![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Wednesday, April 30th, 2003 10:01 pm
svfic: looking-glass, 3
Short things.
Recs
Lowell County Choppers by roses. You know, it IS humorous and IS funny and IS cute, but the edge of bittersweet loss of possibility hurt, too. Beautifully written, as always by this author. *sighs*
A Step to the Left by shinan. Hmm. The thing is, while I like it, it NEEDS more. More--context, more background, more explanation of the AU possibility this is. I love the idea, and the writing is sound, so definitely should be read--but I'd love to see this author tell us more about this. Intersting.
Inversion by Lenore. Oh how cool! Reverse AUness, Alex Kent and Clark Luthor. Spooky couple of kids in so many ways. An interesting AU she should definitely revisit.
Other Things
Got this in my LJ, posted to the entry regarding video theft. For those following along in LJ,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
elke_tanzer discovered another idiot doing the theft of video thing. Because fandom is made of a lot of great people and then there are the morons who I would ban from fandom for all time.
See, this is when I want magical powers, dammit.
Anyway,jainieg is spearheading Access Denied.
The site is for people who have had their work and/or their bandwidth stolen by thoughtless thieves. At the heart of the site, it's a project to cut the stealing off at the source: by systematically shutting all of the participating AD sites down for 24 hours on May 19. What better way to hammer home the point about fans stealing from other fans by having the fans shut down their sites. Because we don't have to do what we do - we don't have to provide screencaps, we don't have to post our vids and art so that everyone can see them. This is an opportunity to show the thieves just how empty and dull the 'net would be without all of our contributions to the fannish community.
bonibaru already mentioned it, but let's get this across fandom. Mark the date on your calendars.
If I had slightly more energy, I'd probably throw the most boring fit in creation, but I just don't. I don't get the attitude and I don't get how any sane person can think this is okay. And talking to stupid brick walls, while a way to pass the time, just doesnt' make my top ten list of Things to Do. Removing my toenails with pliers ranks higher at this point.
Places to Visit
Here,thebratqueen explains WHY stealing fan stuff is wrong, wrong, wrong.
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
selling_out is the new home of Jessica's wonderful indie!Clark AU. And if you don't know what this is, you NEED to check it out.
And I have GOT to think of something to write that won't annoy me.
Snippet from the ClexBrothersAU. Set in time between the first two snippets, about two years after the first one. One day, I may even finish this story.
On the Night He Fell in Love
Nell's laughter is like crystal--gorgeous to listen to, bright and sharp and blinding, and Jonathan grins because he can't help it.
It's been so long since he last heard her laugh like that.
"So are you keeping the farm?" she asks, giving him a look from beneath her lashes. Pulling his coat close, Jonathan shrugs.
"No reason to." He hasn't really lived in the house since Martha served him with divorce papers. Wrapping his arm around Nell's shoulders, he pulls her closer as a couple passes them on the sidewalk. He can see Nell looking around the skyscrapers of Metropolis with dark, interested eyes. "Since what happened with the Ross brothers, I just want to get out of Smallville."
She nods slowly, and he can see the tight line of her lips even in the semi-dark of the street. Jonathan will never forget the shock on Ethane's face when he had to arrest them two weeks ago. It'd been a bad year for everyone--Jonathan still winces when he looks at his dried-out fields--but the Rosses had taken it hard. Probably regretting that they hadn't sold to Luthor when he'd come through town three years ago.
"Think they'll get off?" Nell says softly, and Jonathan blinks hard.
"Not with what they found in the cellar, Nell." He stops the shudder before it can start. If they ever see sunlight again, Jonathan will be very surprised. The elder brother's wife is being investigated in her capacity as a judge, and considering what's come up, Jonathan doesn't rate her chances good before an inquiry.
Pulling her closer, he pushes the uncomfortable thoughts aside, glancing approvingly at the twilight. "I like the city."
Her grin is wry. "Do you know what you're going to do yet when you move?"
