darkfic

[xparrot]

More "All the Difference" soon; meanwhile I wanted to get this up before tomorrow, on the off-chance the new ep will joss me.

This...I've been wanting to write fluff. This is not fluff. It's not even Clex. You see, I am not one for hating characters. I have my favorites, definitely, but usually when I get into a series I find something to like in all the chars. Even those who threaten my preferred pairings I usually will enjoy aside from the romance disasters.

Lana Lang is the exception to this rule.

Smallville: As Moths {2,327 words}
PG-13, gen with hints of canon pairings; spoilers for 6th season, and a convincing bit of fanon; dark
Lana Lang had found her destiny elsewhere, and maybe that was best for everyone after all.

Read it on AO3

Comments

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't worry, if you are going to hell we'll be right there with you! It'll be fun! Lots of Clex! ^_^

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

Egods. Brilliantly written, and I can absolutely believe in this possible future. *mourns for the loving Lex who could have been, but doesn't bother feeling sorry for Lana*

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I almost want to see this. Just because. Yeah. (...eeeevol!Lex turns me on, big-time ^^;;)

[ladydey.livejournal.com]

♥OH YES!♥


Lovely, seriously. I love, will always love, the idea of Lex keeping Lana lock away in a pit (and not being Lana's dancing f**king monkey anymore), but I love love the idea that Lex is testing his Will to Power against Lana's love mutation.... and winning. I mean it's sad that Lex no longer has the ability to love, , but that he is no longer susiptible to Lana is a yay for the win.


I love that in truth Lana left no mark after removal - awesome!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Lex can triumph over anything. <3

Bah! No matter what Lex thinks, this ends the way all my SV stories end (in my head) - "they have sex, and live happily ever after" XD Clark is Superman! He can force a little of that lost love back into his Lex. Oh yes, he can.
...I'm not very good at handling darkfics, can you tell? ^^;;

[lukita.livejournal.com]

...

Oh my god, what have you done to Lana? She so perfect and Lex is so mean for dropping her down a hole and everyone in Smallville abandoned her.

I wish it'll really happen, but I'm still holding on hope that Lana's power is probability, no one can be that lucky and avoid death on a weekly bases.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Bwahah. Yes, you have a point about Lana's powers. Lex has mutant healing ability to explain why he's not in a vegetative state from all the concussions, but Lana's continued survival is a tragic mystery...

[tigriswolf]

Oh, _wow_. Awesome.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

Thinking over what you said about rarely hating fictional characters (aside from Lana), I have to ask: Is there anything I could say to start you hating SV's Oliver Queen? I'd love to see you write some truly appropriate fate for him!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Eh, well, the problem is I don't hate Ollie. I think he's something of an asshole who excuses certain sociopathic tendencies as vigilante antics, but he doesn't seem to be presented as a hero and as such provides an interesting foil to Clark's innate-but-mostly-repressed heroic impulses. Also not everyone in the world adores him for no reason...

[tasabian.livejournal.com]

Whoa! That plot twist at the end works really well because Lana as a meteor-powered Helen of Troy is actually very plausible.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I'm definitely not the first person to postulate that Lana is a love-mutant, don't remember where I first saw the idea, but...it really makes so very much sense!

[brandil.livejournal.com]

Brilliant.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[pepperjackcandy.livejournal.com]

Ouch!

I love it! 8-)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

thanks! (your icon makes me happy. ^^)

[bagheera-san.livejournal.com]

Mean twist! I didn't expect that at all.

I waver between "You go, Lex!" and "Ouch" - mostly ouch for Lex, because Lana is such a non-entity that I can't even feel a lot of pity for her.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

The ironic thing is if they gave Lana this unconscious power, I genuinely would pity her. It's sort of a terrible thing if you think about, to learn that no one loves you for you, but only because you have this effect...

[ljs-lj.livejournal.com]

Wonderful! I really enjoyed this!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you! (and thank you again - more AtD today, if my beta is feeling better...)

