me over while everything is on hiatus.)

Supernatural, 513, The Song Remains the Same

2010-02-07T03:48:46Z

My thoughts on 'The Song Remains the Same.' Slightly incoherent, which kind of works with this episode.

Cas I have missed you and I'm so glad you're back!

Anna, I've missed you too and I'm hoping they don't kill you. We've confirmed what Bible Camp was like though.

"Sam is my friend." Yay. :D

Sigh. I think Cas is gonna spend the whole of the episode in that motel room.

I love Past!John. He's so lovely and polite. Even more obviously Sam = John, Dean = Mary.

Okay, this is so Terminator.

Please don't forget Mary's 'The Angel's are watching over you' line. Please!

Oh this' interesting. I didn't think John knew until after Mary died. Not sure it was ever confirmed either way though.

John's a Vietnam Vet Dean. A little human blood isn't going to bother him. Just because he happens to be a nice guy doesn't make him squeamish. Also, John sees them all grown up. Surely that's going to be WTF for him later on? "Who the hell does that to a kid?" Good question John. Good question.

This' really interesting. I think that Sam has forgiven him but Dean has learnt to hate John for what he did. I mean, I always suspected it to be true but still. Awesome. Sam has really, really learned to justify things. It explains all of last season with Ruby and now with John.

Uriel! I've missed you dude. I liked your old vessel a little more though. More badass.

Okay, not sure this' a great idea Dean. Badbadbadbadbad.

How are they going to fix this? Can't do this. Wow. Okay. Let's sentence ourselves to non-existence! I repeat: wow. They really, really hate their lives don't they? Remarkable how much, really.

She's pregnant. There we go. Knew it.

I miss Cass.

Robert Wisdom, you will always be my Uriel!

Michael!!!

...How does John not end up a vegetable?

I knew it! I knew there was an ancestral thing of some sort going on.

Okay, so Michael and Lucifer are Dean and Sam. We get it.

"Because I am a good son." WE GET IT!

"What makes you think you get to choose?" <-- That seems to be what the last two seasons have all been about. Season 4 of Angel was all about that as well. Some things you can't change. Not to mention that Mary is a marked woman. I get the feeling that Azezel would find her wherever she went.

There we go. Michael doesn't leave them a vegetable. Interesting.

Cas you're back! ♥ I really wanted the 'angels are watching over you' thing to be about Cas. Oh well.

"It's okay baby. Angel's are watching over you." Don't you mean trying to kill you? She had NO indication that the Angel's were anything good. Even subconsciously, I don't see her thinking anything positive about them. Aggravating!

The verdict:
*Unsatisfied. This episode had the potential to be one of the best episodes they ever did but as soon John found out about 'monsters' -- and it was going to be a 'wipe their memories' type solution -- it pretty much ceased being possible for it to be as good as it could be.

*Michael could have saved this episode. He really could have. As much as I like the guy who plays young John, I don't think he was a good Michael. The thing about the actors who played Angel's -- mostly Misha Collins, Robert Wisdom and Mark Pellegrino -- played them with such grandiose that they never seemed human. They were very still as well. There was no excess of movement. I was so looking forward to Michael that maybe it was inevitable that I'd be disappointed. Still.

*'All these centuries...' Say it with me now: Millennia. Mil-len-nia. As in thousands, not hundreds. They've never talked about centuries in terms of Angels before. Always much longer periods of time. This annoys me. This episode really, really needed someone to go over it. It felt rushed, writing-wise.

*It would have been a higher quality episode if Anna had seemed more unhinged. I don't think that Heaven sent her to the past. That doesn't make sense. Unless Heaven is more divided than we thought. On a related note...

*ANOTHER woman more than likely dead. It bugs me that they're killing women off left and right. I realise that while Anna is an Angel and more than likely technically without gender, she's played by a woman and again ends up dead. Frustrating!

*In conclusion: from the beginning of this episode you knew where it was going. Things were going to end up exactly where they were at the beginning. No matter how much they may want to, Dean and Sam can't change the past. Cas said it way back in 403: You can't change destiny. All roads lead to the same destination.

I waited until I'd watched it for a second time to post this, in case the second viewing changed my mind. It didn't -- thought it was better on the second viewing, entertainment-wise.

Supernatural, 502, Good God, Y'All

2009-09-19T02:59:39Z

My ramble-y, unstructured review under the cut. Written as I watched it for the second time, so it's mostly just commentary. No spoilers for future eps, no

Oh Bobby. :-( "Maybe I'll give him a backrub." Random comment is random.

I hope Bobby bounces back.

I agree with Sammy: Holy Crap! That is cool! I was hoping we'd see what Cas burned/carved into them.

The angel on the cellphone! Awesome! I love that they actually thought that through rather than just have Cas be the exception. I don't know, I find the idea of Cas using modern technology to be cute.

Oh Bobby. I don't think they'll leave you in a wheelchair, the production difficulties alone would make it unfeasible. *hugs Bobby*

Question: is it my imagination or is this the first time that Bobby and Cas have met on-screen? Bobby's certainly acting like he's met Cas before but I don't recall them meeting. Hmm. I guess they met in 401, sort of. Not really though. It was more of a 'shock and awe, now sleepy time' type thing.

