SV "What If" Game

[norwich36]

Edited to rename my game now that it is famous all over teh internets, since "an SV Game/Poll Thingy" doesn't scan quite as well.

I have one of those extremely tedious projects at work that require, for sanity, an lj break every half hour or so, so it seems like a good time to play a game.

So here's the premise: the SV fairy has appeared to you and offered you the opportunity to travel to the SV-verse, temporarily, to improve Smallville and/or the lives of the characters in any way you see fit. There are rules, however. You can either (1)have one conversation with one character (and only one character), time length up to one hour, at any point in the timeline OR (2) you can change one event, but not speak to anyone.

--If you choose the conversation, you can talk to anyone at any point in their timeline, but you have to be yourself (mysterious stranger); you can't, for example, be Clark to talk to Lex. You can, however, be a mysterious stranger who knows the future; you just can't hang around more than an hour to show that your predictions were accurate.

--If you choose changing an event, you have a fair amount of power--let's say the limit of your power is that of a meteor mutant--but you can only change one event, and you can't speak to anyone. So, for example, if your goal was to prevent Jodi from becoming a fat-sucker in "Craving," you could either magically prevent her father's greenhouse from being salted with kryptonite OR you could have a conversation warning her, but you couldn't do both. If you wanted to save Jonathan's life in "Reckoning," you could have a conversation with Clark or you could blow up the Fortress of Solitude (if you think that would help) OR you could puncture Jonathan's tires so he never has the encounter with Lionel, but you could only do ONE of those things, not all of them. If you want to redirect the meteors in the first meteor shower to squash Lana, you can do that, but you can't then talk to Clark to get him to wait on Loeb bridge so he saves Lex's life even though he no longer has Lana to moon over and so he may not end up there on his own.

SO:

What is your goal?
What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?
What do you think the effect of your change will be?
What might be the unintended consequences?

For example, here's mine.

What is your goal?
I want Lex NOT to become an evil monster whose sociopathy exceeds Lionel's. It turns out I want that even more than I want Clark and Lex to get together.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?
After much thought about this, I think what I would do is appear to Lillian a couple days before she kills Julian and HEAL HER with my magical kryptomutant powers.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?
Even though I don't get to talk to her, my hope is that healing her would cover both her post-partum psychosis (to which I am attributing her desire to kill Julian) AND her heart condition, so she would live and continue to be a countering influence on Lex. I think by the time Lex gets to Smallville it's really too late for him to really change; he's too fucked up already. My hope is that if Lillian is not sucked down into despair because of her mortal illness, she would actually be able to support Lex in not becoming like his dad. And Lex would still have a little brother, who he clearly loved a lot, so that would give him motivation to try to be a good person and set a good example.

What might be the unintended consequences?
Well, Lillian might already be so damaged that she would still kill Julian, and maybe this time Lionel would catch her and she'd go to prison or be locked in an asylum, which probably would NOT make things better for Lex. Or maybe she wouldn't be caught, but she'd live, and instead of being Lex's dead model of goodness, she'd be the psycho-mom he was protecting, and that could get ugly and he might go evil earlier. Or maybe none of that would happen but instead Lionel would succeed in molding Julian to be the heir he wanted Lex to be, and instead of Lex being the evil genius he'd be locked in an eternal struggle with his brother the evil genius.

So, does anyone else want to play, or did I make the rules too complicated?

Comments

[allzugern.livejournal.com]

Goal: I want Lana dead.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers? I will change an event -- CLARK DOES NOT SAVE HER. Lana stays dead and Jonathan lives.

What do you think the effect of your change will be? : Clark will learn to grieve and MOVE ON. Preferably to Lex.

What might be the unintended consequences? There are no consequences that are worse than Lana breathing air at the end of that episode. Martha will NEVER invite Lionel to Thanksgiving dinner, Bo Kent will be come Senator and Maybe Clark and Lex will get their happy ever after WITHOUT LANA THERE TO SHOE HORN HER WAY IN FUCKING EVERYWHERE.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

So you're talking about Reckoning, right? When Lana dies in a car accident and Clark changes time? If you stop Clark from saving Lana in Reckoning (as opposed to in another episode), won't he blame Lex, rather than reconcile with Lex, since Lana's car accident was precipitated by Lex chasing her?

[bagheera-san.livejournal.com]

Wow, this is so cool. I like your idea very much. Your unintended consquences especially, because they all sound so likely. I believe Lionel to be fully capable of fucking up any family he is presented with ;)

But I can't decide what I want to do! I can't even decide what my goal is! I mean, Lex not going evil would be ideal, but so would Lex and Clark staying friends (or ever becoming real, trusting friends in the first place.) Since I can't decide, I'll give you three scenarios, all of which are not entirely serious (esp. S2)...

What is your goal?
Wrecking havoc on SV continuity, hopefully with good consquences.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?
Scenario1) I'm going back to the day of the first meteor shower! With my sparkly mutant powers, I give Lex a different krypto-power, one that isn't inherently dangerous to others, like super-speed or telekinesis or whatever.
S2)I go back to a time after the meteor shower, but before Julian was born. With my gun, I shoot Lionel and Lillian in a dark back alley while Lex watches.
S3)I go back to Season 4, and with my cool kryptonian crystal powers, I make it so that Lex becomes Jor-El's vessel instead of Lionel.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?
Well, let's say what I hope it will be, okay?
S1) Given that Lex survives until he meets Clark, and given that he meets him, a more active power will make it more likely that he reveals it to Clark and that Clark trusts him with his own powers like he did with Alicia. Aditionally, if Lex had, say, super-speed, he might have been able to rescue Julian, earning Lionel's respect.

S2)Traumatized by his parent's death, Lex decides to fight crime! Raised by his nurse Pamela , he trains hard and travels the world until he is ready to become a vigilante. Because criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot, he disguises himself as Warrior Angel Alexander the Great a Bat! One night young run-away alien Clark (who, since Lex never came to SV, had a much harder time with the scarecrowing and Lana and everything else) tries to steal his tires and Lex catches him in the act! They fight crime. (Um, sorry. My "creativity" ran away with me...)

S3) Well, first of all, Lionel might be *quite* interested in why Lex is suddenly catatontic and white-eyed, but whatever horrible thing he did to Lex, Lex would probably break out once the events of "Hidden" happened. (and he wouldn't have broken up with Clark because "Mortal" never happened). Clark and Lex would have to deal with the fact that Lex is possessed by Jor-El, Lex would find out the truth, and working together, they might not be as easily tricked by Brainiac.

What might be the unintended consequences?

S1) Lex becomes overconfident and gets in trouble. Or Lionel puts him into some lab. Or Lex uses his powers for personal gain and Clark fights him the first time they meet. It's also possible that Lex might not have survived until meeting Clark if he hadn't had his healing powers.

S2) Need I say anything? Everything would go wrong.

S3) Lionel would probably do a lot worse to Lex if Lex was possessed than just putting him into Belle Reve. There might be invasive testing. There's also no telling of what havoc an evil Lionel might wreak in S5 (since he was arguably not evil in that season in canon.) Lex might not cooperate with Clark once he finds out - he might even blame Clark. Someone else might end up vessel for Zod. (Lana! *sporfle*)

Okay, you probably wanted more constructive answers, but my mind is only capable of crack right now.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, crack is part of the fun of this game, I think! (It's my version of "non-writers get to write AUs of SV without having to, you know, produce dialogue or plot or any of the hard stuff).