[yma2.livejournal.com]

You know, if that had been written in a different way I would absolutely loath it. The basic concept is utterly... well... character-bashy. But you really make it work, somehow. You make it dark and, yet, kinda funny in a referential way.
I could never write something like that myself, but you carry it off well and it's good. You've got the tone right so that it isn't just another Character Bash fic, which for me kind of rescues it. So yeah, I like this.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I don't think of this as a bashing fic, exactly...it's a char torture piece, but that's not quite the same thing. Bashing fic tend to make the char OOC to make you hate them all the more, I was trying to keep Lana IC...the truth is, I would feel sorry for her if this were her power. It's a pretty terrible gift, when you think about it; she can never know if anyone would ever love her for herself...

[lastscorpion.livejournal.com]

Oh, my!

That's a gorgeous piece of darkfic! Thank you for writing it and putting it up!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! ^^

[mobiusklein.livejournal.com]

I like this one. It's something I've always suspected even if Goughlar never make it canon.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I really wonder if some of the writers actually think this is true...it explains so much...

[miche-connor.livejournal.com]

Hah. Think it might happen? Really--It would explain so very much. Still. I don't hate her. I just wish (SO MUCH) that the writers would have made her with more self-esteem and confidence. But then, I guess, she can't be perfect if she does actually accept responsibility for her actions. hah. Makes you think - Serial murders and psychopaths don't take responsibility for their actions, either...

(and she's killed twice already. And gotten away with it.)
(hmm. I guess I am just a little bitter.)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't be so bitter if Lana weren't so...omnipresent, and inexplicably so. If they actually gave her this power I swear I'd like her more, because she would make more sense to the story. As it stands she's obnoxious more than anything because of the way she warps reality; there is no reason for so many people to love her as passionately as they do, to the detriment of their other relationships and responsibilites...

...Uh, yes, I'm definitely a little bitter ^^;

[attaccabottoni.livejournal.com]

Sometimes, this is how I want Lex and Lana's love story would end. I really don't want to imagine what would actually happen on the wedding, but I hope they would show that Lex is above whatever feelings, genuine or otherwise, he has for Lana. Because he may want everything, love and power and all, but he's not the good man everyone wants him to be, and he's so much greater than that.

I can't help but worry about the baby, though. I guess my inner hopelessly old-fashioned girl prays that they love each other for the sake of their baby. But if they're going to lose the baby... well, with no baby in the equation, if Lana doesn't love Lex, I normally opt that Lex uses her like hell.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

There was a brief time Lex loved Lana genuinely. He definitely doesn't now; I'm not sure if he still has feelings but is going against them either out of necessity or to prove something to himself, or if he's just using her, but he doesn't feel what he professes to her. Just watching s6, and you can pinpoint the exact moment his love becomes false - and it's Lana's damn fault. In "Fallout" Lana tells him "The box, or me" and it's maybe the biggest mistake of her life. She forces Lex to choose his obsession, to choose between his girlfriend and saving the world (and I am still convinced this is how Lex sees it). And Lex is way too great a man to ever choose her, with all that at stake. (Really he already made his choice in "Lexmas" the year before - going with Lana, he maybe thought for a moment he could have hiscake & eat it to. She forces him to see that he can't.)

...incidentally, there's no way Lana would make it as Superman's girlfriend, either, because he too would have to put the world first, and Lana can't take the competition.

[ladydreamer.livejournal.com]

I love this SO much. Thank you.

I'll pretend that far in the future Clark is able to rekindle Lex's ability to love. ♥

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you, glad you liked it!

(Clark will totally be able to. He's Superman! He can do anything! Especially when it comes to saving his true love. ...me, in denial? Whatever do you mean?)

[dogwoodblossom.livejournal.com]

The best part of the story is Lex making up vapid post cards to send to Clark. He's so considerate and thoughtful in his evil.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

XD Vote Lex Luthor: The Supervillain Who Cares!