I thought that someone might make the point that killing Lucifer might not be the best of plans. I mean, wouldn't they have done that already if they could have? Ah Cas. I wish you had more screen-time in this ep. Oh well. That's mostly just me being a crazy fangirl. :P

Okay, so God DID put them on the plane. I thought that was it. Cool. Nice to know my instincts are good. :)

Still, going to look for God, is...kind of cracky. Interesting, but cracky. I honestly didn't think they'd go there. Cas: "No, He's not on any flat bread." Hahahaha. Okay, that rates up there with Chuck's proclamation that he's a god. A cruel, capricious god. Not quite up there with "Horror is one thing, but to be forced to live bad writing. If I'd known it was real, I'd have taken another pass." Most things aren't though. :-)

Oh Dean. He just sacrificed everything for you and your species and now is the time to go on a 'God sucks' rant? I don't think so. Cas is a true believer. You're just gonna make him mad. There we go, mad and hurt. "I killed two angels this week, my brothers." I don't think the use of the phrases sister/brother has been at all a coincidence . For a show that's all about two brothers who love each other a crazy amount, it has the connotation of a particular kind of connection.

"You and your brother destroyed the world." Reality check anyone?

I love Cas' negotiating strategy. Ask nicely, if that doesn't work, demand in a gravely voice.

"When you find God, tell him to send legs!" Oh Bobby. I love you.

Considering what we find out at the end of the episode, this first scene with Rufus is very well done. It really does give the idea that they're at war.

Very pretty. Watching shows like these make me want to visit Canada. It seems like a picturesque place.

I wonder if it was War or someone else that destroyed the bridge? Hmm.

I wonder what it is about turned over cars that screams 'war zone'. I suppose 'completely abandoned streets' works too. Very pretty, untouched red mustang. Important later of course.

ELLEN! Ellen you're awesome. I love the way she just throws the water in Dean's face. Haha. "What, you can't pick up a phone? What are you? Allergic to giving me peace of mind?" Ellen is totally their hunter mummy. Despite the crapitude that Daddy Winchester was, Sam and Dean really do have a set of really great parents if they just let Ellen be that you know? Bobby as their daddy has been well and truly accepted already but they really need to keep in better touch with Ellen. *glomps Ellen*

Jo and Ellen hunting together is interesting. Don't really have anything to say about it other than that.

Oh Sam. You were so far gone. Coming back isn't going to be as easy as you're hoping it's going to be.

It's interesting watching War pretend to be kind of hopeless. Not something you pick up on the first viewing of course.

Very interesting that another soldier would take Dean for someone who's served.

Sam was saying that he wanted the power that he had while he was sucking blood, gets mad when Dean points that out. Oh sweetie.

Ellen, you're righter than you know. Like I said above, if Sam and Dean let her, Ellen would be more than happy to be their demon hunting mum, which means that they need to FILL HER IN. Hopefully Bobby, or even one of the brothers, will do so at some point.

Jo looks about 17 these days. Better than the 15 she looked the last time we saw her but still. I maintain that Jo was a case of incredibly poor casting. There's nothing wrong with Alona Tal herself really except for how young she looks. (Also, tiny. She doesn't look like she could take on a demon the same way that Ellen does. She has conviction though, which is a plus.)

"Black-eyed bitch." First clue that something's off. Jo and Rufus trying to perform an exorcism on Sam. (Too bad they weren't around last season. Yes, I went there.) I noticed the first time that War was in two places at once, which is rare for me. I don't generally notice that kind of thing, LOL!

"My daughter may be an idiot, but she's not stupid." "Well, tough. All you've got is me, all I've got is you, so let's figure it out." Oh Ellen. You are awesome. Not one for self-pity!

I like it when Dean manages to put all the pieces together. Dean has been reading his Bible! Makes sense for him to do so, considering, even if only the Book of Revelation. "Wait, back up. It's the apocalypse?!" I love it when there's someone who's really behind the eight ball.

Does War take somebody's form or does he need a vessel? I think it's the former.

The funny thing is that War has a point. We're not the nicest group, collectively. Individually, we're capable of incredible kindness and charity. As a group? Dude, we suck.

"So, pit stop on Mt Doom?" Haha.

I can't believe they're splitting up! I didn't expect that at all. I can't believe that Dean offered up the Impala. I can't believe Sam didn't take it when offered. It was a clear invitation meant to say: You're coming back. I will see you again because you have to return my baby to me.

Dean can't look him in the eye. Damn. I think that both these boys are prone to the occasional fits of crying and I would hazard a guess that that's why. He seemed to me to be holding onto his control by the skin of his teeth.

Damn. Watching Sam run his hand along the Impala felt like he was saying goodbye. Wow. Sometimes I forget how subtle this show can be.

Okay, that was a really good episode. Does this show rock or what? I'm a little amazed when I enjoy an episode of a tv show unambiguously, which comes from watching Smallville I suppose.

With that, I'm done. Next Thursday (okay, Friday for me) can't come quick enough!

Smallville, 817, Hex

2009-03-29T10:25:47Z

I wrote the review as I watched so it's ramble-y and stuff. Also, typically wordy. Obviously, spoilers abound.

Okay, let's get this out of the way: Durance did an amazing job mimicking both Mack's mannerisms and her speech patterns. Considering that both her own and Mack's are very unique, that's pretty remarkable.

For another, I loved this episode. I loved the little things at the beginning, Lois keeping her old press ids everywhere and her picture with the Dali Lama? Hilarious. "Don't worry, Miss Lane, one day you'll remember my name," is perfect. And the cop owing Lois money because she has a Friday night poker game with guys like is also perfect. She really would.

I suppose I should also mention Chloe's party at the beginning. Not being big on birthdays, I'm sure I'm more understanding than most about Clark missing it, especially for something that sounded sort of important. 'Crisis in Keystone I think.' The thing about being in on the secret is that you do occasionally have to be set aside for the people who don't.

It was also nice seeing the other side of Lois and Clark's life -- the time when crisis isn't happening. Smallville is such a plot driven show and because of this we see the crisis' and not the time in-between, where they do everyday things like chase stories and celebrate birthdays. This was the kind of filler episode they should do more often -- one that is more character driven than plot driven. This isn't always true, I enjoyed Bulletproof for instance, but it was still nice to see. (Both Power and Requiem have the features of overblown filler episodes, for me anyway. Bad ones.)