I LOVE your Batman Lex scenario very, very much. And you might be right that losing both parents would be better for Lex--it worked for Oliver Queen. Maybe being a complete orphan, under Pam's tutelage, is better than any of the alternative.

I also kind of like Lex being possessed by Jor-El, though I fear that he would feel invaded and blame Clark, and I definitely think Lionel would do bad things to him while he was possessed.

[ilovedoyle.livejournal.com]

Well, I like the idea of 'healing' Lillian - I was thinking that she'd be equally as brilliantly calculating as Lex can be, but nice with it - kinda like Martha.
So, if you cured her, and she went over the time she had been sick in her head, and realised what a bastard Lionel was - and how he was going to destroy her precious babies. So, in a calculating moment of 'madness', instead of killing Julian, she kills Lionel! Being able to blame it on her illness, she is then healthy enough to raise both of her boys well and proper, gifting Lex with the factory for his 21st, leading him to face his fears and return to SV - and thus meet Clark!

I think if I was to have a conversation with anyone, it would be with Kal at Lex's 'funeral'.
I would explain that Lex was not dead, and that he was totally in love with Clark - had only married Helen because he thought he would never have him. Outline what their future would be if he did not accept his own feelings for Lex (which I can actually see Kal accepting better than Clark - the gay thing I mean), tell Lex he loved him to - and TELL LEX HIS SECRET! Explain that Lex could die of meterorite-induced cancer (yes, a slight exaggeration, but hey! he does lose a hand!) if Clark doesn't change their future.
Finally, I would explain that Lex would be saved soon, and deserved to return home to find Clark waiting for him, and so Clark had to return to SV - as Clark! ready for him - complete with all the information (which I would give him) on how and why Helen had tried to kill Lex.

Otherwise, I might have a conversation with Clark pre-Pilot, and just come right out with it - Clark Kent, you are soooooooo gay! You need to accept this and stop mooning over you vapid neighbour. Coz pretty soon, you're gonna meet your soulmate - a beautiful, pale lithe drop of perfection wrapped in a porshe. And when they day comes, you've got to take the plunge, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life. And in that man you will not only find a great conversationist, friend, confidante (about secrets *you* don't even know yet!) but the other half of your soul.

Yes, more than a lil bizarre, but these are the scenarios I came up with - although, before I read the rulls under the cut, by immediate response was just to changer ONE thing - have Lex kiss Clark back after receiving the Kiss of Life!

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Ooh, it would be really interesting if Lillian killed Lionel. Would Lex ever know? Would he realize that she did it for his own good, when he eventually found out, or would he be as horrified as he was when he found out that Lionel killed his grandparents?

I like both of your scenarios for having the conversation with Clark--but I agree with you that Kal rather than Clark is more likely to accept the truth of his gayness from a stranger. (I also think that if you're going to have a conversation with Clark, you better have a lot of facts for him about stuff that's going to happen in his immediate future so he actually believes you!) I'm not sure about telling a 15 year old who's spent his whole life in love with his next-door neighbor that his soulmate is a guy is going to necessary be believable to him, though. (I guess that depends on your reading of exactly how gay Clark is already at the beginning of the series).

[mskatej.livejournal.com]

What is your goal? I want Lex to know Clark's secret.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers? I would be a patient at the mental hospital and I would kill the boys responsible for getting in the way of Clark's rescue of Lex.

What do you think the effect of your change will be? Finally Clark will be able to be open and honest with Lex about who he is, and Lex will stop investigating him and just be a good friend who would protect Clark's secret with his life. Whether or not they get together, Clark's friendship will keep Lex grounded and they will finally be able to trust each other completely.

What might be the unintended consequences? Lex may already be too far down the dark path at this point, and if Clark does something to piss him off, he may decide to use his knowledge of Clark's origins and powers against him. BUT I DON'T BELIEVE HE WOULD.

*never ever forgives Asylum*

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes. That's a good use of your powers. If Clark had rescued Lex while Lex still knew his secret, Lex *definitely* would have been on Clark's side forever. On the other hand, I fear they might have spent a long time on the run from Lionel, with no safe haven to turn to, if that had happened.

[juxtoppozed.livejournal.com]

Ooh fun!

What is your goal? Fix Clex (or at least buy them more time to fix things), and in turn hope to fix Lex.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?

Change the way by which Clark saved Lex that very first time-- Magically give Clark the presence of mind to refrain from peeling off the roof of the car, instead just pulling the door open (not off) and pulling Lex out.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?

This was the first major red flag to Lex that there was something Special about Clark. Altering the event in such a way that they still dramatically meet, still become strangely smitten with/drawn to each other, but without the specter of the Secret immediately there gives Lex a chance to get to know Clark for Clark. Clark could relax, let his guard down around Lex, and though he'll probably still continue to save Lex's life and invite questions-- imo that first dramatic save was the biggest question mark of them all and it's clear that "just a guy that tried to do the right thing" isn't good enough to keep Lex waiting. So I'll remove that first gigantic specter of suspicion and hope they'll do the rest themselves. After trust is built up, Clark will tell go on to tell Lex everything and they'll work it out, much the same way as Pete/Clark and Chloe/Clark.

Upon further thought...I realize in a lot of ways this is how the Chlark friendship played out--they got to know each other pretty well, as people, first before a major WTF revelation about Clark. They were equipped to deal with it then. Yes, there were question marks for Chloe along the way, but because the friendship got off on the right foot, she and Clark were able to compromise and he promised to tell her when the time was right.

What might be the unintended consequences?

I routinely wonder if Lex really cared for Clark beyond his "Special"ness so the biggest unintended consequence would be Lex just thanking the farmer kid with a truck and moving on with his life as though Clark was just a random good Samaritan. But if Lex's spiel about flying over Smallville during the save is to be believed, I think there's a good chance the friendship will grow.

Alternates scenarios...(if I was able to leave my personal morals behind in this fictional world ;)), preferably that Lionel or Jonathan die (I'd make it so that Sheriff Ethan really did kill Lionel for instance) and Lex is drawn closer into Clark and Martha's world-- important because I think... whereas a teenage Clark wouldn't know where to start with a case like Lex'sMartha as surrogate mother figure, with Lionel and/or Bo out of the way, would have done wonders.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that's a very good change! (Though I'm not sure how you're doing it--Kryptonian power of suggestion?) I think you're absolutely right that if Clark and Lex had been able to have a relationship not freighted by Clark's secret, things would have gone better. Also, Clark needed time to adjust to the idea that he was an alien--I think part of the reason he can be comfortable with Chloe knowing is that he's had a lot more time to adjust to it himself.

I *hope* Lex would still be interested in Clark, even without the mystery, though I do wonder. (He still also might be convinced he hit Clark with his car, of course, and eventually Clark's ability to be in the right place at the right time would be apparent).

And oh, Lex becoming Martha and Jonathan's surrogate son is really one of my favorite scenarios. (And clearly Lex's, too, if Lexmas is any indication--the fact that Jonathan was the one honoring him clearly carried a lot of weight with him).

[amandajane5.livejournal.com]

What is your goal?
I want Lana dead.
What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?
Change an event - Lana does not survive the helicopter crash in Commencement.
What do you think the effect of your change will be?
Lana will be dead!! Whoo!! I mean really, Clark would probably be sad for a while, perhaps while looking oh-so-pretty at her funeral. Then he and Lex would bond over their sadness and then OMG fall in love!
What might be the unintended consequences?
Erm, Chloe would need a new roommate? I can't really see a downside.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

I'm trying and trying to think of a reason why Lana being alive in S5 matters.

