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SV recs: Lionel-centered stories
I know all my SV folks are going into withdrawal, a little, with no new episode until next week, so this seems like a good time to roll out my newest recommendations project: Lionel-centered recs.
As long-time readers of my journal know, I love Lionel. And at some point when I was finishing up the smutrecs, I decided that my next project was going to be a list of good, Lionel-centric stories. I thought this would be a short list, something I would post in one day. HA! Once I started systematically looking for Lionel stories, I realized that Lionel is *everywhere.* A lot of the best gen and Clex stories in this fandom have Lionel playing a major role, and as long as there was something interesting in his characterization--more than just generic villainy--I ended up including them in the list.
In the end, I ended up dividing the recs into 5 categories (which I will post over a five-day period): Luthorcest, Lionel slash, Lionel het, Luthor family stories (which is where I put anything with Lillian, Julian, Lex's childhood or extended Luthor family), and finally "generic Lionel character pieces," which is a catchall for anything that didn't fit in the first 4 categories.I'm going to start, today, with the generic Lionel character pieces.
Why should you check out this list, if you're not particular fond of Lionel? Well, for one thing, this is where I've placed all the Lionel-Lex conflict stories (at least the ones that aren't incest), so if you're a Lex fan, there's lots of good stuff in here for you. This is also where all the "Lionel dealing with the Clex" stories are. This category also includes stories about Lionel's youth, his blindness, his incarceration, and his complex relationship with his son.
Aelita, Sins of the Father.
After the plane goes down, Lionel isn't sure if Lex is alive or dead, until Lex confronts him in his office. A well-characterized, fun look at Luthorian mind games.
Basingstoke, At the Fifteenth Annual Evil Mastermind's Convention (Lex/Scott Evil). Funny crossover with Austin Powers. Lex and his dad meet Dr. Evil and Scott Evil at a convention. This is mostly a Lex-centric story, but the Lionel in this story is so hilarious I had to include this in the list.
Carlanesses, Getaway. Lionel keeps vigil with Lex, after the first meteor shower.
Celli Lane, Smoke and Mirrors. A sharp, brief examination of how similar Lionel and Lex are--and how much divides them.
Cliffdweller9, The Deal is done. Technically, this should go in a pairing category, but to give the pairing gives away the twist at the end. Young Lex, watching his father with a woman who is not Lillian.
DebC, Pictures in the Mind . Now blind, Lionel is trying to recapture the images of his life when Lillian was alive.
Estepheia, Oysters. A brief snapshot of Lionel's parenting techniques. Very short, but with sharp edges.
Helena Handbasket, Forgotten Face . Lionel, after the meteor shower, deciding Lex's fate.
Hope, Waterloo, Kansas. Lionel finally meets his match. Crossover with West Wing
HYPERfocused, The Beast Below. A collection of drabbles, spelling out Lionel's thoughts about his relationships with Lex, Chloe, and other Smallvilleans.
Ingrid, Seeing Clearly. After Lionel is blinded, Lex tries to help him. This is a wonderful snapshot of Lex and Lionel's relationship.
Ingrid, Raze Out troubles written. Another story where blind Lionel comes to live with Lex--probably my favorite post-Tempest story in the fandom, for its interesting characterizations of Lionel and Lex. Some of the specific family details in this story have been jossed since it was written, but still a remarkable examination of Lex and Lionel's troubled relationship.
Ingrid, Father Knows Best. A chilling look at Lex's relationship with Lionel--very creepy.
Jayne Leitch, Hostage. After Lex's memorial, Lionel has a visitor seeking vengeance for Lex's death.
Jayne Leitch, Narcissus at the Mirror of Erised . Lionel has only really ever loved himself--but he's starting to see more of himself in Lex.
Jenn's Spin. (Clark/Lex) One of my absolute favorite Lionel stories. Lex has had an accident, and Lionel is called to the hospital. A wonderfully layered look at Lionel's understanding--and misunderstanding--of Lex, and also a gorgeous snapshot of Lex and Clark from the outside.
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khohen1, He remembers. Lex, reflecting on his relationship with his father before Julian's death, and what might have been.
Koi, Mercy (or here if you prefer the original version, which is a little shorter (Clark/Lex). Lionel is by no means the focus of this story, but his relationship with Lex plays a fairly significant role in the first part of it, so I'm including it here. A brilliantly written look at a Lex who is extremely emotionally damaged, and how he would respond to Clark if he believed Clark was an alien invader. The scenes in which he and Lionel deal with the invader are amazing, though of course the heart of this story is the relationship between Lex and Clark, both before and after Lionel finds evidence that Clark is an alien.
