Quote:
Much like Almost Clark, I'll be inserting my own missing scenes, both to manipulate offscreenville to Chlexiness and to make some damned sense out of this stupid season.
squeee! I was psyched and ecstatic to see that you were starting up on the sequel to ‘Deep in the Bottle’, AmazingApe. I’m sorry for your intense frustration with the Chlark, but I really can’t be sorry that THIS was a result of that frustration ;)
I feel I should tell you ONE very important thing… I admire that you’ll be trying to ‘make sense’ of Smallville through this fic, but I beg you NOT to try and kill yourself trying to make logical sense of everything. Some of these episodes just don’t have any rational explanation, and it’s impossible trying to insert reason and meaning in it. Feel free to cut yourself away from Smallville and go into AU anytime you want.
But your first chapter based on an episode turned out fantastic, and it fit in seamlessly with the episode… or at least everything that I heard about it as well as the few clips that I happened to watch. Like I said, I stopped watching Smallville quite a while ago, and only have a vague idea on what happened during this latest season.
Quote:
Chloe had always wanted to work under the Tiffany lamps upstairs. She just never thought it would be filing and at the request of Lex Luthor. It was some bizarre monkey's paw version of her own wish. And she knew why he'd done it. He wanted her to see. He wanted her to watch him dismantle her paper, her dream, one person at a time.
This fic started off on a very painful note. I could feel Chloe’s frustration and heartbreak as she looked at in horror at how Lex was perverting her dream. It must have been devastating for her to stand by helpless as Lex destroyed everything that she loved, respected and admired. Especially since she suspected that SHE might have been one of the reasons for Lex choosing to do this.
Quote:
Of course, he'd said this at the wrong time and to the wrong person. How was he to know that Lex would be doing one of his basement walk-throughs at the time? That was another little treat he gave her. He had to make sure she saw him, that she knew he was watching her.
ouch! Poor Peterson. I can’t imagine how horrifying it must have been for the poor man to turn around and see LEX staring at him with that cold, smug, arrogant ‘You’re going to be SO fired’ expression on his face. It IS the most horrible thing in the world, isn’t it? To turn around and find out that the LAST person you want in the world to be listening to you just happened to be eavesdropping on your rant.
LOL! But I rather enjoyed the visual of Lex ‘prowling’ around the newsroom, JUST for the sake of jumping out at Chloe at random moments during the day. ROTFL! That petty bastard!
Quote:
It was almost inspired and she wondered that she hadn't seen it coming. Get the people aware that we're not alone, get them good and scared. Maybe then when the next 33.1 came along and came to light, he'd be painted with a hero's brush.
And she would know it wasn't true, yet she'd be forced to watch it. She wondered if she could.
Still, she was here. As long as she kept him from finding proof, The Daily Planet would be okay.
And so would Clark.
She couldn't leave. She'd play along as long as she could. A nurse doesn't leave her post when she's needed the most.
Wow! I LOVED this, AmazingApe. It actually helped to know that Lex’s SOLE motivation for taking over the DP wasn’t JUST because of Chloe. Although I firmly believe that it WAS his prime motivation, but he wouldn’t be Lex Luthor unless he was satisfying at least six different objectives with this one action, LOL! And it WAS a brilliant move for Lex to take over the DP as a means of controlling the media of Metropolis, and getting the general public primed and ready to think of him as a ‘saviour and hero’ who will protect mankind from alien threats.
This part not only painted a perfect picture of Lex as a ‘mock hero’, but ALSO helped us see Chloe as the REAL hero of this battle. Even Clark is not the hero over here, because he’s being represented as a whiny, broody kid who needs to be kept ‘safe and protected’ from the bad guys. CHLOE is the one who risking herself as well as dedicating and sacrificing her time, energy and resources to protect Clark… as well as The Truth that the DP is supposed to stand for.
Quote:
He stopped and turned to her. "Don't worry about me, Kid. I wouldn've quit by the end of the week. At least this way, I get a severance package." He squeezed her shoulder. "I mean this in the nicest way, Sullivan, but I hope you get fired, too. There's plenty of papers in this state alone that aren't run by rich boys that don't know sh*t about the business."
She watched him walk away, a lump in her throat. They'd lost so many this week. Good reporters, some who'd been there decades. She'd always thought she'd be one of them. Now...
Wow, AmazingApe! I am in awe on how quickly you can make your readers fall in love with your side-characters. Even *I* felt such respect and admiration for this tough, no-nonsense, honest, moral reporter, Peterson. And I also wanted to weep for his ‘passing’ alongside Chloe. It was EVIL of you, AmazingApe to use this example to illustrate how nasty Lex is being. It IS horrible to see how the DP is being gutted of it’s finest reporters in this malevolent manner.