:Thinks very hard:

Ok. She's dead, so Clark doesn't stay behind when he comes back from the Fortress to help (unless he's prostrate with grief, but let's assume he actually goes back to the Fortress to yell at Jor-El). So nobody else has to die, and he gets the training he needs so he doesn't get fooled by Brainiac, and hopefully manages to prevent Lex from being possessed by Jor-El.

And let's see. This also means Jonathan Kent doesn't die, and is elected Senator. There still may be some riftiness between Clark and Lex, but it isn't exacerbated by Lana. Is Lex still investigating the space ship? Probably. Is Lionel still possessed by Jor-El? Hmm, I don't know.

Lana didn't save anyone's life in s5, did she? Does it count that she tried to save Lex in Lockdown? But he wouldn't have gotten shot if he hadn't try to rescue her, so never mind.

Yeah. I can't think of any bad consequences for the other characters except that Clark would be sad, if Lana died in Commencement. Am I forgetting anything?

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

I want to play this game about ten times over, but I'll stick with my first plan...

What is your goal? Remove Jonathan's influence over Clark
What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers? Strike him dead in the first meteor shower. POW!
What do you think the effect of your change will be? Clark would have been brought up with Martha's nurturing influence but without J's heavy-handed paternalism. I think Martha would still have been just as eager to have Clark hide his secret. But she would have been more open to the Clex friendship, thereby allowing Clark to make his own decisions about whether he shared his secret with Lex (possibly at an early enough stage that Lex didn't spiral into destructive obsession). It would also have meant that Jonathan wasn't around to fly into suspicious rages when reporters came snooping, and it would mean that Clark had a Daddy-shaped hole to fill. And who could fill that hole? JOR-EL!!! *twirls* Clark would have embraced his destiny a lot earlier--he would have craved connection with the only father figure in his life and therefore he could have averted the whole Zod disaster far earlier with his kickass training.
What might be the unintended consequences? Mionel. Dude. So would have happened.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Feel free to play 10 times, if you can come up with 10 different scenarios.

If Jonathan died in the first meteor shower, the first Clark-Lex meeting would probably have been quite different, since Martha would have almost certainly returned to Metropolis. For one thing, she would have needed her father's help to adopt Clark.

Actually, if Jonathan was killed in the meteor shower, do you think she still would have actually adopted Clark? Or would she have unconsciously (or consciously) blamed him for her husband's death? Regardless of how the viewers feel about Jonathan, Martha clearly loved him--had he been killed by the meteors I really wonder if she could bear to adopt the alien baby who came with the meteors. I *seriously* doubt she would have been up for rescuing Lex--if anything, she would have been rushing Jonathan to the hospital, maybe with Clark on her lap, but she wouldn't have stopped for Lionel. So she would have needed her father's help to adopt Clark.

But I expect she would seriously resent having to go to her dad because he hated Jonathan so much. Hmm. I don't know, I think there are lots of unintended effects to killing Jonathan off in the first meteor shower that would really affect Martha's ability to nurture Clark.

[mobiusklein.livejournal.com]

What is your goal?

Making Lionel and Bo die/disappear during the meteor shower

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?

I’ll do a Carrie and make them croak. (in the book, she telekinetically gets her mom’s heart to stop)

What do you think the effect of your change will be?

Best case scenario: Without Lionel, Lex would grow up less screwed up and w/o the Julian scenario, he would be a lot less traumatized since he would not be incessantly blamed for something he didn’t do and can’t even remember.

Spared a few years of miserable marriage to Lionel, Lillian might not suck as much as a person. Pamela would not have been fired and might have softened some of Lillian’s hard edges. In any case, Lillian would’ve died and left Lex an orphan presumably to be taken care of by Pamela as Pamela and Lillian seemed to be close enough to threaten Lionel.

Clark wouldn’t have picked up so many bad habits from Bo though I rather have horrible ideas of the kind of man Ma Kent would marry to replace him. .

W/o the Julian incident and Lionel dead, Lex might’ve been able to stay at home and got to stay the hell away from Oliver Quinn and his gang o’ goons.

What might be the unintended consequences?

Worst case scenario: Lillian isn’t exactly the greatest parent either so he might still be whack. She might also marry a Lionel clone though hopefully she’ll get someone better than Lionel in the parenting arena. I doubt it would be worse as again, there would be no Julian incident and presumably he wouldn’t have been sent away to Excelsior where his life continued to suck even more.

She may not send Lex to Smallville for the fateful meeting by the bridge.

She may or may not have helped with the adoption of Clark. If she had, things might be complicated in a different way though she doesn’t appear as curious as Lionel or interested in the plot rocks from outer space.

I'll try to do one where Lana's parents don't get pancaked.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

I like your projected outcomes for Lex, and they seem realistic to me. As I was saying above to bop_radar, though, who also wanted Jonathan killed by the meteors, it seems unlikely to me that Martha would adopt an alien baby who came with the same meteor shower that killed her husband. However much the viewers might hate Jonathan, Martha loves him and his death would be traumatic for her. And depending on exactly when/where Jonathan was killed, she might not even encounter Clark--she might have been to busy trying to get Jonathan to the hospital to even help him. Or she might have taken him along, but been too frantic about Jonathan to even investigate and find the spaceship, so someone would have found it.

[mobiusklein.livejournal.com]

What is your goal?

Believe it or not, save the pancakes aka Lana’s parents.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?

Telekinesis. I’ll just move them fifty feet to one side.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?

Honestly, I think that with her parents alive, she wouldn’t be on the cover of the Time magazine. Also, she wouldn’t be known and pitied as an orphan or be wearing that horrible little necklace which I still think made her into a freak with the “pity power.”

I think that a lot of Clark’s interest initially was her unavailability due to her necklace and pity/guilt for the meteor that whacked her parents. I think that w/o them, she wouldn’t have stood out quite so much and Clark would’ve found out a lot sooner that she’s not the perfect saint that he thought she was for such a long time. Clana would’ve happened sooner and burned out faster as she would show that she’s not as interested in the stuff he comes to be interested in and probably starts getting a roving eye. W/o Lana’s previous history of woe, I think Clark might’ve grown up a lot sooner.

I also think that Lana wouldn’t be able to demand perfection from loved ones since she wouldn’t have idolized a memory to the point where love = being flawless. With a father figure in her life, maybe she wouldn’t keep hopping from guy to guy to guy. Having a flesh and blood father and mother doing imperfect things and screwing up would give her a more reasonable expectations of what a relationship is really like or at least make her realize that nothing is perfect. She wouldn’t be able to blame everything on being an orphan or have the deep-seated abandonment issues or at least she would have been forced to own them. The thing about Aunt Nell is that Lana got to think “My parents would be better/more honest/more understanding/more loving” and without that, she’d have to face some hard facts of life sooner.

I like to think that if her parents had decided to move out of Metropolis to keep her from being stalked, she would simply have gone with them or that Chloe wouldn’t have opened her house to her considering that it was her PARENTS telling her to pack, not simply her aunt.

Without the dead parents thing, I don’t think she would’ve taken on the Talon but just continued just being a regular high school girl for the most part since she did say that it was her parents’ history that inspired her to reopen it.

What might be the unintended consequences?

I think Nell might’ve been happier and found a guy w/o Lana. Perhaps she could’ve made a move on Lionel once Lillian was dead. Hmmm . . .

Lana’s parents could have divorced and Lana’s mom might’ve married Henry Small. Depending on custody battle, Lana might be Lana Small or Lana Lang. It would’ve gotten a bit messy.

