Fanfiction Rec-List: Smallville & Star Wars
If a FF (the Smallville ones are all Clark/Lex and slashy) caught your interest and you follow the link, please heed the warnings/ratings to be found at the archive/authors site.
Smallville
1. Closer by nonotthatone (FF.net)
Excerpt:
Lex hung back in the shadow of some hulking marble monument. He'd meant to approach Clark the second he could catch him alone; it was easier somehow, had always been easier to talk to Clark when it was just the two of them. But as he watched Clark cast dirt into Lana's grave, his purpose ebbed. The strength of the grief in Clark's expression hurt him, and made him doubt.
Guilt was an emotion Lex could never master. It crippled him now. There was no other way to say it, no point in skirting the issue: he had killed Lana. She had come to him in friendship and kindness - and like any other thing he'd ever loved, he had destroyed her.
It didn't matter that the police had dismissed him as a bystander. He knew the truth; he knew he was responsible. He had killed Lana as surely as if he'd rolled her car himself.
He knew Clark knew it too. He didn't think Clark had seen him that night at the scene of the accident; but he had seen Lana's cell phone in her hand and he knew there was no one else she could have been talking to. And then Clark had been there - just stepped out of the thin winter air and into the nightmarish scene.
Everything was coming together with such horrifying clarity.
At first he'd almost made an excuse for what he'd seen, as if all of Clark's lies had become such second nature to him that he could continue the pattern on his own: it was dark, he was drunk, shock was making his eyes play tricks, see things that weren't there. No. No, he knew what he had seen.
He'd asked - no, commanded - Lana to tell him Clark's secret. In a way, she had. So many times Lex had raged to himself that he would give anything, everything, to know what Clark was hiding … so this was why they say you must be careful what you wish for. He'd once felt so frustrated, so angry at Clark for not trusting him; now he had to admit that Clark had been right after all. As unbearable as not knowing had been, knowing was a hundred times worse. If he could unlearn it now, and by so doing undo the last few days, he would do it gladly.
Lex had had few sober moments since. The shock of what he'd seen on Route 40 that night had snapped him back to his senses long enough to get home again in one piece; but once he'd gotten there, he'd resumed drinking and hadn't stopped. He drank that night until he passed out, and when he woke the next morning to a splitting headache and an even more excruciating reality, he'd picked the bottle back up and kept going.
2. Identical Series by Lanning (AO3)
Note: I love especially the characterization of Jonathan and Martha, they are spot on :)
Excerpt from the first part: Divergence
"He's up there again." Jonathan sank into a chair at the kitchen table and scowled into the mug of coffee Martha set in front of him.
"He's been up there since we finished dinner." Martha wandered back to the window, staring through the gathering dark toward the barn. She couldn't see Clark now, but the faint glow of a lantern from the loft was plainly visible.
"Have you managed to get anything out of him?"
"No. He says he's all right." Martha watched the light flicker and the shadows move. Clark was pacing again.
"He won't talk to me. Just smiles and says everything's okay. Lord, Martha, I can see everything's not okay. He's miserable. Why won't he talk to me? We've always been able to talk before." Jonathan pulled off his cap and tossed it onto the table in obvious frustration.
Martha sighed and turned to him. "He obviously feels this is something he can't talk to us about."
Jonathan looked at her blankly. "He's always been able to talk to us about everything."
"He's not a baby anymore, Jonathan."
Jonathan snorted. "You think all this is over a girl? Even Lana doesn't get him this steamed up."
Martha cleared her throat, scanning the kitchen for breakables. "Jonathan. I don't suppose you noticed that all this began about the time Lex went back to Metropolis." Martha leaned back to watch Jonathan's classic Pavlovian response with resignation borne of long experience.
"What are you saying?" Jonathan demanded, flushing. "That our son is up there ... pining over Lex Luthor?"
Star Wars
Note: This FF trilogy is, imho, worthy to be published, it is THAT well written and plotted! Slow building pairing: Luke/Mara Jade
1. Into the Storm, In Shadows and Darkness, At the Brink of the Dawn and the Darkness by blank101 (FF.net)
Excerpt:
The wind whipped at him, buffeting his body as he tried to turn, howling like a banshee as he edged backwards over the precipice on the narrowest of beams, struggling for handholds against the smooth plassteel outcrop which counterbalanced precariously over an endless drop.
