Chlark Fanfic: Crisis, Chapter 39

[babydee1]

Back again with some more Crisis!  In which there is some unlikely progress with Chloe and Clark’s strained relationship.

I should also let you know that we’re now one chapter away from the end of the first half of the story (~gasp!~); all things being equal, I hope to get Chapter 40 posted within the next couple of weeks.

Enjoy!  :-)

Comments

[sheliana]

I loved Clark and Chloe's talk and am in complete agreement with Chloe's observations regarding Clark. Although the decision to put on the RedK was impulsive and dangerous, overall Clark's sense of guilt is kind of scary and (in my opinion) misplaced. I always thought Clark was a bit of a pushover when it came to his parents (well, to Jonathan, mostly). He disagreed with him often enough when Jonathan was being unreasonable, but always in such a meek way that it was never truly satisfying. The only few times I remember Clark standing up to his father (RedK episodes don't count) is in "Hothead" when Clark plays football in spite of Jonathan's objections, and in "Reaper" when Clark yells that the only reason he goes on an annual fishing trip with Jonathan is because he wants to please him, not because he enjoys it. Oh, and in "Shattered" when Clark defies his parents by choosing to support Lex. Maybe there are some other instances I don't recall, but most of the time Clark is so meek with his parents... Not just being a good son, but a Perfect son as Chloe so aptly out it in this chapter. I cannot imagine how this sense of guilt over being a "freak" screwed Clark up. I love that Chloe noticed that and made him think about it.

Oh, and this made me laugh:

"Apart from one fortnightly Saturday shift mucking out the stalls"

LOL. I'm willing to bet everything this was Jonathan's idea! Is it like a rite of passage in the Kent household or something?:D

[babydee1]

"I loved Clark and Chloe's talk and am in complete agreement with Chloe's observations regarding Clark. Although the decision to put on the RedK was impulsive and dangerous, overall Clark's sense of guilt is kind of scary and (in my opinion) misplaced."

Oh yes, and very often, too. Clark would always find obscure, round-about ways to somehow make every possible mis-hap in Smallville '..his fault.' I felt sorry for him at first, but it became tedious after a while, and eye-rollingly annoying shortly after that. :-)

"I always thought Clark was a bit of a pushover when it came to his parents (well, to Jonathan, mostly). He disagreed with him often enough when Jonathan was being unreasonable, but always in such a meek way that it was never truly satisfying. The only few times I remember Clark standing up to his father (RedK episodes don't count) is in "Hothead" when Clark plays football in spite of Jonathan's objections, and in "Reaper" when Clark yells that the only reason he goes on an annual fishing trip with Jonathan is because he wants to please him, not because he enjoys it. Oh, and in "Shattered" when Clark defies his parents by choosing to support Lex. Maybe there are some other instances I don't recall, but most of the time Clark is so meek with his parents..."

I guess it's an expected result of growing up knowing he was different, and everything his parents have done to keep him safe. But he does need to let loose every now and then; all his red-K encounters have shown that they don't change him, only loosen him up a little bit, and he wouldn't need loosening up if he allowed himself to vent more often.

"Not just being a good son, but a Perfect son as Chloe so aptly out it in this chapter. I cannot imagine how this sense of guilt over being a "freak" screwed Clark up. I love that Chloe noticed that and made him think about it."

...and the journey to healing has begun! :-)

[sheliana]

>>Clark would always find obscure, round-about ways to somehow make every possible mis-hap in Smallville '..his fault.' I felt sorry for him at first, but it became tedious after a while, and eye-rollingly annoying shortly after that. :-) <<

One of the most idiotic examples was,in my opinion, Clark's declaration that it was his fault that Davis got a crappy childhood and turned into a monster. At that point I no longer found Clark's tendency to blame himself for everything endearing... it didn't even seem like a martyr complex. It was so ridiculous that it kind of reeked of attention-seeking.

Of course,there were things he *should* have blamed himself for but he never did...

[babydee1]

"One of the most idiotic examples was,in my opinion, Clark's declaration that it was his fault that Davis got a crappy childhood and turned into a monster. At that point I no longer found Clark's tendency to blame himself for everything endearing... it didn't even seem like a martyr complex. It was so ridiculous that it kind of reeked of attention-seeking."

I don't know which writer came up with that one, but they should never have gotten paid for that drivel. I mean, come on. Really?!? The only thing that did was make Clark completely unlikeable for me. And to cap it all off, Clark learned absolutely nothing from the whole Doomsday debacle. He's just had one Kryptonian monster nearly destroy the earth, and what does he go and do? Become bestest buddies with Zod in the hope of 'saving' him - which is, coincidentally, exactly what Chloe tried to do with Davis, only she at least had the excuse of having a calming effect on him. But Clark, oh no! Not only does he ostracise Chloe, he turns around and does exactly what she did, only he goes one step further and actively gives Zod the powers he needs to destroy the earth. And they wonder why we call him BDA...

"Of course,there were things he *should* have blamed himself for but he never did..."

Ah yes, the other list. I'll keep schtum on that one, otherwise we'll be here all night. :-)

[sheliana]

>>I don't know which writer came up with that one, but they should never have gotten paid for that drivel. <<

Peterson and Souders, I think. Which is so not a surprise.:)

>>And to cap it all off, Clark learned absolutely nothing from the whole Doomsday debacle.<<

Making Clark go through lesson after lesson and never actually learn anything seems to be the main reason why the show went on as long as it did.