Quote:
"Sullivan?"
She took a deep breath before she turned. "Mr. Luthor?"
He was standing at the door of his office with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Can I see you for a moment?"
It was about the same thing he'd said to all of them. She smiled back tightly. "Of course."
Heh, I LOVED the first Chlex meeting in this new fic. You can sense the hate, hostility, memory and even deeply buried longing between them, but they’re doing a masterful job of hiding ALL of it, LOL! It’s slightly creepy and disconcerting as well as thrilling to see what magnificent LIARS both of them are, ROTFL!
Quote:
She had to give him credit for surprising her. She was so sure he'd want to play with his food a little longer before destroying it. Of course, it didn't seem he was done playing at all. He held the door open just far enough for her to pass, but not far enough that she could avoid brushing against him as she did so. It was another game he played. Without saying a word, he constantly reminded her of that night by looking her way, standing too close, inconsequential brushes that said nothing to the average observer, but said only too much to her.
She pressed back against the frame and stepped in sideways, keeping space between them.
ROTFL! That evil, sneaky bastard! I LOVED getting this example of just ONE of the ways that Lex has managed to turn every random, ‘innocent’ bit of interaction between them into a taunt as well as a power-struggle. Chloe is going to be kept on his toes throughout this entire fic, isn’t she? But I’m sure she’ll figure out a way to also make LEX suffer too, LOL!
Quote:
"Thank you." She turned from him as she heard the door close, but stopped as she felt hands... his hands on her shoulders. She froze. She didn't know what to do with this. It was too overt. Should she shake him off? Slap him? she gasped slightly as one hand left her shoulder and brushed against her neck.
"Tag's sticking out," he said near her ear. She felt his finger in the neck of her blouse... just a little too long. "There. Don't you look buttoned-up and professional?"
As opposed to naked and underneath you, I suppose. "Thank you." She quickly stepped away and seated herself. "It's good to know I haven't been called in for a dress-code violation."
ROTFLMAO! Like HELL the tag was sticking out!!! LOL! I was shocked at Lex very blatantly crossing over into Chloe’s personal space in this manner… and then amused when I heard the excuse he gave her. *snort* a sticking out ‘tag’, huh? LOL!
And I loved the sardonic, patronizing and ‘edging into cruel’ comment he made about how ‘nice’ it was so see her looking so professional and ‘buttoned up’. ROTFL! I LOVE the way he chooses his words to be as cruel as possible in their double-meaning, without actually blatantly crossing over into offensive and insulting.
Quote:
Malleable replacements, her mind corrected. "I see."
"Just want to make sure you and the remaining staff stay on top of things. I don't want this paper to become sub-standard due to some minor staff changes."
Like losing half the staff? "I'm sure we can handle it."
Heh… oh poor Chloe! I can tell it absolutely GALLS her that she has to keep her smart comments and sharp observations to herself while presenting a submissive ‘yes sir’ attitude to her new boss. And the hell of it is that you can SEE Lex is getting such a HUGE kick out of this situation. He LOVES having this kind of power over Chloe. He’s lording over it.
Actually it’s rather fun and thrilling as well as amusing seeing him taking such playful (although petty) pleasure in bullying Chloe… BUT I’m looking VERY forward to seeing what Chloe does to turn the tables on this situation. It’s going to be great fun to see him ‘get his’, LOL!
Quote:
"Good. I'm sure there will be many late nights. But I'll be right here as well." He smiled and stood, his hands moving to his tie, loosening it. It was when he started on the buttons of his shirt that she stood as well.
"What are you..."
Oh holy &%¢#¡€¢∞# HELL! What is he doing?!?? He made a comment about ‘spending nights with her’, and then he starts undressing and stripping down in his office right in front of her?!?? I was in shock (but also drooling a considerable bit, LOL).
Quote:
"Just changing shirts." He shrugged it off and moved to a cabinet, pulling it off as he went. "You don't mind, do you? I have a Luthorcorp meeting at eleven and I can't show up in these Planet rags."
ROTFLMAO! Oh that evil, sick, twisted BASTARD!!! ROTFLMAO! I love it! :lol:
I loved the way that he took such sadistic pleasure in shocking Chloe like this, and gave a very, thin, pathetic excuse that she just ‘happened’ to be there while he needed to change, LOL! He KNEW that she knew exactly what he was doing, but didn’t care how obvious he was being in his taunts. LOL! Actually, I think it’s a ‘tiny bit’ of a compliment to Chloe that he doesn’t bother hiding what he’s doing, because he knows she’s going to see through his excuses anyway… so might as well make them pitifully unbelievable, LOL!