[ender24]

heee :D
*poor lana*
really, I am not even invested enough in the show to feel the same hate as some parts of my flist, but still....
she does probably come across as you described, huh, some feral love pheromones..

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Uhh, yeah...put me in the hate category ^^;; She would just make so much more sense this way!

[elandrialore.livejournal.com]

Thank you again for writing such a wonderful story. As disturbing as it is, I love this Lex much better than the pathetic one we're getting in Smallville right now.

And I think that's because I don't see redemption as an option for Smallville Lex because it isn't a choice for him to do what he's doing now. He's been driven to it, and since it isn't his choice, then he can't change back. Your Lex has made a choice, for good or for ill, which means that redemption is possible. And it would be a glorious, epic struggle that would actually mean something.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I loved Lex when he was good in the first few seasons. But I love villains, too, and I don't have any problems with him going evil...I just have problems with him being so pathetic about it. I understand him, and I sympathize with him, actually, but...I wouldn't mind if Lex had any chance of becoming a hero, but dammit, if he must be a bad guy, I want him to be the best bad guy he can be! JLU's Lex is the ultimate badass. I can't see SV's Lex becoming him, and that frustrates me.

That's a fascinating point about the possibility of redemption; I never thought about it quite like that, but it's true. SV's Lex now could go good, were he manipulated on the proper path, but it wouldn't be a choice, and that's not fair.
Though the one problem with this Lex going good is that he's convinced he is the hero of the story...or if the villain, then necessary all the same, and that higher calling would be harder to overcome than his own darkness...

[herohunter.livejournal.com]

(Clearly, the writers and producers have been under her allure as well, and for too long)

*ahem*

Outstanding, it works perfectly as a sequel, it explains why Lana doesn't get but a small mention in the future Superman references, and if places Lex exactly where he should be.

Will there be more of this verse?

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Clearly, the writers and producers have been under her allure as well, and for too long

That is *exactly* what I keep telling my sis, when she starts frothing at the mouth about Ms Lang!

There may or may not be more of this exact 'verse, though I'm going to be doing more with this general take on Lex. Other eps may require 'explanation' for me to deal with them...will see how much the writers piss me off!
(The trouble is that I don't really like dark-fic - it sort of happens without me meaning to. I'd rather be writing fluff, but... ^^;;;)

[giggleloop.livejournal.com]

once again, well done. I love that your Lex is actually an evil genius. :)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Yes, that's about my favorite flavor of Lex, I gotta admit ^^

[legendarytobes.livejournal.com]

I love both this fic and "Promises to Keep" and find both unbelievably chilling but at the same time enjoyable, since Lex is actually intelligent around Lana in these.

I did have one question, though. You're the first person I can ever officially remember using the premise of "Lana-as-love-mutant" in a fic. I've heard the theory thrown around on TWoP and other places (and luckily "Freak" didn't Joss this). However, I recently used the premise in a story I've written but haven't posted. Do you mind if I use the premise and credit you for brining it to fic? If not, I can always rewrite the scene leaving out love-mutant Lana. I just wanted your okay first.

Thanks,
Toby

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed them! Yep, I like my Lex to be the supergenius he ought to always be.

I didn't know it at the time of writing, but I am not the first person to use Lana-as-love-mutant in fic - RivkaT did it in season five here: http://www.rivkat.com/smallville/lovestory.html and I've seen a couple other people use it as well since. So feel free to use it in your story, and no need to credit me, it's gaining fanonical status! Which I fully support, because I rather see the char this way in canon (she doesn't make sense otherwise, darnit!)

[ivorykiss.livejournal.com]

So beautiful and haunting! Lana as a meteorfreak explains so much of the insanity of how everyone reacts to her! And brilliant Lexy to figure it out! Love it! Simply love it!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Lana as meteor-freak wasn't my idea - don't know where it came from first, actually; it's been fanon for a while now - but it does explain so much, I wish they would just make it canon...!