Jonathan nods slowly, easily dodging another couple, out for a walk in downtown Metropolis. It's a lover's night, he thinks, watching a man in front of him opening the door for a pretty woman in green who grins with an echo of Martha's smile. Something in him twists at the sight, smile fading, and he almost stops to look, but the eyes are all wrong, too close together and a snub nose above the stretched pink lips.
He doesn't even realize that he's stopped until Nell digs an elbow into his ribs. "Jonathan?"
Shrugging, he tightens his arm and glances down the street. "You like Metropolis, don't you?"
"Love it." Her voice is almost wistful, and he remembers how she put aside her plans to take over care of Lana, living as a smalltown florist in a place she hated for more reason than any of them.
He nods, feeling the tremble of her shoulders, remembering how much she's given up for her niece. "Think she'd like it here, too?"
Nell comes to a complete stop, almost throwing him off balance, and he tries not to grin, tries to look just interested, but beneath his skin, everything's pure excitement, twisting like lightning in his veins. Glancing around, he takes her shoulder, backing her up against the building, then fumbles in his pocket.
"Jonathan?"
The tiny velvet box seems impossible to get his fingers around, but he drags it out, dropping on one knee and regretting it. Football hadn't been kind to his joints and the years haven't helped. Looking up, he meets tear-filled brown eyes and red O of her mouth.
"I was thinking--I--" He'd had a speech ready. It's no where near his head now. Staring up at her, his breath catches. "Nell, will you marry me?"
She's in a pretty green dress that brings out her eyes, matching the necklace looped closer ot her throat, and her best hose, but she goes down on the sidewalk with him, arms wrapping around him like a gift, and her shoulders shake, fragile and so breakable beneath his hands.
"God--Jonathan, yes. Yes." Tear-filled eyes hold his, and he wipes away black-tinged dorps before they can ruin her make-up. "Yes. Lana will--Lana will love it. We both--" Her mouth trembles and breaks, and there's nothing to do but kiss it, smearing her lipstick between them, before he draws back, breathless and giddy like he hasn't been in what seems like forever.
The diamond fits like something meant to be, and Jonathan laces their fingers together. "There's a house I've been looking at here, and after I sell the farm--" He stares at her, watching her mouth work, pink tongue wetting her lips, and words fail him. "I love you."
She smiles back, trembling and soft and sweet, and he thinks he'll always be able to protect her now.
"I--"
The night is broken by sharp voices, and they both turn, watching as a small group emerges from the building they're kneeling beside. Jonathan blinks away the sight of suited men and too many people. "Alexander, I said--"
"Get over it, Dad." Jonathan frowns at the sight of a smaller figure emerge from the group, bald head a beacon for any eyes that care to see. Recognizable, too, and Jonathan frowns tightly. He hadn't realized where they were. "I'm not-- *Fuck*." It's almost funny--Jonathan watches as the kid goes down in a tangle of awkward limbs and expensive suit, a smaller, equally well-dressed figure on top of him, a fall of dark hair hiding his face. "You little--"
"Alexander! Language!"
"I didn't say anything!" Pre-teen angst and aggrievement wrapped up in a single long whine, and Jonathan feels a tightness in his chest as he imagines a son of his own. With Nell's eyes, maybe, and Jonathan's blond hair, and he wonders if Nell might be thinking the same thing.
"Boys!" The clear, sharp voice snaps his head around, and a woman emerges--a splash of dark silk and flashes of gold, but she kneels on the ground with them as if she doesn't even notice. Small, capable hands sort them out, pulling the smaller child carefully free and then reaching for the older boy's head, fingers gently tracking for injury. Jonathan feels his mouth go dry at the fast flash of her smile. "You're okay, sweetie."
The boy bats her hand away with a frown but Jonathan can see his mouth twitch. "Whatever."
"This is what I have to look forward to for the next seven years?" Her smile's brilliant, and Jonathan's heart stops as she turns her attention to the little boy, dusting him off with quick, practiced motions. "You know better, honey. Don't tackle your brother."
"Coulda held him." The child sounds endlessly smug, little arms crossed across his chest. The boy on the ground snickers softly, looking up at the kid with amused affection.
"Apologize." She shifts to an easy crouch, hand on his face. "Now."