Without Lana, I’d like to think Clark & Lex would have talked about different and other things than her. Also, I’d like to think with a more honest/realistic view of Lana, Clark would have been able to have a more varied romantic life including Chlark, not necessarily but possibly.

The show would’ve actually improved as Lana would hopefully have parents who did view her as a human being and not someone to worship. It would’ve been nice to see her yelled at, grounded, etc.

If her parents were stupid enough to want to stay in SV and let her get stalked over and over again, well not sure how to change that. Maybe they’d get killed trying to protect her or may end up just being more proactive about protecting her. I’d like to think they’d move.

I’d like to think her parents wouldn’t be indulgent enough to let her go to Paris and get involved in the stone arc of S4.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

I agree that Lana's parents being alive would solve a *lot* of problems. I agree with you that a lot of her more annoying qualities, like her constant need for a backup boyfriend and her abandonment issues, are due to the fact that she's an orphan. And if she wasn't an orphan, she wouldn't have been the town princess, with the twin entitlement/pedestal issues.

In fact, I doubt she would have been the target for all the mutants, since she wouldn't have been the center of attention that came with being the iconic meteor shower victim, and she wouldn't have worn the necklace that I think drew all the mutants to her. Like you say, she would have been just a regular high school girl.

Though you terrify me with the prospect of Nell possibly marrying Lionel!

[acampbell.livejournal.com]

What is your goal?

To get Lex more support and comfort from the Kents than he got in “Shattered”.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?

Have a conversation with Martha Kent about how Lex just really needs to be tucked up in a cozy bed (Clark’s will do, since they don’t have a guest room), fed (chicken soup and cold milk would be a reasonable choice), and given a chance to cuddle up with Clark and get a good night’s sleep. If she protested, I would remind her that the Kents have been quick to extend hospitality to every other Tom, Dick or Harry who crosses their paths, and that they should be willing to offer it to Lex, who has been a friend of Clark’s for at least two years. Sure, Jonathan has issues with the Luthors, and Lex is a little too curious for his, and Clark’s, own good. But none of their other guests has been perfect, either.

If she was still reluctant, I would point out that, if it weren’t for Lex, she, her husband, and their son would have lost their farm and be living in the Talon apartment. I would also remind her that Lex lost his mother as a teenager and asked for nothing more than to be considered part of the family, and that, so far, the Kent family hasn’t done a very good job in honoring that request.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?

It would have kept Lex and Clark from running off to the sweat shop and kept Lex from getting increasingly upset and irrational. It would have gotten Lex some much needed rest and a feeling of security, however brief. It would have been an extremely positive development in his relations with the Kent family. The only bad thing is: Lana wouldn’t have been trampled in the stables.

What might be the unintended consequences?

Well, for the show, I’m not sure. It would probably have diverted or at least slowed most of the other events in the ep. It would have kept Clark from having to shoulder the burden of caring for and controlling Lex all by himself. It would have demonstrated to Lionel that Lex had the support of friends. It would have been good for the Kents. For those of us in fandom who have complained most stridently that the Kents never offered Lex any support to speak of, it would have largely shut us up. It would have taken very little to convince us that the Kents valued Lex as a person and a friend--but, after “Shattered,” a good number of us were alienated from them because of their reaction to Lex and his predicament in this episode.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like this one very, very much. It would have been very good for Clark and Lex, even if they were ultimately unable to prevent Lionel from institutionalizing Lex. And maybe if Clark had had his parents' support early on, he would have been able to help Lex more later.

And as a viewer, I would have loved it. I agree that the Asylum/ Shattered arc made me really angry at Jonathan and Martha for a long time.

[ciaan]

Hmmm umm. Other people have given a lot of really great answers!

I might just go have sex with Lex for an hour, indeed. There are certainly times in his life when he'd go for that.

What is your goal? Get Lex and Clark together and honest with each other, so that both are better people and the world is a happier place.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?

a) Go back to some point in S1 or early S2 (am not sure off the top of my head when would be best), and tell Lex that Clark is an alien. Explain to him why Clark hasn't told him. Explain to him that he needs to break it to Clark gently that he's figured this all out. I might well have to use my knowledge of the future/Lex's deep dark secrets to convince him that I speak the truth.

b) Arrange it so that Lionel found the spaceship and baby Kal-El instead of Jonathan and Martha. Score!

What do you think the effect of your change will be?

a) I think if Lex, at that point, when he was a nice guy and when he wanted to be good and when Clark liked and trusted him, had told Clark that he already knew and that he got it, and opened up to Clark a bit himself, it could have all worked out. Awwww.

b) Well, the Clex would be brothers, and Lex would have always known Clark's secret. Awwwww.

What might be the unintended consequences?

a) No worse than the show, I think, unless you believe it would be inevitable even from then for Lex to turn evil, and him knowing Clark's secret would just put the whole world in danger. I mean, the only bad consequence would be a possible earlier rift if they fucked things up.

b) Odds are actually better than Clark would end up in a lab, experimented on from the day he arrived on this planet, totally messed up and with his intelligence ruined, or maybe trained to be a thoughtlessly obedient killing machine. Then Lionel could raise Lex to be even eviler from early on, or discard him as weak. Oh well, sucks to be everyone!

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

I'm telling you, if Lex was busy having sex with his umpty gazillion fangirls and boys, he wouldn't have *time* to go evil! Seems like a good plan to me.

I've thought about option (a) a lot myself. I'm just not sure it would be enough for Lex to know the secret--I think he doesn't just want to know the truth, he wants Clark to tell him the truth, you know? But on the other hand, he is the older and more mature one--maybe he could deal. And once Clark knew he knew, things would be a lot better for Clark. He really needed a confidante who was not his parents, when he was younger.

You made me laugh and laugh with the unintended consequences of option B (and I frankly think all those things are very likely, if Lionel really did find Clark). Sucks to be everyone! Hee hee hee!

[latxcvi.livejournal.com]

What's your goal?

To remove Lex from the sphere of Lionel's influence.

How would you achieve it?

With my special KryptoNorwich powers, I would kill Lionel in the first meteor shower. The Rosses could find wee!Lex in their cornfield and return him, somehow, to Lillian.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?

With Lionel dead, Lillian is the primary influence on Lex's life until her death, at which time Pamela takes over. With Lionel dead, Lillian never has Julian, so there's not the twin spiral into despair occasioned by her illness coupled with post-partum psychosis/depression. So while she'd still be dying, she wouldn't have necessarily become unstable; she could have been the steadying influence to Non-Sociopathy that Lex needed. Lex could still end up ruling the world -- Lillian did give him that Napoleon-coin watch, so she's not entirely without her own empire-building impulses -- but he'd be a genuinely benevolent dictator under her/Pamela's influence.

What might be the unintended consequences?

The biggest might be that Lex never meets Clark, but I see no reason why Lillian couldn't still send him to Smallville to run the factory (which she bought from the Rosses on a whim as the means of thanking them for returning her son to her and then turned into a business memorial to Lionel). Lex's interest in Clark might not have taken a turn into destructive obsessiveness, since I imagine Lillian could/would have instilled in him the idea that just because you want something/want to know it, doesn't mean you automatically have a right to it no matter what. Without Lex's outsized sense of entitlement to Clark's Secret(s), the dynamic of their relationship would have been different enough that eventually Clark might have seriously contemplated entrusting Lex with the information (I'm still not sure he'd actually do it, but I think he'd be more likely to contemplate the possibility that doing so would not automatically equal disaster, whereas canon!Clark has always seemed terrified to do so, with the exception of Asylum).

