Re: NS Monthly Challenge: #10 May 2010 - "Secrets"
Hey everyone. Sorry for the long delay guys. As soon as I declared that my computer problem was fixed it, of course, broke again and I couldn't get back online until now. Now on to the winner -
Well, the voting was certainly tight, but the winner of this month's challenge is -
Kit Merlot!!!
Congratulations Kit and thanks to everyone who voted and participated. Chlex hugs to you all! :hug:
A quick question: I'm not completely used to the new board and I was wondering - was the poll was set so that everyone could see the results?
Re: NS Monthly Challenge: #10 May 2010 - "Secrets"
Quote:
Originally Posted by
skauble
Hey everyone. Sorry for the long delay guys. As soon as I declared that my computer problem was fixed it, of course, broke again and I couldn't get back online until now. Now on to the winner -
Well, the voting was certainly tight, but the winner of this month's challenge is -
Kit Merlot!!!
Congratulations Kit and thanks to everyone who voted and participated. Chlex hugs to you all! :hug: ?
WOO HOO!! Thanks to everyone who voted for my story, it is very much appreciated!:grin3:
I noticed that in some of the reviews, my fic was called "Lana bashing" and I just want to say that I wasn't trying to bash the character as much as I was making fun of the Smallville writers ridiculous Lana-worship.
And in that spirit, I really tried to make the story as absurd, as humorous, as over the top and as "implausible" as I could, so if it made anyone laugh then I’m glad it worked. I mean, Gabe bought a diamond mine–a DIAMOND MINE??!!
Lastly, I really think Lana’s either going to realize that she has to get a job and pay her own way, or she’ll live in that shelter for the rest of her life, because short of Prince William offering her the use of a castle, I don’t think Lana will think any offer is good enough for her :D
Quote:
Originally Posted by
skauble
A quick question: I'm not completely used to the new board and I was wondering - was the poll was set so that everyone could see the results?
I know that I couldn't see the poll results--in fact I still can't see them:P
Re: NS Monthly Challenge: #10 May 2010 - "Secrets"
Congratulations, Kit. I had a hunch you were the author. :grin3:
Mine was Story #1, by the way. Thanks to electrageira for voting it- and to whomever else might have picked it.
Sarah, I can't see the results either. You'd set the poll to be visible but Julie changed it to invisible on the very same day. I really don't know how to fix that because I've never posted any polls.:P
Quote:
Originally Posted by
somethingeasy
Story One - Tell Me...
I thought this was an excellent fic. Usually I like a little more action as well as introspection, but I always make an exception for Chloe and/or Lex introspections because they’re always so interesting and unexpected.
Glad you enjoyed it. I tend to go for introspection in my short fics- especially when they're this short. I knew it would probably play against me as soon as I read Lana was in the other two fics, but there's always an audience for every kind of fic.:grin3:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
somethingeasy
I liked Chloe’s soul-searching revealed in this story. The poor girl is obviously conflicted, unhappy and guilt-ridden… and all of her conflict and misery comes from forces outside of herself. The secret that she’s burdened with to protect someone else, the guilt that she’s feeling from making the mistake of being tricked and manipulated by the Magnificent Bastard… and most of all, the desire that she feels for this beautiful, brilliant, amazing man that she can’t being herself to trust completely.
This was an unusual fic for me in the sense that I very rarely focus 100% on Chloe - well,I should say never. I'm a Lex-girl and he's always the centre of the piece; although it's true that his role in this ficlet is as important as Chloe's because he's the one who triggers the conflict in her and whose presence and attraction provokes all this angsty introspection.
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Originally Posted by
somethingeasy
All of Chloe’s miseries come from being pulled in just too many directions at once. Where her conscience, intellect and desire are all conflicting with each other. It’s making a mess of her life and internal system, and it’s only a matter of time before she breaks under all that pressure. It will take a while for Chloe to break, because she’s quite strong, but that very same strength is being played against her because it’s her own intellect, conscience and desires that are pulling her apart at the seams.