Quote:
"It's fine," she said through her teeth. They both knew that wasn't the reason he was striding around shirtless, not even an undershirt. It was just another reminder that she'd seen much more of him. And she wanted to turn away, but she didn't... or maybe she couldn't. Maybe she didn't want to give him the satisfaction.
Or maybe these reminders were working and the way her eyes were glued to the muscles in his back until he pulled another shirt up over it was all part of the plan. She raised her eyes to his face as he turned, smirking, shirt open in front. "Pretty cold to go without an undershirt," she remarked, turning away.
"Hmm. You may be right."
ROTFLMAO! It was really SO funny how Lex jumped onto her comment as yet another excuse to strip AGAIN, LOL! He’s decided he’s not going to waste time being ‘subtle’, has he? LOL!
I have no doubt that Lex is partially taunting Chloe with reminders about what they’ve shared ‘that night’…. But I’m also certain that he’s making it clear to her that he really, REALLY wouldn't object to ‘another round’ with her. He’s fulfilling multiple objectives with as few actions as possible… taunting, enraging and embarrassing Chloe AND seducing her at the same time. LOL! The sneaky bastard!
Quote:
She gave in and turned fully away as he took the new shirt off, her insides clenching. "Are we done?"
"You tell me."
Yes. We are. I am never touching you again, you slimy, shirtless... "I have about a million things to do and you don't want us basement dwellers to get behind so..."
Heh… ‘never’, Chloe? Never, ever, EVER?!? I love the way that she added on the word ‘shirtless’ in her inner-rant of running insults. Oh OUCH, shirtless! LOL!
Quote:
"Of course. I'll be seing you this evening, I'm sure. You can run away for now."
She turned slowly, glaring as he buttoned up.
He smiled. "Oh... I mean run along."
ROTFL! Oh I just LOVE that bastard! It’s probably sick and wrong of me to enjoy seeing him taking such sadistic advantage of his power over Chloe, but DAMN it’s fun seeing him being so playful in his vengeful pleasure.
Also, I have no doubt that Chloe will be gaining the upper hand on him again soon. So I can enjoy Lex ‘beating’ Chloe at this battle, because I know she’ll be putting him through equal (or excessive) suffering later with HER revenge, LOL!
Quote:
"Will do. Thank you, Mr. Luthor," she said tightly as she stalked toward the door. "Pleasure working for you, Mr. Luthor," she muttered as she nearly stomped down the steps. No elevator for her. She had some rage to burn off. After watching the employee scale-down, then enduring Lex's own personal version of chasing the secretary around the desk, she didn't know how much more she could take. "Can't wait for those late nights," Mr. Luthor, she hissed as she hit the basement. I'll be right here as well, he'd said. Could she do her work safely locked in archives? Maybe he wouldn't find her there. Because she wasn't sure what she'd do if he did. Slap him? Kick him? Fu... No! No, no, no, no, no!
Lois had finally wised up and stopped seeing Grant. And for real this time. What kind of a hypocrite would she be if she let herself cavort with none other than Lex Luthor? She just had to stay clear of him... if he'd let her.
Heh… it seems like Lex has adopted the perfect strategy against Chloe to seduce her. He’s got her passionately wound up and stressed… She NEEDS some kind of release now, and it’s only a matter of time before stamping her feet and slamming DP doors just WON’T be satisfying enough. She’ll be wanting to attack Lex soon… in very interesting ways, LOL!
But I do admire how Chloe is keeping herself strong and resolved for now. And reminding herself about Lois’s ‘relationship’ with Grant is a great way for her to keep her perspective on the inherent ‘wrongness’ of this situation.
Hmmm, perhaps it’s ok of both boss and employee ‘do’ each other on the week-ends only? How about during the VERY late hours when they’re working past over-time hours?
Quote:
Chloe squeezed her arm. "We basement dwellers need to stick together."
"Yeah. If we don't want to lose our job to all these people." She glared at the faxed resumes and applications before moving to the break room.
Chloe stared at the fax. She'd just bet Luthor wanted to look over every single applicant himself, see who he cold manipulate best.
Heh… it sounds like the ‘old team’ of DP is going to be sticking together in their suspicion and resentment of any ‘new people’ who might be brought in from this day forth. I almost feel sorry for the newcomers… it’s not actually going to be THEIR fault that they were chosen specifically by Luthor because they best served HIS needs.