I liked Clark's perspective regarding the Chloe/Jimmy break-up because it's one I share and it's nice to hear expressed on the show. I felt more than a flitter of contempt for Chloe when she said, at the beginning, about her marriage being over in five seconds. To make a comparison that reflects poorly on her, let's go back to season 6's 'Rage.' Oliver's behaving weirdly, Clark informs Lois that he thinks Oliver is doing drugs and Lois says something like 'I'm not going to abandon him when he needs me the most.' Jimmy's clearly having a PTSD-type reaction to the attack at his wedding, a time when he least wants but most needs help, love and support, and Chloe declares the marriage over, not worth fighting for. She declares Jimmy not worth fighting for. Poor Jimmy.

"I don't make the news. I just report it." Welling's delivery of that line was perfect and made my heart go flipidy-flip. "I'm a regular Green Arrow." <-- Clark thinks Ollie's a bona fide hero! I always knew. ♥ "I believe this place needs better maintenance." "The acoustics are amazing up here." Oh Clark.

This is a great episode. Incredibly funny and done well, too.

Does it go without saying that I loved the Green Arrow bits? I'll say it anyway: he sensed desperation in Zatanna and realised the book was too dangerous in her hands because of that. In the comics, Green Arrow once said that Zatanna was the most powerful member of the Justice League -- in other words, more powerful than Superman or Wonder Woman. (Reminds me: had a nightmarish thought the other day that the SV writers were setting up Lana as Wonder Woman. Yesh.) "Not good." Nope. Not good at all.

Soul for a soul is predictable but let's face it -- it does make sense. Why the roof of the Daily Planet though? That makes no sense to me. I'm liking this episode enough that I can ignore it though, what with production costs and everything.

He flew! He flew! That was the same effect they used for the flying! He totally flew!

"I'm finally the man my father wanted me to be." Yes, that's it and part of that is being his own man. If he believed in himself less, he would have believed Chloe a lot sooner, which is ironic.

Wasn't sure that was the right moment for the Chloe-shift but they changed my mind. Nice reason for it. Anyone want to explain the whole "the same goes for Jimmy"? Is this setting it up for the Chloe/Davis? Does it mean the Jimmy/Chloe is now over for good? Once again, I'm saying it: poor Jimmy.

This' the morning after right? Is Ollie still chained up in that alley? They'll probably answer that right? Okay, so Ollie is not still chained up in that alley. Wonder how he got down. The spell just wore off or something? I mean, he looked tied up pretty well.

They kept Zatanna saying her spells backwards! Yay! And Ollie worked it out! Smart boy. "I would like to make sure that something like this doesn't happen again." "Here's a thought: don't do it again." Zing!

Go Zatanna! You're awesome, you really are. Random comic fact for anyone interested: Zatanna was a childhood friend of Batman. Her father was the one who taught him his escape artisty-type stuff. Their father's were friends. Love that it was just her business card. Also love that Zatanna has the good sense to hit on Oliver, lol.

Love the Clark and Lois at the end. Lois being smug always works for me but the end of the flirting? Sad. :( I'm not even a shipper and I think it's sad.

"Watchtower is officially online." Nice. Still, Ollie should have handed Chloe the ear pieces, not the other way around. He's giving her something, not the other way around. This' tv, this stuff matters! I always have something to complain about, lol.

FIC: Be Right Back (Clark Kent/Oliver Queen), Smallville

2009-02-15T07:47:10Z

I'm a bit nervous about this honestly. It's unbeta'd but I have read through it several times so...anyway, here we go.

Title: Be Right Back
Author: Calcus
Characters/Pairings: Clark Kent/Oliver Queen
Word Count: 1588
Rating: PG, PG-13 at the most.
Warnings: Slash? That’s pretty much it. A little angst as well.
Spoilers: …None, I think.
Summary: Clark prepares to leave for the Arctic for his training and he and Oliver have a parting conversation.
Author's Notes: This was written before Requiem aired so it has certain references to Lana that don’t make a lot of sense in context. Presume that, in the long term, it all ends up more like Wrath than it did in the short term. Or that some episodes didn’t happen. Either way. Haven't actually decided yet.
Author's Notes 2: This’ part of a series that I’m in the process of writing, so some events that are referenced in this didn’t occur on the show. Just so you know. This’ the first in said series.
Author's Notes 3: The last one, I promise. Unbeta'd, so if you catch any errors, then please point them out. :) Crossposted all over the place.

Oliver ran one hand over the smooth surface of Clark’s childhood dresser, eyeing the photos and the scratches that marred the polished wood and the finger shaped indents in the wood that were poorly hidden under a lovingly handmade table runner. Oliver pressed his fingers into the indents. It was the little things that gave Clark away as abnormal.

Clark was packing surprisingly little but Oliver had always been an over-packer. Too many variables, too many possibilities, shoes to match every outfit.

God, Oliver thought, I’m such a girl sometimes.

He smiled at Clark as the man looked up, his expression wary. Clark was incredibly wary at the possibility of being laughed at, particularly by rich playboys with a tendency towards condescension. Oliver hated to admit but he did fall into that particular category sometimes.

“I was just thinking you’re a much better packer than I am. I wish I was in the position to ask if you’re always this paranoid,” Oliver said. “But I actually know the answer.”

Clark flushed and shook his head. “Sorry. I know this place…isn’t what you’re used too, that’s all.”