He was tired and battered and bruised and he hurt like hell. And he had no idea where he was going to go next... because there was simply no-where else to go.
*
"Luke - you do not yet realise your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me and I will complete your training...with our combined strength we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy."
Battered and bruised - but not beaten. "I'll never join you!"
He twisted about, straining to reach the supporting pipes, his tattered arm clutched to him, the pain making his breath come short and fast.
"If you only knew the power of the Dark Side…"
Luke didn't look, didn't listen - what could Darth Vader possibly have to say that he wanted to hear?
"Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father…"
That brought his head up, knowing resentment in his eyes, "He told me enough."
Grabbing the pipe, he swung himself onto the slim instrument vane which hung over nothing, pausing, heart in his throat as the fine plassteel veins rocked precariously, adjusting to a weight they were never meant to take. And still the winds howled, calling him on.
Lifting his head, Luke threw the accusation at Vader, every fibre of his being hating him in that moment, "He told me you killed him!"
This was his truth, his mantra. This knowledge gave him the strength to fight, the spirit to resist, it was the very essence of his cause. The single most significant happening in his life, the frame around which all other beliefs were built.
He was alone in this galaxy and he had been alone his whole life. Because of this… man. Could he even be called that? He was everything that Luke hated - everything he fought against. He was darkness and death personified.
All that Luke believed in distilled down to this moment, to these two combatants; he would never give in - not to this…
"No…I am your father!"
*
The words were an emotional body-blow with the power to knock the air from his lungs, so great was his shock in that moment.
Everything else - everything - simply fell away…
Every strength, every conviction… every lie.
Already he was shaking his head, denying it even as he knew it was true - he knew.
But still the words fell from his lips, desperate and breathless…"No…that's not true. That's impossible."
"Search your feelings - you know it to be true!"
Everything… everything was lost to him, the weight pressing in against his ribs so great he could scarcely breathe, his legs buckling as he leaned against the vein. If it were not there, he would have fallen, would have simply collapsed, so great was the anguish.
The grief fell from him in a cry, unstoppable, uncontainable, "No-o…No!"
He had lost his father. Lost him all over again in the cruellest way possible - the man he had worshipped ripped to shreds… by the man he really was.
What was left? What was left of his beliefs? What was left of him?
"Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny."
Vader's words brought Luke's face up, though in that moment he did not truly hear them. All he heard was the gale howling about him, the blood rushing through his ears. He watched Vader close his hand into a fist as he voiced shapeless words, watched him stretch out over the precipice, willing Luke to reach out, to take the hand offered.
"Join me and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son."
Luke faltered, lost… and as he looked down, he saw release. Freedom. Calm from the storm which burned through him now, searing his soul, fiery and caustic. Bitter truth. Too much to bear.
The void beckoned, promising serenity... and with it came a strange elation, a burst of adrenaline which gave faultless clarity. Time slowed, his heart beat fast, mind and soul committed now.
He looked up to the creature who had so effortlessly ripped his heart from his chest, aware that he was smiling at it.
He would steal victory from its hands, even as it reached out to grasp it.
"Come with me. It is the only way."
Calm, euphoria, pacific tranquillity filled his soul with effortless acceptance. In that moment, death was easy - living was too hard to bear.
He released his hold…
Falling away to eternity.
*
Vader sensed it as the boy fell back; the stillness of spirit, the complex twist of choice and surrender, a Jedi's soul at peace with fate.
He stood absolutely still, lost in the moment, both respectful and resentful.
Then reality closed and in a scarlet burst of horror one fact cried out in his mind: my son!
He reached out through the Force, hoping to slow the fall, to save the opportunity he had found and lost, but the distance was too great, fear and doubt clouding his perceptions… then the boy was gone.
For long seconds Vader stood at the rail, absolutely still, mind reaching out… searching…
There!! Alive!
Far below… too far to reach. Then with a burst of shock the sense was lost, vanishing again in a flurry of movement.
But alive. Falling away still…
Fate had not yet finished with his son, Vader knew… nor himself, he felt.
Twisting away, he headed for his shuttle with new purpose in his stride.