This was a brilliant fic encapsulating Chloe’s self-destructive, conflicting urges… and how something had got to give eventually. In the end, she’s going to have to abandon or betray something… Perhaps I’m just selfish enough to hope that Chloe damns the world to hell, as long as she satisfies her own desires first. GO Chlex!!
I wish something like this had happened on the show- that is Chloe questioning herself as to whether her keeping Clark's secret and sacrificing her life for him was worth it. And, of course, I'd have jumped up and down if she'd come apart at the seams and turned to Lex.
In my world this story ends up with Chloe thinking about herself and her needs for a change. Go Chlex indeed!
Thanks for the nice review, somethingeasy.:blinkkiss
Re: NS Monthly Challenge: #10 May 2010 - "Secrets"
Congratulations, Kit :D
And thanks for the awesome reply to my feedback, Lexie!
Re: NS Monthly Challenge: #10 May 2010 - "Secrets"
Congrats, Kit :D Story 2 was mine, and I'd be interested to see how close the votes were - shame the results can't be viewed now its all over...
Thanks to all who voted for me anyway, assuming there was more than one person! :P
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Originally Posted by somethingeasy
This was my favourite story from the bunch. I think I have a special weakness for fics which involve Lex and Chloe working together to take over the world. And it certainly helps that it’s well engaging and well-written.
Thank you so much, sabrina :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by somethingeasy
First of all, I loved that Chloe and Lex were obviously equal partners in this plan to take over the world. Oh it’s obvious that they both tease each other saying that the plan and takeover is a ‘personal’ plan, but they both know it’s a joint execution and effort that’s going to secure them both the victory that they deserve.
I did appreciate, however, that Lex was shown to be as ‘slightly’ senior partner in this enterprise. That’s because he’s the one who has the practice and experience in putting this plan together, as well as maintaining it and fine-tuning it whenever the needs arises. Chloe is great on tactical planning, but LEX is the long-term strategic planner.
I just didn't think Chloe would stand for being seen as less important than Lex in all this, even though he's always going to be the richer and more devious of the two.
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Originally Posted by somethingeasy
So I liked the way that Lex occasionally needs to soothe Chloe’s passions and jealousies in order to make sure that she maintains the façade that she’s constructed. heh, and he soothes so VERY well, doesn’t he, lol! I was initially enraged to find out that Lex had carried his façade to the extent where he’s married to Lana… but I forgave him, a little bit, with his impassioned speech about how he can ONLY bear to be with Lana by desperately pretending that he’s touching Chloe.
I wanted to fit so much into this fic, the devious plotting and the sexy angle too. Honestly, when I watch the episodes of Smallville in which Lex and Lana get close, the only way I can deal is to imagine he's thinking of Chloe, so I guess thats where that came from! lol
Quote:
Originally Posted by somethingeasy
aaargh! Still, Lex had better be prepared to grovel big-time for Chloe when the time comes for him to dump his fake marriage with Lana and go public with his real relationship with Chloe. He has a lot to make up for, for putting Chloe through watching her man marry and bed another woman.
Still, it’s good to know that Chloe is getting a little bit of revenge using Jimmy. Yes, I know it’s petty, but it’s probably the only thing that allows Chloe to keep her sanity and feel that she’s on equal footing with Lex. If she has to watch her lover kiss and fuck another woman, then Lex also had to suffer his beloved having an affair with another man.
Again, she was never going to let Lex have the upper hand. If he was going to be with Lana, she was going to attempt in making him just as jealous by fake-dating Jimmy. It just made sense to me. :)
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Originally Posted by somethingeasy
The ending was fantastic!!! I was pretty certain that Lex was not fooling around with Chloe, and just stringing her along in a double-fake relationship, but it was great to get confirmation of that by his reaction to the news to her pregnancy. You can’t fake that kind of doting delight! Lex is most definitely genuinely in love with Chloe, and he despises being with Lana almost as much as Chloe despises seeing him with Lana. I’m so GLAD that a pregnancy was added onto the tail end of this fic, because it was really needed to confirm the sincerity of Lex’s commitment to Chloe.