Oliver shrugged. He liked it, actually. Even when there was no one else there, when he’d spent that week lying in Clark’s bed recovering from a bullet to the shoulder and Clark and the Senator had gone into town and there had been no one else there, it had felt so much warmer and kinder than anywhere he could remember since his parents had died.

Leaving once he was properly mobile had been…difficult. Trying to explain the hotel-room coldness of boarding school dorms and the emptiness of a late 1970s mansion when you were the only one not paid to be there to a family like the Kents was like Clark trying to explain to him why he always wore the same shirts and the appeal of that horrible blue jacket. He just didn’t get it.

Oliver took a few steps forward and sat down on Clark’s neatly made bed and bounced experimentally on the mattress. “Bouncy,” He said, off Clark’s odd look. His mattress at the Clocktower was much firmer.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.” Clark said, finally breaking the silence that, for Oliver, had been comfortable. From the look on Clarks face, it hadn’t been so for him.

“I know,” Oliver replied, reaching out and smoothing out the side of the duffel bag that Clark was shoving his clothes inside of.

“I wish I could tell you –”

“I know, Clark,” Oliver repeated patiently, smiling. “You can’t tell me what you don’t know. Just so you know though, if you come back brainwashed I’m kicking your arse. Your mom told me about last time.”

Clark snorted. “Ha, ha.” Clark placed his almost full duffel on the ground and sat down beside Oliver, fiddling with the cuff of his jacket.

“I didn’t realise you were thinking about doing the training with the deep voice in the Arctic. I mean, it’s been awhile, why now?” Oliver tried to bite back the whine in his voice and failed miserably. Everything was beginning to come together. Why now? Why when things were finally starting to go right? He supposed there wasn’t really another time. When things were going wrong, Clark was needed too badly.

“The other day,” Clark said slowly. “Tuesday, actually. I woke up in the morning and I was floating.”

Oliver shrugged. “You’ve been doing that more often lately.”

Clark frowned.

“What? You think I don’t notice when the body next to me floats its way to the ceiling? It’s been happening most nights, when you’re with me at least.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Clark asked stiffly, rising to his feet and moving to his desk, straightening up already straight piles.

“The one time I did, you seemed all defensive. Like right now for instance.” Oliver said, tilting his head and raising his eyebrows ironically.

“Well, it took me an hour to get down and even then it was only with mom’s help,” Clark shook his head, a smile tugging at his lips. “I suppose it’s a good thing Kara wasn’t here. She’d have laughed, a lot.”

Oliver laughed. “Yeah.

“…Only last week huh? Sure don’t waste time do you?” Or discuss it with me. Oliver brushed some imaginary dust from his jeans and stood up. “I guess I’ll leave you to the packing.” He stood up and was almost out the door before Clark’s voice stopped him.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be. I don’t want you to wait. I don’t want you to feel like you have to put your life on hold for another freaky alien Clark thing,” Clark looked away. “Freaky thing.”

He sounded more than vaguely bitter and Oliver felt, once again, that they weren’t the only people in the room. He could practically see Lex Luthor and Lana Lang (Luthor? It didn’t matter, they turned out to be the same person) standing in the room, Lex with his chin up by the window, looking as haughty and angry and lost as ever, and Lana sitting on the bed, her eyes sad and haunted and no less angry than Lex’s.

He turned around and leaned against the doorway, trying to mold his expression into something other than exasperated and hurt. He was certain that Clark had never let a single thing go in his entire life, and it wasn’t fair to expect him to do it now, maybe ever. Clark had waited for Lana Lang for most of his life.

He supposed Clark had learned the hard way that most people weren’t that patient, or that loyal. Oliver tried on a smile that didn’t fit and said “I happen to like freaky alien Clark, so no talking about my boyfriend that way huh?”

Clark didn’t laugh. Instead, he stepped forward and pulled Oliver into the room and closed the door behind him. Clark laughed and smiled more often than when Oliver had first met him, when getting a smile was like pulling teeth without anaesthetic, but it still wasn’t all that often. Not nearly often enough, considering how a smile lit up his face and made him really look like something that had come down from the heavens.

“My mom’s downstairs,” Clark murmured, returning to the bed and placing his duffle bag back on top of it. Clark was squinting his eyes like he was using his X-Ray vision. Checking to see he had everything, Oliver supposed. Handy.

“I’m pretty sure she knows about the alien thing.”

“She doesn’t – about the other thing,” With his back turned and his face down, Oliver couldn’t see Clark’s expression but he’d bet it was embarrassed and just a little ashamed. Oliver didn’t want to examine too much about what Clark was ashamed of. He preferred to think it was keeping something like this from his mother and nothing to do with growing up in Bible-Belt Kansas.

“I’m pretty sure she knows about that too.”

Clark spun round with all the speed of a closeted young adult, his eyes wide. “What?”

“She keeps telling me that I’m welcome to come over anytime, that I should visit while you’re gone, she’s calling me Ollie and wants me to call her Martha.”

Clark relaxed. “That’s just my mom being nice,” He let out a relieved sigh. “She doesn’t know. Good.” He turned back to packing.

“You spend five out of seven nights a week at my place and you think she doesn’t know? And since when was I was something to be hid away huh?” Oliver took several long steps forward, taking Clark’s face in his hands and running his thumbs along Clark’s unnaturally hot cheekbones. Clark was always hot to the touch, no matter how cold it was. “When were you going to tell her about us anyway?”

Clark’s eyes flickered away and back and then he muttered, “When I get back, I was thinking.”

“You mean the indeterminate period of time between now and when you finish your training? That’s a great plan Clark.” Oliver said, as gently as he could manage when he was feeling so brittle himself.

“I know,” Clark placed his hands over Oliver’s and smiled. “I can tell her now, if you’d like.”