AN: I know, not really much on this list, but when it comes to those two fandoms, I seem to be even pickier than usual ^-^"
Smallville
1. Closer by nonotthatone (FF.net)
Excerpt:
Lex hung back in the shadow of some hulking marble monument. He'd meant to approach Clark the second he could catch him alone; it was easier somehow, had always been easier to talk to Clark when it was just the two of them. But as he watched Clark cast dirt into Lana's grave, his purpose ebbed. The strength of the grief in Clark's expression hurt him, and made him doubt.
Guilt was an emotion Lex could never master. It crippled him now. There was no other way to say it, no point in skirting the issue: he had killed Lana. She had come to him in friendship and kindness - and like any other thing he'd ever loved, he had destroyed her.
It didn't matter that the police had dismissed him as a bystander. He knew the truth; he knew he was responsible. He had killed Lana as surely as if he'd rolled her car himself.
He knew Clark knew it too. He didn't think Clark had seen him that night at the scene of the accident; but he had seen Lana's cell phone in her hand and he knew there was no one else she could have been talking to. And then Clark had been there - just stepped out of the thin winter air and into the nightmarish scene.
Everything was coming together with such horrifying clarity.
At first he'd almost made an excuse for what he'd seen, as if all of Clark's lies had become such second nature to him that he could continue the pattern on his own: it was dark, he was drunk, shock was making his eyes play tricks, see things that weren't there. No. No, he knew what he had seen.
He'd asked - no, commanded - Lana to tell him Clark's secret. In a way, she had. So many times Lex had raged to himself that he would give anything, everything, to know what Clark was hiding … so this was why they say you must be careful what you wish for. He'd once felt so frustrated, so angry at Clark for not trusting him; now he had to admit that Clark had been right after all. As unbearable as not knowing had been, knowing was a hundred times worse. If he could unlearn it now, and by so doing undo the last few days, he would do it gladly.
Lex had had few sober moments since. The shock of what he'd seen on Route 40 that night had snapped him back to his senses long enough to get home again in one piece; but once he'd gotten there, he'd resumed drinking and hadn't stopped. He drank that night until he passed out, and when he woke the next morning to a splitting headache and an even more excruciating reality, he'd picked the bottle back up and kept going.
2. Identical Series by Lanning (AO3)
Note: I love especially the characterization of Jonathan and Martha, they are spot on :)
Excerpt from the first part: Divergence
"He's up there again." Jonathan sank into a chair at the kitchen table and scowled into the mug of coffee Martha set in front of him.
"He's been up there since we finished dinner." Martha wandered back to the window, staring through the gathering dark toward the barn. She couldn't see Clark now, but the faint glow of a lantern from the loft was plainly visible.
"Have you managed to get anything out of him?"
"No. He says he's all right." Martha watched the light flicker and the shadows move. Clark was pacing again.
"He won't talk to me. Just smiles and says everything's okay. Lord, Martha, I can see everything's not okay. He's miserable. Why won't he talk to me? We've always been able to talk before." Jonathan pulled off his cap and tossed it onto the table in obvious frustration.
Martha sighed and turned to him. "He obviously feels this is something he can't talk to us about."
Jonathan looked at her blankly. "He's always been able to talk to us about everything."
"He's not a baby anymore, Jonathan."
Jonathan snorted. "You think all this is over a girl? Even Lana doesn't get him this steamed up."
Martha cleared her throat, scanning the kitchen for breakables. "Jonathan. I don't suppose you noticed that all this began about the time Lex went back to Metropolis." Martha leaned back to watch Jonathan's classic Pavlovian response with resignation borne of long experience.
"What are you saying?" Jonathan demanded, flushing. "That our son is up there ... pining over Lex Luthor?"
Star Wars
Note: This FF trilogy is, imho, worthy to be published, it is THAT well written and plotted! Slow building pairing: Luke/Mara Jade
1. Into the Storm, In Shadows and Darkness, At the Brink of the Dawn and the Darkness by blank101 (FF.net)
Excerpt:
The wind whipped at him, buffeting his body as he tried to turn, howling like a banshee as he edged backwards over the precipice on the narrowest of beams, struggling for handholds against the smooth plassteel outcrop which counterbalanced precariously over an endless drop.