The senior Kents might have been forced to mend fences with Grandpa Clark a lot sooner since they would have needed his help to adopt Clark. Having a pragmatic granddad who nevertheless took pleasure in spoiling him might have been good for Clark.

Pete wouldn't have hated Lex, since Lillian would have paid the Rosses the fair market value for their property. So the dynamic between Clark and Pete over Lex would have been different and Lex and Pete might have forged a friendship with each that made it possible for fans to actually envision them as the iconic presidential running mates they're allegedly destined to be.

Since Lex's upbringing would likely have been more loving and emotionally normative without Lionel's presence, so he'd likely be less obsessively envious of Clark's life and thus, we'd never get that horrible moment from Vessel where he's all "Only friends with you so I could be in UR life, stealin' UR girlz!"

Adam would have stayed dead and Emily would never have been cloned, but those are small prices to pay for a Lex who doesn't end up with a black hole where his soul should be.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Ok, given that we basically have the same goal, your method is much more efficient than mine. And more likely to work, too.

The Rosses could find wee!Lex in their cornfield and return him, somehow, to Lillian.

You know, I was just thinking about this the other day. What the hell happened to the Rosses? There they were, negotiating with Lionel, and suddenly they were gone, and Lionel's standing alone on a flattened field. Did they just drive away and leave him there when the meteors started falling?

ith Lionel dead, Lillian never has Julian, so there's not the twin spiral into despair occasioned by her illness coupled with post-partum psychosis/depression. So while she'd still be dying, she wouldn't have necessarily become unstable; she could have been the steadying influence to Non-Sociopathy that Lex needed. Lex could still end up ruling the world -- Lillian did give him that Napoleon-coin watch, so she's not entirely without her own empire-building impulses -- but he'd be a genuinely benevolent dictator under her/Pamela's influence.

Yes, that makes a lot of sense to me. (I hope Lillian *does* have empire-building skills, actually--at least enough to keep the empire going long enough so there's money left for Pamela to raise Lex).

The senior Kents might have been forced to mend fences with Grandpa Clark a lot sooner since they would have needed his help to adopt Clark. Having a pragmatic granddad who nevertheless took pleasure in spoiling him might have been good for Clark.

I really like this part of your scenario. I was just talking to huzzlewhat about how one of the things I hold against Jonathan Kent is the way he estranged Martha from her family. To be sure, she must have been complicit in this, but I really like the idea of Jonathan and Grandpa Clark having to make up--if nothing else, it sets a better example for Clark.

Pete wouldn't have hated Lex, since Lillian would have paid the Rosses the fair market value for their property. So the dynamic between Clark and Pete over Lex would have been different and Lex and Pete might have forged a friendship with each that made it possible for fans to actually envision them as the iconic presidential running mates they're allegedly destined to be.

I would love it if Pete and Lex were friends--in fact, it would be interesting if Lex were Pete's friend first , before he was Clark's, because of the family connection. That would put an interesting spin on the dynamic.

However, I do have to say that the idea of Pete and Lex being enemies and running mates is not really much of a stretch in politics. I mean, I know it's comics canon that Lex runs as an independent, but that's really just because the comics don't want to get to involved in politics. Realistically, if Lex was running for either of the major parties, his running mate is likely to be the opponent from the primaries who got the most support--so that really seems like a plausible scenario for Pete and Lex to be running together even though they hate each other.

Adam would have stayed dead and Emily would never have been cloned, but those are small prices to pay for a Lex who doesn't end up with a black hole where his soul should be.

Especially since Adam just died anyway and Emily was being raised like a pet.

[mshydehj7.livejournal.com]

I would love to play, but sadly, I'm only one eppy into the second season! I don't know much of the whole story thus far to play, but fun!! Can I snag to use in another fandom?

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Absolutely!

[pep-singer.livejournal.com]

What is your goal?

I want to show how Clark and Lana never would have stayed together, even if the proposal had stuck in "Reckoning" and she knew his secret.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?

I would have the power of damaging electronical devices so Lana would never receive the phone call from Lex.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?

I think they would have been engaged, but during the time before the wedding, Clark's constant need to save other people would annoy her because she thinks she should become first in Clark's life. And I think she wouldn't have been too thrileld with all of the talking between Clark and Chloe since she would feel that he could talk to her now that she knew the secret. Plus, it would have allowed Clark to move away from Lana with a clearer and sound mind by not having the "what if?" factor hanging over their relationship.

What might be the unintended consequences?

That Chloe might think that Clark doesn't need her anymore, which I think would be untrue.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Oh, what a smart goal! And one would hope that giving Lana more time to deal with knowing Clark's secret would make her a better secret keeper, too.

And I think you're probably right, that Clark and Lana had a lot of other issues besides his secret that would drive them apart eventually, once Lana had time to get over the fairy-tale proposal.

[treetracer]

Oh, awesome game!

What is your goal?
Clark does not abandon Lex at the end of Shattered, but sticks with him, helps him.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?
I'm thinking coversation a la' the caves of contrivance: today the part of Jor-El is played by the wise and benevolent treetracer: Kal-El, Lex Luthor will soon see you as you are, the last son of Krypton possessed of a might and strength surpassing that of any human. In that moment, you will remember the voices of those who raised you saying 'hide away, flee discovery'.

It is here you must embrace your destiny as a leader, save Lex Luthor from his father and in doing so save your family, your friends and the world from a far worse fate.

Clark: Huh?

Standin!Jor-El: Save Lex Luthor from his father and from himself. In this you will become a hero among men.

Clark: uh, ok.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?
Clark stops the car from hitting Lex, sees that Lex *knows*, and bam! right there steps up to the plate, takes responsibility for *who he is*, *what he's done*, and more importantly, what he can *do*. He spirits Lex away from the pysch doctor and together they hide out, get Toby to detox Lex on the side, and plan their return to Smallville.

What might be the unintended consequences?
1. Clark might subvert his destiny as world protector to *Lex's* protector; taking his father's words *so* seriously that he perceives any threat to Lex as a ripple effect threat to the world.

2. Lex doesn't get his brain zapped and remembers *everything.* Does he become bitter and plot revenge against his father, or does he let Clark influence him back to the good side?

3. Lionel targets the Kents to get to Clark to get to Lex.

Dude, this almost makes me want to write SV again. :-)

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

You know, you practically *have* written the story already. You have an outline, you have dialogue--it's practically done!

::Puppy eyes::

The wise and benevolent treetracer does an excellent Jor-El, by the way.

However, I am hoping Lex has had the sense to stash evidence of his dad's misdeeds somewhere, or else I fear Clark and Lex will be on the run for a while.

[kantayra.livejournal.com]

Oooh, fun! :D

What is your goal?
I want Lex not to turn evil for a really fucking stupid (or impossibly vague and unbelievable) reason. If he has to be evil, at least it should not suck.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?
I have miraculous, selective, memory-restoring powers. I would sneak into Lex's room the night after 'Memoria' and, after admiring the fine scenery (please, oh please, let him sleep naked!), would restore Lex's memories of the entire six weeks except I would leave out what, exactly, Clark's secret was. Lex would know that he had known Clark's secret and had stayed loyal and kept that secret, but that Clark had still left him to Lionel and in Belle Reve and had stopped the experiments at Summerholt to keep Lex from remembering, but he wouldn't know the actual details of what Clark's hiding from him.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?
Lex, hopefully, will be really fucking pissed off. Better still, he'll at least know that he was betrayed on so many different levels. I'm not sure if he'll confront Clark right off the bat, or he'll sit on the knowledge and let it fester. If he doesn't confront Clark (or Chloe), at least he'll be able to feed their guilt trips and get justifiably really pissed off whenever either of them suggests that he has mental problems because he was in Belle Reve. (WTF, Chloe?! You know better! *stabs her lots*) Either way, it doesn't matter. At least when Lex finally turns homicidal on Clark, it will be for a damn good reason. Also, since he'll remember that Lionel's taken a shine to poisoning his brandy, he probably won't fall for the same trick in the season finale. Which means we won't get the subplot where Lex has to replace his blood every umpteen hours which the writers conveniently forget after 4x01. o.O Anything that helps continuity can't be bad!