Oliver shook his head. “No. I – no. When you’re ready. I don’t want to push you or anything. It’s not something you should do on my schedule.” Oliver tried to take a step backwards but Clark held onto his hands, his green eyes carefully examining Oliver’s face.

“I didn’t realise it bothered you so much,” Clark said quietly.

“It doesn’t. Not really.”

“I didn’t want to tell mom because I didn’t want you to feel…stuck. Us being together now doesn’t mean that –” Clark broke off, frustrated. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“It’s all right, you don’t have too. I think I know what you mean.”

Oliver smiled and Clark reached out to cup Oliver’s face in his hands, leaning forward to place a gentle, lingering kiss on his lips. “I’ll miss you.” He said.

Oliver stepped back and looked away, giving Clark’s hand a gentle squeeze. “Well, Kent,” He said, clearing his throat. “I’ll guess I’ll see you later.” Oliver pressed the back of his hand against his mouth. “Yes, later. I’m heading back to Star City tomorrow and…” He cleared his throat a second time. “And be quick about it won’t you?”

Clark smiled and all breath fled from Oliver’s body. “Quick as possible.” He said.

Smallville, 814, Requiem

2009-02-07T02:36:42Z

Ah Smallville. The Clana is dead. Long live the...Clark/Lois? Clark/Oliver? The lack of Lana Lang? Didn't really think that statement through.

To start off with the most important thing: Oliver looked smokin' in his suit at the beginning. Very nice!

Secondly: Requiem. 1. Roman Catholic Church.
a. Also called Requiem Mass. the Mass celebrated for the repose of the souls of the dead.
b. a celebration of this Mass.
c. a plainsong setting for this Mass.
2. any musical service, hymn, or dirge for the repose of the dead.

Also, my understanding is that it's also an act or token of remembrance.

If this is Lex's final ending, I can live with it. Seriously, I can. This isn't the ending he 'deserved', this' the ending he earned. Brought low by physical infirmity and caught because by his paranoia and lack of trust, he well and truly earned it. The eye-camera thing in Tess, the blowing up of the board of directors, everything else that he's done has lead to this. His paranoia regarding his employees, the camera that let Lex constantly watch what the Toyman was doing, was what lead to him being caught.

Which all works for me mostly because here's the thing: I actually agree with what Oliver did. Lex had proven himself to be a man incapable of reform and a man who functioned outside the law. He was never going to be stopped and he was never going to be punished. Oliver did what he had to do and it's a horrible thing that he has to live with. I also honestly believe that Oliver would have lived with it alone, taken it to his grave, if Chloe hadn't pushed.

Don't have any issue with Lex's recasting for this episode either. Couldn't tell you why, I just don't. If it had been "Lex with plastic surgery" rather than "Lex covered with tubs and medical devices keeping him alive", I would have had a problem with it.

Honestly, when Chloe informed Clark that he was living in the past, that the Lex he (and us) used to know is gone, I half expected her to add Lana there as well. Even though she didn't, the scene, at least for me, was as much about Lana as it was about Lex. You're living in the past. You need to let go. Stop.

Lana going back to wearing the necklace sealed their fate, it really did. By the end of the episode, she's become the physical embodiment of Clark's weakness. What's interesting, her own weakness (which is her lack of self-worth), was what lead to it. If Lana thought more of herself, she wouldn't have felt the need to do this to herself. (No matter what happens in the future, for me Lana's death is always going to be inoperable cancer. Luther lost his hand in the comics, from wearing the Kyrptonite ring all the time, imagine how much worse it would be when you're radiating it from yourself.)

So...Lana checked every room in the building but not the roof? Right.

The tragic ending of Clana was always going to happen. Lex was willing to sacrifice a lot more than Lana would have to be powerful, surely, surely, surely, it's consequences (especially considering all the blathering about dangerous it is in the last episode) would be more severe than that.

This storyline was never going to end well but at least it's finally over. Honestly, I think once she started dating Lex was when it was really over which was when? Mid-season 5? There are some things that aren't forgivable, that linger in the back of the mind once the honeymoon period ends. They were never together long enough for then to get beyond the honeymoon phase.

The ending scene was really sold by both actors. Clana was never going to receive a mature ending because it wasn't a mature relationship, so it doesn't surprise me that they had a Big Tragic Ending.

I think that's all I have to say, lol. Shutting up now.

Disclaimer: These are my opinions, obviously not fact. Feel free to disagree!

FIC: Notice (Superman, Batman), DCU

2008-06-03T09:52:35Z

Title: Notice
Author: Calcus
Pairings/Characters: Clark Kent (Superman), Bruce Wayne (Batman)
Rating: PG for death
Warnings: death fic, pre-slash
Spoilers: Immediately Post-Infinite Crisis, with Kon having only very recently died. I'm afraid I don't know a huge amount about what happened immediately after Infinite Crisis. I know the basics and I've read through Wiki but please forgive any mistakes. :)
Disclaimer: I own nothing etc.
Summary: Superboy changed all our lives. Clark, post-Infinite Crisis.
Author’s Notes: For breakfastserial, who gave me the prompt and was awesome enough to read through it and hold my hand afterwards. :P

Clark pulled his black, thick-rimmed glasses from his face, rubbing his left eye, where a sharp pain was beginning to take up residence. He hadn’t slept since Kon had died. He had laid in bed for one entire night, listening to Lois breath next to him and could only see -- only feel -- Kon laying dead in his arms. Could only hear Lois breathing beside him.

He had never been prone to insomnia before.

On the computer screen in front of him was a single sentence, written for the op-ed piece that Perry had wanted.

Superboy changed all our lives.

He wasn’t entirely certain it was true. All he could think of -- all he could remember -- were the times he hadn’t made time for Kon. Had ignored him. Had looked at him and felt the painful knot in his stomach as he thought of what Kon was and what he wasn’t.