A tiny hand extends out to the boy on the pavement. "Sorry, Lex."
"Right." But he takes the hand, letting the child pretend to pull him to his feet and cuffing the dark hair lightly with a grin that lights up his face. "Martha--"
Jonathan can feel Nell tense beside him, and he knows he should say something to her, push to his feet and pull her up, turn away, but it holds him.
He hasn't seen her since the day she left, up to the day her marriage made the front page of half the newspapers in the United States.
"No whining, boys. I have an exam in the morning and I'd like to *pass* the bar after I graduate." Straightening, she takes the little boy's hand, giving Alexander a long, careful look. "Make you a deal. Entertain Clark for the rest of the night and I'll take you to the museum this weekend. Just you, me, and the Etruscans."
Alexander's a negotiator, Jonathan thinks a little dully, but the smile's forcing itself out whether he wants it to or not. She has that effect on people, always has. Reaching over, he takes the child--Clark?--by the hand, pulling him over. "Fine. For the museum." Looking down, Alexander grins. "Want to read Warrior Angel #78? It's in the car."
"Are you three done yet? I'd like to get my dinner before midnight, if you don't mind." There's a sense of inevitability when Lionel emerges, huge and dark, a frown turning his mouth as he reaches for his wife's arm. "You coddle them, Martha."
She snickers and wraps a hand over Alexander's shoulder as the boy stiffens, drawing him against her. Even from here, Jonathan can see the bright flash of her wedding ring. "It's family, Lionel. Nothing's more important. Let's go before we miss our reservation." Straightening her skirt, she smiles down at both boys, and Jonathan watches numbly as a limo pulls up, graceful and sleek. The driver jumps out almost before the car stops, darting to the door. "Clark, don't pull at your tie and stay with Alexander. In, boys."
Nell's hand on his face brings him back to reality, cold sidewalk and her warm body, and he quickly stands up, helping her to her feet, turning to walk away. He can't quite look in her eyes, but she doesn't force it, walking quiet and sedate beside him back down the way they came.
When he glances back, he catches a bright wave of red hair and deep blue eyes that disappear inside the limo.
Recs
Lowell County Choppers by roses. You know, it IS humorous and IS funny and IS cute, but the edge of bittersweet loss of possibility hurt, too. Beautifully written, as always by this author. *sighs*
A Step to the Left by shinan. Hmm. The thing is, while I like it, it NEEDS more. More--context, more background, more explanation of the AU possibility this is. I love the idea, and the writing is sound, so definitely should be read--but I'd love to see this author tell us more about this. Intersting.
Inversion by Lenore. Oh how cool! Reverse AUness, Alex Kent and Clark Luthor. Spooky couple of kids in so many ways. An interesting AU she should definitely revisit.
Other Things
Got this in my LJ, posted to the entry regarding video theft. For those following along in LJ,
elke_tanzer discovered another idiot doing the theft of video thing. Because fandom is made of a lot of great people and then there are the morons who I would ban from fandom for all time. See, this is when I want magical powers, dammit.
Anyway,
jainieg is spearheading Access Denied.The site is for people who have had their work and/or their bandwidth stolen by thoughtless thieves. At the heart of the site, it's a project to cut the stealing off at the source: by systematically shutting all of the participating AD sites down for 24 hours on May 19. What better way to hammer home the point about fans stealing from other fans by having the fans shut down their sites. Because we don't have to do what we do - we don't have to provide screencaps, we don't have to post our vids and art so that everyone can see them. This is an opportunity to show the thieves just how empty and dull the 'net would be without all of our contributions to the fannish community.
bonibaru already mentioned it, but let's get this across fandom. Mark the date on your calendars.If I had slightly more energy, I'd probably throw the most boring fit in creation, but I just don't. I don't get the attitude and I don't get how any sane person can think this is okay. And talking to stupid brick walls, while a way to pass the time, just doesnt' make my top ten list of Things to Do. Removing my toenails with pliers ranks higher at this point.