Honestly, I almost didn't put the pregnancy in, I thought maybe it'd be a step too far, but I so wanted to use it. The affair, the devious plot to take over the world, and the pregnancy were all seperate idea I had for fics to answer this challenge. In the end, because I could not choose between them, I attempted to shove them all into one big super-fic! Still wasn't enough to win, but I am very glad you liked it ;)
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Originally Posted by somethingeasy
*sigh* it would be nice to get an epilogue to this fic, showing the two of them actually surveying over a world that they rule together. But I’ll settle for just imagining them being the supreme overlords of Earth.
Hmm, an Epilogue, huh? Could happen, I guess... ;)
Re: NS Monthly Challenge: #10 May 2010 - "Secrets"
Lexie and Ultra, I enjoyed your stories as well and I loved seeing everybody's different versions of a Smallville secret.
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Originally Posted by
somethingeasy
Story Three - Sour Times
ROTFLMAO! It’s been a long time since I’ve read a really good and funny Lana-bashing fic. Lana-bashing is admittedly fun (to write as well as to read), but it’s been done so many times that it’s hard to find a new angle to write and/or read. Which is why I loved this ficlet, which actually made me laugh out loud, enjoying Lana’s specially prescribed torment. ROTFL!
The fic started out with me suspecting that it was a Lana-bashing fic, considering that our Chlex couple seemed completely unconcerned, and even a little amused, when they saw Lana approaching them in distraught hysteria.
The plot got even funnier when Lana revealed her complete inability to comprehend the real world when she showed that she can’t even read proper official documents, much less plan a response to them. LOL! She needs the ‘smartest people she knows’ in order to understand a simple renter’s contract? The fact that Lana thinks she needs ‘super-smart’ people in order to read the notice from her landlord suggests, in itself, how completely clueless and oblivious she was to official papers and contracts. She doesn’t seem to realize that she could have approached even Clark or Lois or anyone, and they would have been able to help her in ‘translating’ that scary piece of paper. BUT, she obviously saw the official documentation as so arcane and inexplicable, that, in her view, it required a genius to understand and translate it.
I know that her Aunt Nell was trying to make life easier for her, but it might have been kinder to just shoot Lana as a teenager rather than provide the kind of ‘help’ that Aunt Nell did.
heh… it was rather satisfying (albeit implausible) fun to find out that all of Lana’s previous homes had been given to her for obscene renting fees. That is wasn’t the incandescence of her company that had people falling over themselves offering her a place to stay… it was the thousand dollar checks that she represented that had people welcoming her into their homes.
I was ROTFLOL imagining how Lana represented a new bathroom, Chloe’s universities fees, Clark’s new milking machine and all other kinds of lovely accessories to people. So THAT is the reason why people smiled at her so darned often. It wasn’t because she was sooo pretty or such good company. It was simply because she came with a mess of money to sweeten the deal, ROTFL!
ROTFLMAO! The punchline was a killer. Especially the final line ‘will accept the best offer’… as if Lana truly accepted there to be a deluge of responses from people begging to have her in their homes, and she was going to have the luxury of picking the best offer from the bunch.
Actually, I think it might be a good idea for Chloe, Lex and/or Clark to keep an eye on her… just to make sure she doesn’t sell herself into slavery or something. The only type of person to respond to an ad like that would be someone who is interested in procuring a pretty girl in order to exploit her, and Lana is just foolish enough to go along with such an offer without realizing the danger she’s in until it’s too late.
We don’t like the girl, but that doesn’t mean we want her raped and murdered… right?
Great fic. Funny as heck. Thanks for posting!
Thanks for giving me such wonderful feedback Sabrina, but truthfully I never saw this as bashing just making fun of the writers excessive worship of the Lang:grin3:
Re: NS Monthly Challenge: #10 May 2010 - "Secrets"
Re: NS Monthly Challenge: #10 May 2010 - "Secrets"
I've edited the poll, so everyone should be able to see the results :)
Re: NS Monthly Challenge: #10 May 2010 - "Secrets"
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Originally Posted by
Julie
I've edited the poll, so everyone should be able to see the results :)
Thanks, Jules. It was a very tight win... It could have gone any way.
Re: NS Monthly Challenge: #10 May 2010 - "Secrets"
Wow, that really was close!