It was only as he was no longer entirely alone -- as he came back from the dead and found himself not alone -- that he realised exactly how alone he had been. How alone he still was.

He wasn’t supposed to feel alone lying next to his wife or at dinner with his parents. Standing with Diana, wondering what this feeling was, her placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently.

She needed to squeeze gently.

He put his glasses back on and reached over to the phone on his desk and hit ‘1’ on the speed dial.

“Wayne.” A crisp voice greeted.

“Your phone etiquette could use some work.”

“Not all of us can be born in the Midwest.”

Clark snorted. “Yeah,” was all he could think to say.

Superboy changed all our lives. He gave us an example that we should all strive to emulate.

He delated the new sentence. It was generic. Impersonal. There had already been dozens of op-ed pieces talking about how brave Kon had been. He had been far more than that.

“Are you typing while talking to me? You know I hate that.”

“You type while talking to me.”

“No, I read while talking to you, there is a difference.”

“Not a huge one.”

Superboy changed all our lives. He positioned himself as a role model for young

No. Kon hadn’t been a role model. He would have been horrified at the idea. Kon had been...Kon.

Superboy changed all our lives. He lived with life with boundless enthusiasm and, despite the unique way he came into the world, was more

More what? He had no answer.

“Do you know what you’re going to do?”

He didn’t. It was strange to think that he now had...freedom. It wasn’t the sort he was used to. Not the air underneath his feet and nothing else. Standing, floating above the earth, unaided.

He felt like that now. It wasn’t nearly so comforting a feeling.

“I’m going to the Middle East,” He said, the words coming from somewhere far away. “Afghanistan. Going to do a series of pieces on life there now. I did a few not long after the Taliban fell, thought it would be a good follow up.”

He had thought, too, that it would be different, to leave somewhere feeling he had done all he could, done all he could have hoped to do. He would have a purpose, one that was tangible, and he would only be one man, not one man and one superman. There wouldn’t be the crushing responsibility for everyone and everything.

He would do what he could and then he would go home.

Superboy changed all our lives. He lived life with boundless enthusiasm and, despite the unique way he came into the world, had a deep and abiding love for this planet and its inhabitants. For all that he was not from here -- from anywhere -- he was, more than anything, of this place. Of Metropolis, of Earth.

He frowned. It wasn’t right and done wasn’t better than right. Not for Kon. He would do this right.

“You’re going where?”

“I’m trying to write this piece about Kon. It’s...not going well. I can’t seem to express anything new or real. It just feels -- contrived. Not...I don’t know.”

“Clark, you’re going where? You realise you don’t have your powers? That a bullet could kill you? Clark, are you listening to me?”

Superboy changed all our lives, by showing us what it was to be human. He showed us that not only was it possible to rise above your roots, to be more than what your maker wished you to be, but it was possible to rise above any and all reasonable expectations. He personified the ability to be more than what others expected of you.

If for nothing else, for this alone he was remarkable.

“It’s not working. I don’t know.”

“Clark, you don’t have to write Kon’s obituary. I think maybe you’re a little close.”

“It’s not an obituary, Bruce, it’s an op-ed piece.”

It had been three days. This would merely be one piece among many. Except it wouldn’t -- wasn’t. Kon had been a part of him, a part of him stolen and formed into a person he never took the opportunity to know as he should have. He was the closest thing to a child he would ever have and he had wished him gone and the universe had granted him his wish.

“Clark, I really don’t think you should go to the Mid East.”

“I’m a reporter Bruce. I go where they send me.”

Superboy changed all our lives.

It mocked him. There was nothing more to say. What more was there to say?

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re Clark Kent, you go where you want too. Right now, as things stand, maybe you should consider going somewhere a bit safer. The world needs you Clark, powers or no.”

“I’m going to Afghanistan, Bruce -- and don’t try to tell me that everywhere you’re going will be safe. I know it won’t be.”

“Clark --”

“Bruce. I’ve made my decision. I’m not a child; this isn’t something that you can talk me out of. You know me -- I’m just as stubborn as you when I want to be.”

Superboy changed all our lives. He molded himself into the image of a hero so throughly that one never would have known that he was made, not born. That he was made to be a weapon, that he wasn’t what he appeared to be.

“Clark, would you stop typing for a minute and give me your full attention please.”

It was the ‘please’ that made him pause. “I -- fine. ”

“I don’t think you should go to the Middle East. I don’t think this is a great time to be away from your family. I’m sure your parents must be grieving as well and --”

“Bruce, I’m just going to the Middle East to do a job, not walk into a terror cell and nearly get myself killed. That’s more your deal than mine.”

He ran a hand over his chin, hands running over the rough stubble on his unshaved jaw. He needed to buy some razors. He wasn’t sure Lois would appreciate him borrowing hers; wasn’t even sure they would work properly on his face.

Getting shaving lessons from his father at 33 was going to be embarrassing.

“I have to go Bruce. I need to finish this.”

“I -- alright. I’ll email you the details of when the boys and I will be leaving, if you’d like.”

“I would, thank you.”

There was a long silence. “Call me if you need anything Clark.”

Superboy changed all our lives. He showed us what it was to be human and that it was not merely genetics or our places of origin that define who we are or what we do. He showed us that it was possible to transcend our origins, break through boundaries and live life as though those same boundaries did not exist.

He was far more than merely a hero or a role model. Those are abstract titles, titles that would distance him from us, from the people he choose to serve. He was a boy, who will never have the chance to become a man. It is not all he was but it is perhaps the easiest part of him to forget.

calcus @ 2006-12-13T15:49:00

2006-12-13T04:49:33Z

Heroes has eaten my brain. Like, completely and utterly. Clearly, this' what happens when the tennis season finishes.