Quote:
"Look, Clark, usually, I'm right there to help, but right now, my hands are so full." She pulled the book down for the A to J's and placed the app in. She thought he understood that. She thought that was why he'd stayed away. "And, uh, no offense, but Kryptonians aren't exactly low maintenance." This would mean hours on the computer with nearly no leads. Kryptonian scientist wasn't exactly a top hit on Google. And she didn't want to be here tonight... Not at all.
"Chloe, the only way I'm gonna find this guy is to hunt down the tracking device. Now, there's a rumor that some people found it. I thought the planet's archive might show a record."
He seemed strangely short with her. "Clark, look around. Lex launched a torpedo through the hull of the Daily Planet, and I'm just barely hanging onto the lifeboat. Can't this wait?"
"It will only take a second, Chloe." There was that tone again. "As soon as I find out who has this shield, I'll be out of your hair."
I have to admit, I was ALSO rather irritated by the abrupt, arrogant and entitled way that Clark barged into Chloe’s office and started demanding that she drop everything on her plate to help HIM! I’ve actually always been irritated by the way Clark treats her with as much care, warmth as affection as he would a computer Net-Browser. But I have to admit, he seemed even ‘more’ abrupt than usual over here.
Quote:
"Where is it, Chloe?" She looked down at her arm, then at him, hurt and shock coursing through her. What was wrong with him? He smiled and released her. "I'm sorry. I just really need to find it. I was hoping you could jog my memory."
"You never forget anything. Your mind's like a titanium trap." So are your hands. And they never hurt me.
woah! Clark can actually be a pretty scary dude under the wrong circumstances. I can see how his size and strength can be reassuring when you see it in light of his goofy grin and sweet, self-effacing nature. But, at moments like these, he can be freaking scary! I wonder how Chloe can stand being friends with a guy who can be so unpredictable in his behaviour. After all, he’s changed his personality several times whenever he’s come into contact with weird forms of rocks in a variety of forms, so I can imagine any normal person learning to ‘fear’ any kind of erratic behaviour from him.
I’m glad that Chloe had the sense to ‘gently’ tell him that she couldn’t help him… even though I’m pretty sure she has a good idea on where that shield actually is. Don’t you just LOVE her keen sense of observation and discretion? :D
Quote:
Originally Posted by
skauble
And I can’t wait to have that answered. Because I think that it could be quite possible that Lex is simply going after her because 1) he can’t have her 2) he can’t let go of that momentary feeling of somehow having a connection with something good and pure, even if he might be fooling himself 3) it’ll piss of Clark to know that Lex has had both of “his women”. In fact, it might piss Clark off more with Chloe because he’s never gotten to have her himself. He’s always pulled back and stayed in friend mode, despite his feelings, and then Lex swoops in a gets what Clark has denied himself? Yeah, I don’t see him being overjoyed about that.
I loved this part especially because I adore the way that Lex can take the most innocent of gestures and make them menacing…and hot. lol I love the way that he can quietly twist the knife the same way that Chloe can attack head on and cut someone to ribbons verbally.
ROTFL! It doesn’t matter how much I ramble on in MY review… MY personal feedback can NEVER compare to the sharp, astute and brilliant observations that Skauble makes. I agree completely with everything that she said about all of Lex’s possible motivations for his current behaviour… Except that she forgot to mention option 4): All of the above reasons, LOL! Let’s face it, I think it’s VERY likely that Lex is bring driven to acquire the DP and pester Chloe for ALL the reasons that Skauble mentioned (in varying degrees of course).
He might be telling himself that he only wants revenge on her for making him feel weak and too ‘inadequate’ to be worthy of her… but I think there’s a good chance that a deep part of him is HOPING desperately that something deeper and more meaningful to arise between the two of them.
Oooh, and Skauble raised an interesting question on what might happen if Clark starts noticing how desirable Chloe is because of the attention that Lex starts giving her. Do I see the possibility of a triangle forming here? Or a possible threesome? LOL!
This was a great start to the new fic, AmazingApe. I look forward to seeing how the story is continued. LOL! It’s going to be fantastic fun to see these two opponents cutting into each other at every given opportunity… AND breathlessly watching and waiting to see whether anything ‘deep, needy and beautiful’ arises between the two. There was definitely the suggestion of need and longing from Lex when he left her ‘that morning after’, so I wonder whether that’s going to be followed up on.
Good luck and best regards!
