Collected Thoughts

Reading can be a safe, comfortable place where we go to make that connection of belonging. But reading can also be that unfamiliar terrain where we go to have our world turned askew, where we the story is told or the emotion expressed or characters are so vastly different from our own selves that we are thrown for a loop or made to feel uncomfortable.

Exactly. Well put. I think the best stories, for me at least, are ones that speak to both. They have elements of familiarity but they also ask me to consider new ideas, challenge me to think about a different way of doing things. Fanfiction, by it's very nature, already has the familiarity going for it. We all write and read about the same characters. I think that's maybe why I tend to gravitate more towards the challenging stories in fafiction. Stories that turn my little view of Smallville on its head.

I like stories that explore how Clark and Lex become enemies. I'm fascinated by that aspect of their relationship, Clark/Superman and Lex are destined to be enemies and I want to know, if they are lovers first, how do they become bitter enemies.

I'm with you here. I want to know what the hell happened, how did they come to this (whatever this may be). I'll admit my other bias is wanting it to come, not necessarily to a happy ending, but one in which there is a kind of peace. But that's just me.

Clark acts very human in this, he may not feel human and he may feel disconnected from the people around him but he's making a human mistake.

I think this is exactly why this story hit me so hard. Clark is so real and so human and so...god, flawed. His pain and confusion are palbable.

(I also don't think that Clark is actively turning away from his family as well as Lex. I think he's just turning away from Lex, he just doesn't want to talk to his family about Lex)

Hmmm...I disagree. I really got the feeling that Clark is turning away from his friends and family. Lex is just the first, the biggest break that has to be made. I think this Clark will eventually break all ties, certainly not in the manner he did with Lex, more of a drifting away. Whether to protect them or himself I'm not sure. He'll probably believe he's doing the best for them. But I definitely think he's already begun. Just my two cents :)