The Good

So Hiro was the one who gave Charlie the Japanese phrasebook? Nice bit of continuity, though if she leaves/dies then why didn't she recognise him? And if Hiro didn't give it to her, then who did? And why didn't she recognise him? Was she gone or dead after Hiro changes the past? Time travel gives me a headache.
Charli is so cute. It's very sad that she has to die. :(
Sylar's back-story was a nice touch. His preoccupation with being extraordinary - being contrasted to Peter's desire to be more than what he is as expressed in One Giant Leap - was nice, especially with the dream at the end.
Jackie's bitchiness and the connection with Brody and Lori from Collision was a nice touch. You see, continuity is not so hard when you try! Also, Jackie, when latching onto Claire's uniform, was almost psychotic when shrieking "Show it!" It was kind of freaky, a nice touch considering her later behaviour towards Claire.
So Niki is alcoholic? Interesting, though it's never been mentioned before I don't think and considering that she had champagne (did she drink it? I can't remember, she was holding it at least) in Collision when seducing Nathan.
The abusive father was interesting and it's nice to find who exactly Jessica is but...is she really Jessica? Or does Niki suffer from Dissociative Personality Disorder and her power is something else? Come on, we're at least pretty much positive what everyone else's power is (Peter and Sylar being the exceptions but I doubt they'll completely de-murk what Peter's powers are until they de-murk Sylars and how he absorbs the powers of the heroes he kills) so just get on with it and explain it please.
"Ladies ten and a half" "You know the reason I became a nurse was to wear shoes like this, thank you very much"..."I told him it wasn't funny" Hee. Nathan being an arsehole is always fun but I like how cheerful he is about it pre-accident and pre-father's death.
I liked Mrs. Petrelli's treatment of Peter in this episode. "I have always wanted a nurse in the family. We have enough lawyers." It's nice to see someone in the family so show some support for Peter's choice though...I'll discuss the rest later.
The Petrelli boy touching. I felt like the relationship was warmer here, maybe because Nathan himself is warmer without actually being warm of course. :P Yeah, it's all kinds of wrong but still. It was a very nice scene even if you discount the boy touching and I liked Peter being the one telling Nathan not to go after their father and while the realism of having Nathan prosecute a man associated with his father is, I think, suspect (no pun intended) it's still a nice touch seeing Nathan get into bed with the guy (and Niki) in Collision.
Hiro calling himself was a nice touch.
"You're like a walking cliché." Hee. Also, bad adulterous man! I liked the connection to Matt's taking multiple detective exams etc. It's the little things.
So Hero can control certain aspects of his powers and not others? I suppose I can believe that. Freezing time must be easier than teleporting through it.
Parents suck, though the Petrelli parents more than most. Why doesn't Peter resent the hell out of his brother again? And Heidi referred to Peter as 'empathic'. Grammatically incorrect, but an anvil like clue?
I almost expected Peter to say "For you? Anything." When asked by Nathan to give a deposition against their father.
"My father didn't really give me a choice." Once again, more contrasts between Peter and Sylar. Peter did what he wanted to and Sylar did what his father expected of him. Nice. However, does not bode well for Peter in the long-term.
Claire practising her cheers was very cute. "I think I can't wait to go to my first game!" The scene was a nice father-daughter moment.

The Bad

Being without a flashback sequence doesn't bode well for Isaac and Simone. I wouldn't mind so much with Simone but I've grown fond of Isaac. I find it interesting that Eden got one, even if they were connected to Claire's dad and Matt.
We still don't have a name for Peter and Nathan's father. Not a huge problem I guess but it bugs me a little.
So Peter's only been a nurse for six months? This, for me, comes out of the blue. Maybe I'm a little annoyed at being Jossed but it's also that Peter's 30 in Genesis so he's 29 here (at the youngest) so he's flitted from job to job or lived off his father's money for quite awhile. I would think that it would take longer than six months for Nathan to decide that Peter's going to stick with it this time around and to start harassing him about it surely. Or maybe I'm just annoyed at being Jossed. :P

The Ugly

Continuity. Come on, guys, it's easy enough to do. Have a board or something with the little details on it. I really doubt Peter was 300 miles away when the accident occurred as he states himself in Genesis.
Okay, so Nathan wanted to prosecute Linderman and then he didn't because his father did what he had to do protect his family and Peter could never understand that (despite Peter discouraging Nathan was prosecuting in the first place) and then he was going to again and then his father dies and he decides not to again. Huh?

calcus @ 2006-12-11T19:58:00

2006-12-11T08:58:59Z

My (spoiler laden) Casino Royale review. Warning: Obnoxiously long and occasionally just straight-up obnoxious. Feel free to skip. :P

I think that this was the best of the post-Cold War Bond movies, for sure and it's certainly up there with the other Bond films as well. It's not that I think that they were all bad recently - I didn't mind, say, The World Is Not Enough - but they seemed to lose their focus somewhat after the Cold War, with no easy (PC) villain in sight. They solved that pretty well here by having a non-politically affiliated banker as the main villain.

The Bond girls or "You can take the next one"

There...weren't really any. Or, really, there were and nobody really played them as Bond women. Caterina Murino's character Solange had all the landmarks of a Bond girl who was played by someone just acting the role she was given rather than the male-fantasy, sex-object of a Bond girl and it worked because she didn't put me to sleep, as must Bond girls do. The only one (again, recently - the old Bond films really do need to put into a category of their own separate from the more recent ones) that was even mildly entertaining was Famke Janssen's Xenia Onatopp and, well, she made me laugh.