What might be the unintended consequences?
Well, if Lex does confront Clark, and Clark's not being a total jerk that day, it's possible that they'll have a good screamfest and eventually work things out. I left out Clark's actual secret to give Clark one last chance to redeem himself in case this scenario were to occur. :P (And, OK, also to give Clark a fighting chance if Lex decides it's death time then and there.) But, yeah, I'm not seeing a Clex reconciliation as a downfall.

A possible negative consequence is that Lionel would somehow find out that Lex remembers (although, given that Lex would then remember why Lionel put him through electroshock in the first place, I think Lex would be savvy enough to play his cards close to his chest). In this scenario, Lionel might try to kill Lex even more, or throw him back in Belle Reve, or any of a wide variety of dumbfoundingly evil plans Lionel is capable of devising. Which would be bad. I can only hope that Clark would save him this time. But at least this time Lex would have decent forewarning of what exactly Lionel is capable of.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Ok, for some reason this made me laugh and laugh and laugh. I think probably because most people playing are trying to heal the rift, and you're just making it a better rift. ROFL. It's true that this is a much better reason for the rift than conflict over Lana!

[acampbell.livejournal.com]

What is your goal?

To begin the Lexana at the end of S3 instead of at the end of S5. To omit Jason Teague and the witch/stone storyline completely. And, while I’m hanging around in S3, to get rid of the character of Adam Knight, because I don’t think he added anything of interest and substance to the show, either (except calling Lana on some of her flaws—what a breath of fresh air that was!) Since I'm improving a relationship scenario, I hope that only counts as one change overall.

The Lexana relationship was set up perfectly in "Covenant" at the airport when Lana left for Paris, with Lex indicating his intention to visit her there, and there had been scenes of them interacting for at least several episodes previously. Their friendship was on solid ground, at that point, and ripe for development into something more.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?

I guess go back leave Parisian travel brochures around to convince Lex to make good on his offer of going to Paris. He may have done this at some point in canon, but if so, it was never shown. If Lana was reluctant, I’d hope she'd remember how much Lex has done for her, how much they have in common, and what a good friend he’s been. And what a natural relationship at that point in time, both of them having been dumped by Clark. I guess Lex would have to tell her about this.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?

It would have given us a much better storyline for S4 and beyond. Being that Clark broke up with Lana (for the first time) at the beginning of S3, if the Lexana didn’t begin until the very end of the season, it would have had much less the feel of beginning because Lana was rebounding from Clark. Getting rid of Lana’s other two boyfriends and giving her something to do (charity work, investigations, art or astronomy study) would get her focus off herself, and make her seem less reliant on constantly needing a guy to prop her up, helping grow into her own independence. And, when we got the touted “new and improved” Lana at the beginning of S4, she would have been with Lex, an established character, rather than a throwaway character who only lasted one season. When she chose Lex, it would have been an informed choice.

In S4, Lex and Lana, having grown close in Paris, would come back to Smallville, together, continuing the relationship begun in Paris (or, really, at the airport the day she left). It would have been an effective triangle situation that could have been extended throughout the season, impacting both their relationships with Clark as the three of them (perhaps) worked their way back to a tenuous friendship, but with the Lex-Lana relationship between them. Lex could still have been searching for the stones, and keeping Chloe safe, and putting his consuming need to know before his affair with Lana, but the whole Isobel Thoreaux plot could have been deep-sixed. They could even have woven the Clana back in to some extent later in the season if they really had to, but it would have been more layered and angsty by that point, as it would have grown organically through the season by Lana perhaps becoming slowly aware of Lex’s true nature, and again of her attraction to Clark..

What might be the unintended consequences?

Well, it would have accelerated the Lex/Clark/Lana scenario we now have, and necessitated focus on something else by now—something more meaningful, like the ultimate rift between Lex and Clark, to which the situation with Lana might have contributed, but only moderately. I think it would have yielded us a much better structured and more focused and adult S4. But, since my concept is vague at best and I have no real notion how it would have played out, I’m not sure. Maybe someone else has ideas?

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

I was really hoping that since I couldn't comment on things right away, that other people would jump in and have conversations while I was gone. Oh well!

I can see where you see the Lexana in s4, but don't you think it would be a problem that Lana was still in high school, even if she was 18? I think that would create perception problems for Luthorcorp, so Lex would be unlikely to enter into the relationship then.

On the other hand, I agree this would have been a *much* more organic and interesting plot development for Lana than the whole Isabelle Theroux thing.

[latxcvi.livejournal.com]

Here's another one (I like this game a lot):

What is your goal?

Clarks accepts his Kryptonian heritage sooner rather than later.

How will you accomplish this?

With my special KryptoNorwich powers, I would clarify Jor-El's message in Rosetta. Instead of "Rule them with strength," the message would clearly read -- and thus be clearly translated by Clark as -- "Teach them by your example, Kal-El. Be a shining beacon of truth and all that is just and fair. If they are to follow your lead, then your lead should be as far above reproach as you can make it."

What do you think the effect of your change would be?

Clark becomes less self-loathing about/fearful of his alien heritage. I think a big part of Clark's resistance to Jor-El in Exodus is his terror that Jor-El's teachings/trainings/lessons for him were in Dictatorship 101. If Jor-El's message is more clearly about him wanting to show Clark how to be the best possible person he can be, I think Clark would have been more receptive when Jor-El said it was time for Clark to actively train. Jonathan and Martha might not have liked it, indeed, they might have actively resented it, but the important thing is that Clark would not have viewed his alien heritage as something he needed to flee/avoid/ignore.

If Clark is more receptive to being mentored by Jor-El, then he never tries to blow up Shippy Sue. If he doesn't blow up the ship, then Martha never loses the baby. There is, of course, the possibility that if Clark submitted to Jor-El's training sooner, he'd have been more Kal-El-esque during most of S3, but I also think that he would have recovered the elements quickly enough that if he got pulled back to his old life, the extreme alienness would eventually be tempered by the connections made because of his humanized upbringing.

If Clark/Kal-El collected the elements himself sooner rather than later, then Lana never stabs Genevieve Teague with one of them and the second meteor shower and the calling forth of Zod's spaceship doesn't happen. Alternatively, even if events transpire in such a way that we still get Zod's spaceship, Clark/Kal-El is a lot less likely to fall for Brainiac's shenanigans and in turn, Zod himself is never called forth. So. No possession of Lex by Zod, no Black Thursday.

What might some of the unintended consequences be?

I think the Shattered/Asylum arc might have gone down a lot differently, since Clark/Kal-El probably would have had the sense to force Darius into a police station to tell the truth re: the drugging of Lex. At a minimum, he'd probably have the full complement of his powers, so he would have used his super-hearing to get the goods on Lionel and Morgan Edge and probably would have ascertained that Dr. Foster was in on it, too.

