you're a criminal as long as you're mine

[aria]

This being polyfannish thing is still disconcerting. I am just not used to being excited about five things at once, but I suspect that this is my brain's way of coping with the fact that it suddenly has all this free space that is not taken up by juggling classes. Also, I am pleased to report that working through my guilt re: indulging in Highlander now means that I am completely unapologetic about Smallville! I'll probably move on to something else in a few days, but in the meantime:

i. My haphazard and arbitrary Smallville watch hit Shattered/Asylum from season three last night. I spent a lot of it clutching my face and crying a little. Yeah, that's right! LEX LUTHOR GIVES ME FEELINGS.

ii. I discovered this fic, Demarcation, which [a] is about identity politics, we all know how easy I am for identity politics, and [b] reminded me that actually Clark is an alien. I like Clark about fifty times better now! Shut up, my kinks are totally okay.

iii. The Clark/Lex Bad Romance vid; I don't know if I've linked it before, but it is what is to blame for this inexplicable Smallville watch in the first place. Unfortunately I still haven't managed to discover the context for most of the clips. Wiki episode summaries are not helpful, because apparently wikipedia seems to believe that I want to know about actual arc plots, when in actual fact what I want from my summaries is "The one where Lex is compulsively playing piano and bleeding all over everything" or "The one where Clark catches a bullet like a goddamn inch from Lex's face" or "The one with wacky airplane stunts and FLYING oh my god." I would probably watch quite a few more episodes if they had honest summaries like "Clark and Lex eyefuck a lot and then Lex bleeds on things." Because that is the show I have been watching!

...To be honest, I suspect I am doing fandom backwards. I am mostly going through the shows that are Slash's Greatest Hits out of anthropological fascination (and also because, did I mention, Spock and Methos and Lex!) but my wide-eyed enthusiasm is perhaps slightly outdated.

Comments

[spuffyduds]

Wide-eyed enthusiasm is NEVER outdated, baby. It is one of my favorite things in the WORLD.

[aria]

This is probably true! It's my favourite thing about finding a new fandom, certainly. :D

[polarisnorth]

DEMARCATION. Oh my heart. You also might enjoy Moving On.

[aria]

Y-you just linked me to astolat Clark/Lex fic with the self-proclaimed summary Lex conquers the galaxy, in STYLE. I think this is the right time to also ask for a pony and ice cream! *_*

[polarisnorth]

Yeah, I thought it sounded like your sort of thing. ;) No go on the pony, but I can totes buy you ice cream when you get here!

[aria]

This sounds like a good deal!

By the way, have you ever seen any Smallville, or just read the fic? Not that I would tell you to watch it, but if you wouldn't mind, I would love to give you a Slashiest Scenes tour. Starting with, like, the one where they meet by kissing, oh my god. :D?

[polarisnorth]

PLEASE give me a slashiest scenes tour. I've always kind of wanted to see it, but I've read enough episode summaries to know that I probably wouldn't enjoy much beyond the slashy subtext. Plus, you know, Clark and Lex's tragically epic doomed romance is compelling but I'm not sure I could stand to actually watch it.

[aria]

Sure thing! :D Although, um, in that case, I ... probably shouldn't show you anything past second season. Like, they're still technically friends through fourth season, but, oh my god, THIRD SEASON MADE ME CRY. I don't want to put you through that.

[polarisnorth]

... yeah, that might be a good idea. I'm pretty sure that if it made you cry, I will wind up in a corner making little wobbly noises of pain.

[aria]

Well, I mean, it was a really good two-parter, it ... was just about Lionel drugging Lex to make him look insane, and locking him away in an asylum, and Clark being this close to rescuing him before being beat up while they give Lex electroshock therapy and then Lex doesn't remember any of it and Clark is heartbroken and oh godddd I was a MESS. Also, Michael Rosenbaum is PHENOMENAL.

So in conclusion I will instead show you the episode where Lex accidentally gets married and Clark is CRAZY JEALOUS and there are wacky hijinks! But I will only subject you to about five minutes total of it. :D

[feverbeats]

Why the fuck is astolat all up in my SV fandom? jfc. >:( Now I am rly angry.

[aria]

Astolat is in every fandom. It is her way!

[feverbeats]

Insidious!

[epershand]

I have retconned my brain to pretend that the only Smallville I have ever watched was Shattered/Asylum. Whyever would you think I stuck it out for four seasons? Ha!

But OMG GO READ ALL OF rivkat's fic. Like, now. She actually manages to make Clark interesting, but it is still mostly about crawling around inside Lex's skull.

(Basically the genre of Smallville fic I read is future fic that resolves to DCU fic with a Smallville backstory, and it is an AWESOME GENRE INDEED.)

[aria]

...that is a GOOD RETCON. Although it is also a retcon that made me ACTUALLY CRY, by which I mean Shattered/Asylum was two straight hours of me being a mess and clutching at my face going "OH LEX."

Thank you for the fic rec! I am all for anything that makes Clark interesting, especially if it is mostly about crawling around inside Lex's skull. (Which is the creepiest possible way to put it! How appropriate.)

THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN AWESOME GENRE. :D

[epershand]

Shattered/Asylum is basically the best thing that ever happened in Smallville. It was SO GOOD, I'm not even sure it was a part of that show. It is a mystery!

My favorite of Rivka's stories is "Incarnadine", which is a really intense Lex-POV for a "Red" AU. Her "Yellow" is also one of my favorite future fics. Do you want more recs? Because I can send you so many--Smallville was my primary fandom for a while.

[aria]

I KNOW, RIGHT. I mean, I am not really sure it was a mystery -- I have decided that if the people in charge had just made Michael Rosenbaum carry the show, it could have ALL BEEN LIKE THAT -- but that could just be my absurd infatuation talking! (Anyway, I now respect Tom Welling's abilities to FREAK ME THE HELL OUT re: the episode where Clark and Lionel switch bodies. AHHHH.)

I would love more recs! I like having a jumping-off point when I go on fic-reading sprees, so that would be incredibly helpful. :D

[red42]

Hi, you don't know me but.. I recently went through this exact same Smallville watch, promted by the exact same video (and this vid
which is all about lex and will break you into little pieces).

But anyway, since I marathoned the whole Smallville mess, I kept a note of what (actually interesting, pertinent information and scenes) happened in each episode. But in general, it doesn't get much better than Shattered/Asylum.

[aria]

Hello! :) Thanks for the vid rec; I am all about Lex things that will break me into little pieces!

Out of curiosity, do you have said notes posted? They sound like they might be an awesome guide to What To Watch.

[red42]

Yup. Lex was seriously the only reason I made it through.. most of the seasons. The tricky part came when he left the show. Only a twisted form of morbid curiosity kept me watching.

Sadly not, but I can offer a bunch of episode recs:

3x19 'memoria' (cos luthors are infinitely messed up)
4x06 'transference' (for much the same reasons as previous)
4x08 'spell' (bloody piano playing! but the rest of the ep is godawful)
4x09 'bound' (my notes simply say "lex has appalling taste in women")
4x17 'onyx' (evil twin/clone!)
5x22+6x01 'vessel/zod' (good times with dead alien dictators)
6x19 'nemesis' (this one is actually good. surprising i know)
7x12 'fracture' (god the mindfuckery in this one is delicious)
7x16 'descent' (lex is just.. seriously messed up)

hope that helps!