I actually liked the "Bond women" in this film. I even liked Valenka, though that may be because she said all of three words in the entire film, which meant that I didn't really have the opportunity to dislike her. A pro for her was that she didn't fall all over Bond the way that villain’s girlfriends/wives/whatever (and Luther's girlfriends in the Superman movies) all seem too.

Vesper Lynd, Eva Green's character, was unique, even in terms of recent action films not just Bond movies, in that they gave her power without it being a distinctly masculine power that either stemmed from the man or was a mirror of it. She had control of the money and, in the stairway, assisted in saving Bond from the man attacking them in a realistic way. She wouldn't have been able to take him physically in the same way that Bond could (she was an accountant, not a spy or a secret agent) but when Bond had the villain on the ground, strangling him, with the villain having reached the gun dropped earlier, she comes away from her position pressed up against the wall, out of the way, and smashes his hand repeatedly against the floor, until the man finally dies. This seems even more important considering later revelations. She then has a genuine seeming reaction to the event, which also takes on greater significance later, which, shock of all shocks, does not led to sex with Bond, which makes sense in more ways than the one considering, once again, later revelations. And when Bond says, during one of the breaks between the poker sequences, "You want to do what to me?" she stares at him blankly and says "You've lost me completely."

On a related note, hair, make-up and costume design. Solange had the most beautiful fitted, pink dress that was very, very feminine and very well designed. I'm not big on pink as a colour generally but the dress itself was gorgeous. Ivana Milicevic had an extremely interesting hair-cut as the villain’s girlfriend (one that made her appear, literally, two-faced, which wasn't actually carried over into the film itself but is interesting to note anyway).

However, Eva Green's make-up (and some of the costume choices) were...wrong. Really, really wrong. The make-up was much too heavy (she looks best in the scene where she's without visible make-up actually) and some of the costume choices were awkward and, while that was purposeful early in the film, they were actually too awkward really. She just appeared foolish and some of the dresses she wore late in the film lent too far the other way, especially in the hospital late in the film. The red dress she wore in her final scenes in the film were, however, perfect, a lovely dress and bright and easy to see, which was an easy way of communicating visually that she wanted to be seen, wanted to be followed.

The Villain or Mr. "I believe in a reasonable rate of return."

This guy wasn't all that chilling (he was, after all, a banker) until you reach the torture scene near the end but that's still better than some recent Bond villains, such as the villain in Die Another Day, whose name I can't even remember.

The scene where he tortures Bond is laden with homo-eroticism (discussed in more detail later) and you really do believe that this guy would blow up a plane just to up his share price and he was, as with everyone else in this film, exceptionally well cast. In a different actors hands lines such as when he recites exactly how much money he's lost when he fails in his plan to engineer the falling of an airline stock price would have seemed silly and would have made me giggle and roll my eyes yet the actor sells it. All the actors work hard in their roles and Mr. Mads Mikkelsen is no exception.

This' getting very long so I'll move on right to the end: Mr. James Bond

I've heard Daniel Craig be described as a 'character actor' and, while the only films I've seen of his are Tomb Raider (which, um, sucked) and Munich, I'd say that's true. He made good choices as an actor, I think, in the way he played the role and that helped. He did a lot of the stunts himself, as is so fashionable these days, and it showed. Clearly, all the criticism that was levelled at him when he was cast did something and here's hoping that, having proved himself, he won't become 'lazy' or comfortable in the next film, which I don't think he will. Of course proved himself in terms of box office success should be interesting.

In terms of the character himself, this Bond is really quite different from earlier incarnations. He bleeds (and has to change his shirt afterwards) and carries around wounds, or more correctly the bandage from the wound, he receives early in the film til the end of the film. He is scratched and bruised and looks more like a boxer than the suave Bond played by Brosnan. He trips, he falls, he shows hints that maybe he really isn't a sociopath after all. It - God forbid - even rains. Most shockingly, after being tortured Bond doesn't get up and walk away - he goes to a hospital and spends, I would assume, a fairly large amount of time recovering.

I've read several reviews that claim that he "bedded" Solange but he actually didn't. They kissed rather heatedly on the floor, her phone rang, she tells Bond its her husband and where he's going and that they have "all night" because her husband won't be back until morning he says in that case we'll need champagne, she goes to change into something more comfortable or, I don't actually remember, go to the bathroom or something, and he orders champagne for her and leaves. Yeah, that's right, leaves. I was impressed. :P

The scene where Bond is stripped naked, placed on a chair that has had the bottom cut out and has his genitals attacked with a thick rope by the main villain, Le Chiffre, which is almost as homoerotic as it sounds. The sequence is so brutal that a joke is required and through making the choice verbally to continue suffering rather than reveal what Le Chiffre wants is what allows Bond to be a hero in fact and not just because he happens to be Bond and the star of an action film, is the sequence that earns Bond the short sequence in which he gives up ‘being Bond’ long enough to hire a yacht and get from Monteagro to Venice.

The film ends with a shot of Bond holding a machine gun and looking very elegant in a navy blue version of a suit worn by Sean Connery in an earlier film, a nice, subtle homage, I think, to the man that made the role.

Conclusion: Very good film. The lack of an invisible car made me a very happy woman (Alias did the gadgets and, frankly, did it better) and the intensity that Daniel Craig lent to the role - and the solid performances from the other main actors in the cast - made up for some slightly lose writing and an overly long running time. I love action films and this is a very, very good example of what can be done when they're done right. :)

Icon Post 1

2006-11-11T23:41:27Z

23 Grey's Anatomy
52 The West Wing
30 BtVS/Angel
24 Firefly

I'm going to do a tennis post later in the week. :)

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calcus @ 2012-04-01T15:27:00

2006-03-31T20:38:54Z

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