Lionel would have gone to prison for killing his parents much sooner, I think, and because Clark/Kal-El had already collected the stones and created the Fortress of Solitude, Lionel wouldn't have been able to pull the body-switch; Lionel would have died in prison. Genevieve Teague might have still gotten him out, but I thought she did that because she knew of Lionel's own interest in the stones. I'm not sure the stone storyline plays out the same way in this scenario if Clark/Kal-El collected them all at the start of S3. Even so, it's the body-switching with Clark that healed Lionel's liver disease, so if the body-switching doesn't happen Lionel eventually dies because of his liver.

I'm not sure that Clark(/Kal-El) and Lana would have hooked up. I think it's more likely they would have stayed broken up and she and Lex might have drawn closer together earlier in S3. Lana probably would not have gone to Paris, since part of the reason she went was to get away from the relationship merry-go-round with Clark. If they've definitively not a couple for all of S3, though, she might not feel the impetus to leave. Jason never comes into the picture meaning, again, the likely possibility that the stone storyline plays out differently.

Basically, I think that if Clark accepts his heritage/Jor-El's mentorship at the end of S2, it has the potential to change a lot about the events of S3 and S4.

[pepperjackcandy.livejournal.com]

I think that softening Jor-El's message would definitely go a long way towards making Clark better about the Kryptonian thing, but I don't believe that Jor-El was the cause of it.

Clark's other father was. JMHO.

[pepperjackcandy.livejournal.com]

What is your goal?

Keep Clark and Lex as friends.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?

I'm going to talk to Pete's mom, who should be a lawyer by now, if not a judge. Since I'm much smarter in these games than I am IRL, I'd craft a persuasive argument that Lionel needs to be allowed to purchase the factory *and* that the Kents need help figuring out how to adopt Clark legally.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?

Hopefully, this will fix Jonathan's relationships with both Clark and Lex. Neither of them will be a constant reminder of how he "sold out," so when Lex comes to Smallville (note that I'm going to convince her to get them to sell the factory to Lionel in hopes that ), Jonathan will see that Lex needs real friends and a family, and be willing to be that for Lex.

What might be the unintended consequences?

Oh, all sorts of things. Jonathan and Martha might not get to adopt Clark after all. The Rosses might not sell the factory to Lionel, which would keep Lex from moving to Smallville.* Jonathan might find another reason to resent Clark. The Rosses might split up earlier and Mrs. Ross might take Pete away from Smallville, so that Pete and Clark would never become friends (not that that would be a big loss, imho).

*And if Lex never comes to SV, it could well be that he'll continue fighting his father's way of doing things, and the boys will become friends once Clark moves to Metropolis. Which would work for me, too.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Oh, I think it would definitely help Clark and Lex's relationship if Jonathan had never been blackmailed by Lionel. Though I still think he might have been suspicious about "that rich city boy"--but I definitely like the idea of Jonathan seeing Lex differently.

[valentinemichel.livejournal.com]

SCENARIO #1

What is your goal?

To get Lana some psychological help.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?

With the power of persuasion (yes!), I'd convince S1 Lana to get go into therapy. By admitting she's very psychologically damaged (because she'd do that in order to: 1.) convince Nell therapy (aka professional intervention)'s necessary; 2.) prove to Nell she admitting there's a problem is the first step), Lana becomes more symbolic of the damage of the meteor shower than that crappy magazine cover. Further, she'd actually suggest to Nell she should probably go to a facility for intensive sessions.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?

Dancing in the streets?

Removing Lana from Clark's orbit and recasting her as a "troubled teen" would remove the canon hold she has on Clark. Too bad I can't convince the staff at the facility to try electroshock on her pinkness.

What might be the unintended consequences?

I suppose Lana could *die* in treatment, but it's more likely she'd develop a spine and travel a bit, occasionally sending postcards to Pete.

Although, witnessing the "perfect" girl own her own problems could convince Clark he too needs therapy. He wouldn't be wrong.

Looking over the consequences, I have to say they're made entirely of *win*.

---

SCENARIO #2 (utterly motivated by the promise of S5 and yes, said scenario would involve *genuine character motivation*. Shocking, I know!):

What is your goal?

To make sure Lex remembers *everything* leading up to and including his time as Zod – which means he knows about Kryptonians – including Clark. Why? Because years of forgetting is more evil than Lex could ever dream of being.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?

Lex gets a full Season 5-plus mental un-wipe.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?

Lex goes on an anti-alien tear. Every project he initiates is designed to learn about "Them" and protect "Us" - and potentially destroy Them. He doesn't see Clark as part of the solution: Clark's part of the problem. Lex doesn't run around talking about "invasions" and "aliens" – he's done his time in Belle Reve – but he's aware the reality is bigger than Smallville's mutant population. Continuing the work he started a year ago means Lex gets to be the hero of the story.

What might be the unintended consequences?

Lex could try to recruit Lana – and Lana could let the beans slip about Clark within earshot of the wrong person. The slip would lead to Clark running for his life.

Lex could decide experimenting on mutants isn't enough – and decide to go right to the source (aka Clark).

Clark might discover that Lex knows *everything* - and *freak out*.

Clark might discover that Lex knows *everything* - and decide spandex is the only option.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

I definitely agree that Lana getting counselling would be a good thing for her character, but I think one unintended consequence you're overlooking is the power of the pink: if Lana gets counselling, that probably means that counselling becomes trendy in SV, rather than Lana being stigmatized for it.

I'm confused as to the timeline of scenario 2: is Lex's anti-alien tear set in season 5 or 6? Because as far as I know, Lex already is the hero of his own story; he is being motivated by the justifiable fear of aliens, even given his lack of memory of precisely what happened when he was Zod.

Or do you mean he'd be the hero to the viewer? Or that you just want a more overt battle between between Lex and Clark? Or just the power balance shifted between them? ::is confused::

[jakrar.livejournal.com]

What is your goal?

To get Clark and Lex together as friends, allies and lovers -- ideally forever.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?

I will use my mind-altering mutant powers on Helen Bryce, to cause her to kill Lionel instead of Lex. I will make sure, however, that she leaves behind enough evidence to make it obvious that not only did she cold-bloodedly murder the man, but she also accepted money from him and conspired with him against Lex before turning on Lionel.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?

Lex will be shocked and dismayed (perhaps more by the conspiracy against him than by Lionel's murder), and will divorce Helen and let her rot in prison. More importantly, Lex will be able to search for Clark when Clark puts on the red kryptonite ring and disappears. Lex will find Kal, and Kal will happily move into Lex's Metropolis penthouse and show off his powers and alien origins in order to lure Lex into bed. Lex will have the truth he's been searching for, and -- once he's somehow gotten the ring off Kal's finger -- he and Clark will forge a new and stronger and more honest alliance, both as friends and as lovers. Clark/Kal will avoid coming to Morgan Edge's attention, since he will be staying in Lex's penthouse rather than out pulling bank jobs. Lex will forever escape Lionel's influence and evil plans, and will have myriad reasons to stay good and law-abiding in order to keep peace with his significant other. The CLex will live happily ever after.


What might be the unintended consequences?

Jonathan and Martha (and perhaps even Clark's friends) may try to break our guys up, most likely by threatening to turn Lex in to the law for seducing a minor. And, since Jonathan won't have to borrow any superpowers from Jor-El, he's likely to live a very long life. (Drat!) Clark might keep the scar Jor-El gave him. Aside from that, I'm not sure if there are any negatives here, though I'm probably overlooking something. Or many somethings.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting one. The only problem, I think, is that Jor-El seemed to be able to control Clark somehow through the scar--especially when he was about to have sex! That might put a little crimp in the Clex action, unless you figure out another way to get Jor-El to leave Clark alone.