Places to Visit
Here,
thebratqueen explains WHY stealing fan stuff is wrong, wrong, wrong. selling_out is the new home of Jessica's wonderful indie!Clark AU. And if you don't know what this is, you NEED to check it out.And I have GOT to think of something to write that won't annoy me.
Snippet from the ClexBrothersAU. Set in time between the first two snippets, about two years after the first one. One day, I may even finish this story.
On the Night He Fell in Love
Nell's laughter is like crystal--gorgeous to listen to, bright and sharp and blinding, and Jonathan grins because he can't help it.
It's been so long since he last heard her laugh like that.
"So are you keeping the farm?" she asks, giving him a look from beneath her lashes. Pulling his coat close, Jonathan shrugs.
"No reason to." He hasn't really lived in the house since Martha served him with divorce papers. Wrapping his arm around Nell's shoulders, he pulls her closer as a couple passes them on the sidewalk. He can see Nell looking around the skyscrapers of Metropolis with dark, interested eyes. "Since what happened with the Ross brothers, I just want to get out of Smallville."
She nods slowly, and he can see the tight line of her lips even in the semi-dark of the street. Jonathan will never forget the shock on Ethane's face when he had to arrest them two weeks ago. It'd been a bad year for everyone--Jonathan still winces when he looks at his dried-out fields--but the Rosses had taken it hard. Probably regretting that they hadn't sold to Luthor when he'd come through town three years ago.
"Think they'll get off?" Nell says softly, and Jonathan blinks hard.
"Not with what they found in the cellar, Nell." He stops the shudder before it can start. If they ever see sunlight again, Jonathan will be very surprised. The elder brother's wife is being investigated in her capacity as a judge, and considering what's come up, Jonathan doesn't rate her chances good before an inquiry.
Pulling her closer, he pushes the uncomfortable thoughts aside, glancing approvingly at the twilight. "I like the city."
Her grin is wry. "Do you know what you're going to do yet when you move?"
Jonathan nods slowly, easily dodging another couple, out for a walk in downtown Metropolis. It's a lover's night, he thinks, watching a man in front of him opening the door for a pretty woman in green who grins with an echo of Martha's smile. Something in him twists at the sight, smile fading, and he almost stops to look, but the eyes are all wrong, too close together and a snub nose above the stretched pink lips.
He doesn't even realize that he's stopped until Nell digs an elbow into his ribs. "Jonathan?"
Shrugging, he tightens his arm and glances down the street. "You like Metropolis, don't you?"
"Love it." Her voice is almost wistful, and he remembers how she put aside her plans to take over care of Lana, living as a smalltown florist in a place she hated for more reason than any of them.
He nods, feeling the tremble of her shoulders, remembering how much she's given up for her niece. "Think she'd like it here, too?"
Nell comes to a complete stop, almost throwing him off balance, and he tries not to grin, tries to look just interested, but beneath his skin, everything's pure excitement, twisting like lightning in his veins. Glancing around, he takes her shoulder, backing her up against the building, then fumbles in his pocket.
"Jonathan?"
The tiny velvet box seems impossible to get his fingers around, but he drags it out, dropping on one knee and regretting it. Football hadn't been kind to his joints and the years haven't helped. Looking up, he meets tear-filled brown eyes and red O of her mouth.
"I was thinking--I--" He'd had a speech ready. It's no where near his head now. Staring up at her, his breath catches. "Nell, will you marry me?"
She's in a pretty green dress that brings out her eyes, matching the necklace looped closer ot her throat, and her best hose, but she goes down on the sidewalk with him, arms wrapping around him like a gift, and her shoulders shake, fragile and so breakable beneath his hands.
"God--Jonathan, yes. Yes." Tear-filled eyes hold his, and he wipes away black-tinged dorps before they can ruin her make-up. "Yes. Lana will--Lana will love it. We both--" Her mouth trembles and breaks, and there's nothing to do but kiss it, smearing her lipstick between them, before he draws back, breathless and giddy like he hasn't been in what seems like forever.
The diamond fits like something meant to be, and Jonathan laces their fingers together. "There's a house I've been looking at here, and after I sell the farm--" He stares at her, watching her mouth work, pink tongue wetting her lips, and words fail him. "I love you."