While I sympathize with Clark's desire to save Zod, I agree with your points. The thing that annoyed me the most was his little speech to Oliver in one of the episodes: "Don't you dare interfere! These are MY PEOPLE we're talking about! My chance at a Kryptonian family!". I wanted Oliver to say, "Really? Well, the human beings of Earth are MY people, and I'm sorry, but they are my priority. And it's not about your needs, it's about, you know, saving every person on this planet! Who are YOUR people too, considering you grew up with them".

The writers tried to make Clark sympathetic, and they might have succeeded if they had not made him so damn judgemental and lacking in self-awareness. It's like Clark was completely unable of evaluating his own actions and choices in a rational manner. For a selfless hero he was too much preoccupied with himself, his own desires and needs. He even wanted to save Zod because he wanted a Kryptonian brother for himself. The writers did terrible things to his character. There were so many ways of striking a balance between making Clark be smart and take precautions against the Kandorians AND having him hold out hope that he could reach out to Zod.

...I may have issues with Smallville's writing. A lot of them. And I won't shut up about them, apparently. Sorry!:D Didn't mean to go on a Clark bashing spree either. It's all about the crap writing, not about his character. God bless you all fanfic writers for making sense of it all!

[babydee1]

"Peterson and Souders, I think. Which is so not a surprise.:)"

Oh, that explains a LOT!!! :-D

"Making Clark go through lesson after lesson and never actually learn anything seems to be the main reason why the show went on as long as it did."

I think they did it deliberately just to extend the show for as long as possible. Didn't to any of them any favours AT ALL, because everyone seemed to get more and more stupid as time went on.

"While I sympathize with Clark's desire to save Zod, I agree with your points. The thing that annoyed me the most was his little speech to Oliver in one of the episodes: "Don't you dare interfere! These are MY PEOPLE we're talking about! My chance at a Kryptonian family!"

So it was all about Clark, and what he wanted. How heroic. NOT!!!

"I wanted Oliver to say, "Really? Well, the human beings of Earth are MY people, and I'm sorry, but they are my priority. And it's not about your needs, it's about, you know, saving every person on this planet! Who are YOUR people too, considering you grew up with them"."

You're too kind, Sheliana. I wanted Oliver to grab the biggest chunk of kryptonite he could find and punch Clark in the face. For starters. :-P

"The writers tried to make Clark sympathetic, and they might have succeeded if they had not made him so damn judgemental and lacking in self-awareness. It's like Clark was completely unable of evaluating his own actions and choices in a rational manner. For a selfless hero he was too much preoccupied with himself, his own desires and needs. He even wanted to save Zod because he wanted a Kryptonian brother for himself."

It's the selfishness that I really couldn't stand. Everything was All. About. Him, and even when it wasn't, he did everything he could to sway it in that direction. He wanted a Kryptonian brother, never mind that this is the same guy who totalled his home planet and wanted to do exactly the same to earth! It's okay for him to go back in time when it suits him, or bring people back from the dead because he wants a Kryptonian brother, or because he can't live without Lana, but when Chloe asked him to do it, the answer was a flat NO. Not saying I wanted him to agree with her, because I don't, but the fact that there was one rule for him and another rule for everyone else was so, so wrong.

"The writers did terrible things to his character. There were so many ways of striking a balance between making Clark be smart and take precautions against the Kandorians AND having him hold out hope that he could reach out to Zod."

And yet they took the worst one and ran with it like you wouldn't believe. *shakes head*

"...I may have issues with Smallville's writing. A lot of them. And I won't shut up about them, apparently. Sorry!:D"

Oh, rant away, babes. I have exactly the same issues, so it's all good! :-P

"Didn't mean to go on a Clark bashing spree either. It's all about the crap writing, not about his character."

Completely understand, hun. The writers did him - and a lot of other characters - a great disservice,and that's what we're mainly griping about.

God bless you all fanfic writers for making sense of it all!"

And God bless all you readers for encouraging us with your kind comments! *huggles*

[sheliana]

Yeah, to be honest, I could go on a similar rant about any SV character... You're right, they were all done a great disservice. Even Lana, who was treated as a fetish object rather than a real person.

>>It's the selfishness that I really couldn't stand. Everything was All. About. Him, and even when it wasn't, he did everything he could to sway it in that direction.<<

And another example that irks me is his reaction to Chloe's anti-Kandorian weapons. "You've been stockpiling weapons that could KILL ME! Are you going to TURN AGAINST ME???" It's like his first knee-jerk reaction is to assume everyone's motivation for anything somehow revolves around him. So much for that famous Superman humility. And I get why people accuse Lex of being self-absorbed, but it bothers me that Clark is guilty of the same flaw, and no one sees that.:(

Ah, well. Don't worry, Clarkie, you'll be treated much better in fan stories. And you'll even get lots of nookie of much higher quality that you did on that stupid show!;)

[babydee1]

"Oh, and this made me laugh:

"Apart from one fortnightly Saturday shift mucking out the stalls"

LOL. I'm willing to bet everything this was Jonathan's idea! Is it like a rite of passage in the Kent household or something?:D"

It must be! He don't care who they are, where they're from or how much money their parents have...they live under his roof, they all get a turn shovelling horsesh*t! :-D

(...apart from Lois, for some reason.  Boo!)