LaT, Reveal. (Clark/Lex) First season; Lionel sees Clark and Lex together. A fascinating look at Clark and Lex from the outside, which reveals a lot about Lionel's relationship with Lex.
Lenore, The Survival Game. Lionel's whole life has taught him to be a survivor, so he does what he must in prison, all the time plotting his revenge. I really love the snippets of Lionel's history Lenore gives us in this piece--it's one of my all-time favorite Lionel stories.
Meret, Requiescat in Pace. At Lilly's funeral, Lionel remembers. A lovely, reflective piece, with a sharp twist at the end.
Minnie Mae, Mistakes. Chloe never realized the path Lionel was leading her down, until she reached the very end. Warning: character death.
Paperbkryter, Unanswered. What might have been, if in the pilot episode Lex had made his phone call a little earlier?
Paperbkryter, Wake Me Up. Chloe will help Lionel, for a price: she wants a Clark of her very own.
Paperbkryter, Martha My Dear. A young Lionel meets a young Martha Clark. I'm not sure I completely buy young Lionel in this, but I do love the premise, and the second half of the story.
Philadelphia Tuesday, Last Night of the World. A fascinating AU in which Smallville truths are not really what they seem, especially Lex's relationship with his father.
Quin Rhodes, Meteor Shower. An AU history of the day of the first meteor shower. Lionel claims Clark and abandons Lex.
S Cross, A Lesson in Love. Lionel, watching Lex sleep and musing on life, love, and the lessons he has tried to teach.
Sarah T, Defects Prove Commodities. Lionel, post-Tempest, re-learning the boundaries of his world through his senses.
Sarah T, Delilah. A short conversation between Martha and Lionel, during the period when she was working for him. Excellent characterization, and many layers for such a short piece.
Shrift, Breathing Water The war between Lionel and Lex is a struggle that began long before Smallville.
Shropshire, From Lionel, with Love Lionel, reflecting on his life.
Sylvia, Macellum. Not really a Lionel-centered story, but I like Lionel's characterization in this so I'm including it. Lionel discovers Clark first, and brings him home to raise with Lex. This was, I believe, the first story in this particular AU genre (Clark grows up as a Luthor), and is still in my opinion one of the best.
Teaphile, It's Not Easy Being Mean. Post-Tempest, Lionel moves into the mansion and makes a nuisance of himself. A little bit of Clex and a little bit of Lionel-Lex relationship building.
As long-time readers of my journal know, I love Lionel. And at some point when I was finishing up the smutrecs, I decided that my next project was going to be a list of good, Lionel-centric stories. I thought this would be a short list, something I would post in one day. HA! Once I started systematically looking for Lionel stories, I realized that Lionel is *everywhere.* A lot of the best gen and Clex stories in this fandom have Lionel playing a major role, and as long as there was something interesting in his characterization--more than just generic villainy--I ended up including them in the list.
In the end, I ended up dividing the recs into 5 categories (which I will post over a five-day period): Luthorcest, Lionel slash, Lionel het, Luthor family stories (which is where I put anything with Lillian, Julian, Lex's childhood or extended Luthor family), and finally "generic Lionel character pieces," which is a catchall for anything that didn't fit in the first 4 categories.I'm going to start, today, with the generic Lionel character pieces.
Why should you check out this list, if you're not particular fond of Lionel? Well, for one thing, this is where I've placed all the Lionel-Lex conflict stories (at least the ones that aren't incest), so if you're a Lex fan, there's lots of good stuff in here for you. This is also where all the "Lionel dealing with the Clex" stories are. This category also includes stories about Lionel's youth, his blindness, his incarceration, and his complex relationship with his son.
Aelita, Sins of the Father.
After the plane goes down, Lionel isn't sure if Lex is alive or dead, until Lex confronts him in his office. A well-characterized, fun look at Luthorian mind games.
Basingstoke, At the Fifteenth Annual Evil Mastermind's Convention (Lex/Scott Evil). Funny crossover with Austin Powers. Lex and his dad meet Dr. Evil and Scott Evil at a convention. This is mostly a Lex-centric story, but the Lionel in this story is so hilarious I had to include this in the list.
Carlanesses, Getaway. Lionel keeps vigil with Lex, after the first meteor shower.
Celli Lane, Smoke and Mirrors. A sharp, brief examination of how similar Lionel and Lex are--and how much divides them.
Cliffdweller9, The Deal is done. Technically, this should go in a pairing category, but to give the pairing gives away the twist at the end. Young Lex, watching his father with a woman who is not Lillian.
DebC, Pictures in the Mind . Now blind, Lionel is trying to recapture the images of his life when Lillian was alive.