He was tired and battered and bruised and he hurt like hell. And he had no idea where he was going to go next... because there was simply no-where else to go.
*
"Luke - you do not yet realise your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me and I will complete your training...with our combined strength we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy."
Battered and bruised - but not beaten. "I'll never join you!"
He twisted about, straining to reach the supporting pipes, his tattered arm clutched to him, the pain making his breath come short and fast.
"If you only knew the power of the Dark Side…"
Luke didn't look, didn't listen - what could Darth Vader possibly have to say that he wanted to hear?
"Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father…"
That brought his head up, knowing resentment in his eyes, "He told me enough."
Grabbing the pipe, he swung himself onto the slim instrument vane which hung over nothing, pausing, heart in his throat as the fine plassteel veins rocked precariously, adjusting to a weight they were never meant to take. And still the winds howled, calling him on.
Lifting his head, Luke threw the accusation at Vader, every fibre of his being hating him in that moment, "He told me you killed him!"
This was his truth, his mantra. This knowledge gave him the strength to fight, the spirit to resist, it was the very essence of his cause. The single most significant happening in his life, the frame around which all other beliefs were built.
He was alone in this galaxy and he had been alone his whole life. Because of this… man. Could he even be called that? He was everything that Luke hated - everything he fought against. He was darkness and death personified.
All that Luke believed in distilled down to this moment, to these two combatants; he would never give in - not to this…
"No…I am your father!"
*
The words were an emotional body-blow with the power to knock the air from his lungs, so great was his shock in that moment.
Everything else - everything - simply fell away…
Every strength, every conviction… every lie.
Already he was shaking his head, denying it even as he knew it was true - he knew.
But still the words fell from his lips, desperate and breathless…"No…that's not true. That's impossible."
"Search your feelings - you know it to be true!"
Everything… everything was lost to him, the weight pressing in against his ribs so great he could scarcely breathe, his legs buckling as he leaned against the vein. If it were not there, he would have fallen, would have simply collapsed, so great was the anguish.
The grief fell from him in a cry, unstoppable, uncontainable, "No-o…No!"
He had lost his father. Lost him all over again in the cruellest way possible - the man he had worshipped ripped to shreds… by the man he really was.
What was left? What was left of his beliefs? What was left of him?
"Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny."
Vader's words brought Luke's face up, though in that moment he did not truly hear them. All he heard was the gale howling about him, the blood rushing through his ears. He watched Vader close his hand into a fist as he voiced shapeless words, watched him stretch out over the precipice, willing Luke to reach out, to take the hand offered.
"Join me and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son."
Luke faltered, lost… and as he looked down, he saw release. Freedom. Calm from the storm which burned through him now, searing his soul, fiery and caustic. Bitter truth. Too much to bear.
The void beckoned, promising serenity... and with it came a strange elation, a burst of adrenaline which gave faultless clarity. Time slowed, his heart beat fast, mind and soul committed now.
He looked up to the creature who had so effortlessly ripped his heart from his chest, aware that he was smiling at it.
He would steal victory from its hands, even as it reached out to grasp it.
"Come with me. It is the only way."
Calm, euphoria, pacific tranquillity filled his soul with effortless acceptance. In that moment, death was easy - living was too hard to bear.
He released his hold…
Falling away to eternity.
*
Vader sensed it as the boy fell back; the stillness of spirit, the complex twist of choice and surrender, a Jedi's soul at peace with fate.
He stood absolutely still, lost in the moment, both respectful and resentful.
Then reality closed and in a scarlet burst of horror one fact cried out in his mind: my son!
He reached out through the Force, hoping to slow the fall, to save the opportunity he had found and lost, but the distance was too great, fear and doubt clouding his perceptions… then the boy was gone.
For long seconds Vader stood at the rail, absolutely still, mind reaching out… searching…
There!! Alive!
Far below… too far to reach. Then with a burst of shock the sense was lost, vanishing again in a flurry of movement.
But alive. Falling away still…
Fate had not yet finished with his son, Vader knew… nor himself, he felt.
Twisting away, he headed for his shuttle with new purpose in his stride.
AN: I know, not really much on this list, but when it comes to those two fandoms, I seem to be even pickier than usual ^-^"