She smiles back, trembling and soft and sweet, and he thinks he'll always be able to protect her now.
"I--"
The night is broken by sharp voices, and they both turn, watching as a small group emerges from the building they're kneeling beside. Jonathan blinks away the sight of suited men and too many people. "Alexander, I said--"
"Get over it, Dad." Jonathan frowns at the sight of a smaller figure emerge from the group, bald head a beacon for any eyes that care to see. Recognizable, too, and Jonathan frowns tightly. He hadn't realized where they were. "I'm not-- *Fuck*." It's almost funny--Jonathan watches as the kid goes down in a tangle of awkward limbs and expensive suit, a smaller, equally well-dressed figure on top of him, a fall of dark hair hiding his face. "You little--"
"Alexander! Language!"
"I didn't say anything!" Pre-teen angst and aggrievement wrapped up in a single long whine, and Jonathan feels a tightness in his chest as he imagines a son of his own. With Nell's eyes, maybe, and Jonathan's blond hair, and he wonders if Nell might be thinking the same thing.
"Boys!" The clear, sharp voice snaps his head around, and a woman emerges--a splash of dark silk and flashes of gold, but she kneels on the ground with them as if she doesn't even notice. Small, capable hands sort them out, pulling the smaller child carefully free and then reaching for the older boy's head, fingers gently tracking for injury. Jonathan feels his mouth go dry at the fast flash of her smile. "You're okay, sweetie."
The boy bats her hand away with a frown but Jonathan can see his mouth twitch. "Whatever."
"This is what I have to look forward to for the next seven years?" Her smile's brilliant, and Jonathan's heart stops as she turns her attention to the little boy, dusting him off with quick, practiced motions. "You know better, honey. Don't tackle your brother."
"Coulda held him." The child sounds endlessly smug, little arms crossed across his chest. The boy on the ground snickers softly, looking up at the kid with amused affection.
"Apologize." She shifts to an easy crouch, hand on his face. "Now."
A tiny hand extends out to the boy on the pavement. "Sorry, Lex."
"Right." But he takes the hand, letting the child pretend to pull him to his feet and cuffing the dark hair lightly with a grin that lights up his face. "Martha--"
Jonathan can feel Nell tense beside him, and he knows he should say something to her, push to his feet and pull her up, turn away, but it holds him.
He hasn't seen her since the day she left, up to the day her marriage made the front page of half the newspapers in the United States.
"No whining, boys. I have an exam in the morning and I'd like to *pass* the bar after I graduate." Straightening, she takes the little boy's hand, giving Alexander a long, careful look. "Make you a deal. Entertain Clark for the rest of the night and I'll take you to the museum this weekend. Just you, me, and the Etruscans."
Alexander's a negotiator, Jonathan thinks a little dully, but the smile's forcing itself out whether he wants it to or not. She has that effect on people, always has. Reaching over, he takes the child--Clark?--by the hand, pulling him over. "Fine. For the museum." Looking down, Alexander grins. "Want to read Warrior Angel #78? It's in the car."
"Are you three done yet? I'd like to get my dinner before midnight, if you don't mind." There's a sense of inevitability when Lionel emerges, huge and dark, a frown turning his mouth as he reaches for his wife's arm. "You coddle them, Martha."
She snickers and wraps a hand over Alexander's shoulder as the boy stiffens, drawing him against her. Even from here, Jonathan can see the bright flash of her wedding ring. "It's family, Lionel. Nothing's more important. Let's go before we miss our reservation." Straightening her skirt, she smiles down at both boys, and Jonathan watches numbly as a limo pulls up, graceful and sleek. The driver jumps out almost before the car stops, darting to the door. "Clark, don't pull at your tie and stay with Alexander. In, boys."
Nell's hand on his face brings him back to reality, cold sidewalk and her warm body, and he quickly stands up, helping her to her feet, turning to walk away. He can't quite look in her eyes, but she doesn't force it, walking quiet and sedate beside him back down the way they came.
When he glances back, he catches a bright wave of red hair and deep blue eyes that disappear inside the limo.