Estepheia, Oysters. A brief snapshot of Lionel's parenting techniques. Very short, but with sharp edges.
Helena Handbasket, Forgotten Face . Lionel, after the meteor shower, deciding Lex's fate.
Hope, Waterloo, Kansas. Lionel finally meets his match. Crossover with West Wing
HYPERfocused, The Beast Below. A collection of drabbles, spelling out Lionel's thoughts about his relationships with Lex, Chloe, and other Smallvilleans.
Ingrid, Seeing Clearly. After Lionel is blinded, Lex tries to help him. This is a wonderful snapshot of Lex and Lionel's relationship.
Ingrid, Raze Out troubles written. Another story where blind Lionel comes to live with Lex--probably my favorite post-Tempest story in the fandom, for its interesting characterizations of Lionel and Lex. Some of the specific family details in this story have been jossed since it was written, but still a remarkable examination of Lex and Lionel's troubled relationship.
Ingrid, Father Knows Best. A chilling look at Lex's relationship with Lionel--very creepy.
Jayne Leitch, Hostage. After Lex's memorial, Lionel has a visitor seeking vengeance for Lex's death.
Jayne Leitch, Narcissus at the Mirror of Erised . Lionel has only really ever loved himself--but he's starting to see more of himself in Lex.
Jenn's Spin. (Clark/Lex) One of my absolute favorite Lionel stories. Lex has had an accident, and Lionel is called to the hospital. A wonderfully layered look at Lionel's understanding--and misunderstanding--of Lex, and also a gorgeous snapshot of Lex and Clark from the outside.
khohen1, He remembers. Lex, reflecting on his relationship with his father before Julian's death, and what might have been.Koi, Mercy (or here if you prefer the original version, which is a little shorter (Clark/Lex). Lionel is by no means the focus of this story, but his relationship with Lex plays a fairly significant role in the first part of it, so I'm including it here. A brilliantly written look at a Lex who is extremely emotionally damaged, and how he would respond to Clark if he believed Clark was an alien invader. The scenes in which he and Lionel deal with the invader are amazing, though of course the heart of this story is the relationship between Lex and Clark, both before and after Lionel finds evidence that Clark is an alien.
LaT, Reveal. (Clark/Lex) First season; Lionel sees Clark and Lex together. A fascinating look at Clark and Lex from the outside, which reveals a lot about Lionel's relationship with Lex.
Lenore, The Survival Game. Lionel's whole life has taught him to be a survivor, so he does what he must in prison, all the time plotting his revenge. I really love the snippets of Lionel's history Lenore gives us in this piece--it's one of my all-time favorite Lionel stories.
Meret, Requiescat in Pace. At Lilly's funeral, Lionel remembers. A lovely, reflective piece, with a sharp twist at the end.
Minnie Mae, Mistakes. Chloe never realized the path Lionel was leading her down, until she reached the very end. Warning: character death.
Paperbkryter, Unanswered. What might have been, if in the pilot episode Lex had made his phone call a little earlier?
Paperbkryter, Wake Me Up. Chloe will help Lionel, for a price: she wants a Clark of her very own.
Paperbkryter, Martha My Dear. A young Lionel meets a young Martha Clark. I'm not sure I completely buy young Lionel in this, but I do love the premise, and the second half of the story.
Philadelphia Tuesday, Last Night of the World. A fascinating AU in which Smallville truths are not really what they seem, especially Lex's relationship with his father.
Quin Rhodes, Meteor Shower. An AU history of the day of the first meteor shower. Lionel claims Clark and abandons Lex.
S Cross, A Lesson in Love. Lionel, watching Lex sleep and musing on life, love, and the lessons he has tried to teach.
Sarah T, Defects Prove Commodities. Lionel, post-Tempest, re-learning the boundaries of his world through his senses.
Sarah T, Delilah. A short conversation between Martha and Lionel, during the period when she was working for him. Excellent characterization, and many layers for such a short piece.
Shrift, Breathing Water The war between Lionel and Lex is a struggle that began long before Smallville.
Shropshire, From Lionel, with Love Lionel, reflecting on his life.
Sylvia, Macellum. Not really a Lionel-centered story, but I like Lionel's characterization in this so I'm including it. Lionel discovers Clark first, and brings him home to raise with Lex. This was, I believe, the first story in this particular AU genre (Clark grows up as a Luthor), and is still in my opinion one of the best.
Teaphile, It's Not Easy Being Mean. Post-Tempest, Lionel moves into the mansion and makes a nuisance of himself. A little bit of Clex and a little bit of Lionel-Lex relationship building.
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