Repost for html

[lukita.livejournal.com]

What is your goal?

Mess with the entire SV canon.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?

Instead of a reporter, Chloe found her calling writing music.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?

While Chloe might still be curious about the weird things going on in Smallville, the Wall of Weird would be the first to go (I hate that thing) since she would be too busy writing music or actually practice playing some sort of instrument. Clark probably won't write for the Torch if he, Chloe and Pete are friends (they might start a band!AU). Chloe would stopped putting herself in danger searching for her next story and Clark won't have to save her all the time. Lionel would never ask her to find out Clarks's secret, she wouldn't even bleep on his radar. In short, a lot of bad things that happend in SV is Chloe's fault.

What might be the unintended consequences?

A lot of characters are going to die because Chloe won't be all knowing with the answers and hacking. Oops. I'll totally list episodes/names except I can't remember what happened in most of them. I'm sure Lana's name is on that list.

Re: Repost for html

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Well, Smallville would certainly have been very different if Chloe had spent all her time in a band instead of at the Torch!

[horticulturist.livejournal.com]

I have to take a whack at this:

Goal: Prevent Lex from turning evil while preserving his friendship with Clark.

How to achieve: Use the meteor-mutant's powers from Static to imprison evil Lex from Onyx before he even wakes up in the lab.

Effects: Since no one will have any idea that Lex is missing, since good Lex will still be around, no one will ever become aware of evil Lex' existence. Instead, they will simply start noticing that Lex had become unambiguously good. Also, without the fencing match with evil Lex, Lionel will remain unambiguously reformed.

Possible unintended consequences: Without his evil side, all of Lex' future actions will be radically different. This might significantly alter events in Commencement, wherein good Lex will not kidnap Chloe, which might impact whether Chloe will end up in the caves and then at the fortress with Clark. Also, who knows how the stones plot might have ultimately resolved itself? At a bare minimum, the events of Mortal would not have occurred, radically altering all the events of season five. The real consequence, though, would be a moral consequence. We wouldn't really be saving Lex' soul here; we'd just be cutting out the evil part and imprisoning it.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

This is an interesting scenario. I agree that it would radically change season 5; in addition to the unintended consequences you pointed out, I wonder if unambiguously good Lex would be effective in standing up against his father?

I also wonder if, in the long run, good Lex could still exist without evil Lex? Depending on how the splitting happened, they may need each other biologically somehow (I've certainly read some post-Onyx stories that hypothesized that, anyway).

Your scenario also poses interesting philosophical questions. Would unambiguously good Lex be able to survive and thrive in the world? How much do we need our aggressive/selfish interests to succeed in life? I am reminded of that classic Star Trek episode where Jim Kirk got split in half, and his good half was completely ineffectual at making decisions. I also vaguely remember a story in which some medieval Jewish rabbi asks God to get rid of the yetzer hara--the evil impulse--but as a consequence no one did any work, or had children, or basically accomplished anything in life, because, as it turned out, that impulse was responsible not only for aggression and hatred, but also also creativity and drive.

[mobiusklein.livejournal.com]

Make sure Clark and his ship and the meteors never arrive on Earth (it's interesting to think about)

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?

The use of long-range gravity or telekinesis to push them off course.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?

No Superman, no meteor shower I or II, no evil!Lex, Lana’s pancakes stick around and raise a normal girl, Bo & Martha are childless, no FOTWs.

Clark may or may not survive being sent elsewhere.

What might be the unintended consequences?

Well, Earth is screwed if there’s an enormous catastrophe like alien invasion or what not. The Kents might divorce. Ma Kent might go back to Metropolis. Lana will continue to be boring. Chloe might stay in Metropolis. Pete and Lana might’ve hooked up. SV would be a whole lot more populated.

Lois would just have continued being aimless for quite a while. Maybe she would’ve gone into the army to prove herself that way. I wouldn’t have minded her development if she had turned into a wartime correspondent that way.

Not sure how it would affect Justice League.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's a big what if. I think you also forgot that Lex still has asthma and no longer has miraculous healing powers, so he may end up killing himself accidentally in one of his youthful escapades. I wonder if the Rosses would have sold the factory to Luthorcorp?

I doubt Martha and Jonathan would divorce--more likely they would have just adopted kids.

Kill Lionel, Of Course!

[trienne-hovus.livejournal.com]

What is your goal?
Prevent Lex's descent.

What are you going to do to accomplish it, given the constraints on your powers?
This is easy. I do something I've wanted to do since Tempest: use my powers to (gently!) knock Lex out when the bookcase falls on him. He's unconscious just long enough for the beam to fall down and crush Lionel to death.

What do you think the effect of your change will be?
Lionel is dead! That can't be a bad thing.

More detailed answer: Lex was working on becoming a benevolent ruler in Smallville, by saving the crap factory. He had reached a level of acceptance in the town. Lionel's coming to stay at the mansion short-circuited all that: put Lex in yet another no-win situation of trying to win his father's love, took away his autonomy, exposed him to Lionel's treachery and sociopathic influence 24/7. Without Lionel, there's no competition for the caves (and Clark doesn't wind up destroying the ship because there's no gK key made to destroy it with); no hostage situation in LuthorCorp Tower; no Belle Reeve; no body switcheroo; no Teague intrigue; no Good Lex/Evil Lex split... etc. upon etc. Oh, and either he never finds out that Lucas exists, or (if Lionel's will left instructions for contacting Lucas) then they get to know each other without Lionel setting them against one another.

What might be the unintended consequences?
Lex might feel so guilty that he couldn't save Lionel that he leaves Smallville. Depending on how soon he does that, he might not be there to kill Nixon when Nixon is about to kill Jonathan and expose Clark - and how Lex deals with that (Jonathan's death, Clark's exposure, himself blamed for both) opens up a big ol' can of worms.

Or: Lex doesn't leave Smallville, does kill Nixon... but he also inherits LuthorCorp, and in the course of "preserving the Luthor Empire," not to mention acting unrestrainedly on his curiosity and ambition, loses his already-fragile sense of ethics and winds up approving much the same gK and genetic experiments that Lionel had in mind. Which brings him into conflict with Clark anyway.

But, see, even if that does happen, it would be Lex making his own decisions, his own moral choices, while in his right mind, memory intact. The way things have played out in SV, Lex has become Lionel's, and Destiny's, puppet: the victim of one diabolical deux et machina after another. I don't and never will "buy" SV's Lex as an evil villain, because of the way SV has jerked him around.

Re: Kill Lionel, Of Course!

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

You've made a good case for killing Lionel, and I think the timing is excellent. I don't think your projected unintended consequence about Lex not handling Nixon would come to pass, either, because if Lex is feeling guilty about not saving his dad, the first person he'd go to at that point is Clark, so he'd still find out about the Jonathan situation and handle it, even if he then ended up leaving Smallville.

Though I think I have to disagree about Lex as destiny's puppet. Yes, he has had a hell of a lot of bad stuff happen to him, and yes, Lionel is evil and has been pushing Lex in a particular direction for a long time. On the other hand, lots of other characters on the show have had lots of bad stuff happen to them and have not chosen, for example, to imprison and experiment on meteor mutants. I love Lex, and I deeply regret that stuff that has happened in his life that has contributed to his descent, but he still has and is making his own choices.