The Fencing Lessons Series by JacynRebekah (NC-17)

[rhiannonhero.livejournal.com]

Fandom: SMALLVILLE
Pairing: Clark/Lex
Author on LJ: stone_princess
Author Website: Starcat's Room With A View
Why this must be read:

There really is no way to rec just one of these stories; the entire series really needs to be read for the full impact.

This series was started late in Season One after the episode Stray. It is a classic series in this fandom and one that probably couldn't be written now with the changes the last two seasons have wrought on our boys. It is angsty, that's for sure. No one loves angst quite like Jacyn and she gives a nice, heaping plate of it. But it is also steamy, hot, desperate and really intense.

The stories making up this series left people aching for months inbetween installments and I've never been as proud of a fellow author as I was when Jacyn finally finished this series. It was really moving for me to see her accomplishment.

Let me explain a little about what I mean by that. The stories in this series aren't necessarily consistent in quality with regards to storytelling and writing. I don't think that Jacyn would be unhappy with me saying that. Part of the joy of this series is watching the author grow with each step along the way. Jacyn was learning as she went along, (something I can relate to), and by the end she had reached a new level of writing that can be seen in her other stories (which you can find on her website).

There are six parts to this series, each part more and more skilled and fascinating. The love and despair felt by the characters is palpable and wonderfully resolved. Those of you who get to read the series as a whole are so lucky because it was a very scary thing to wait between installments as she was writing! The first two stories are important and interesting, but the series really hits its stride with Ballestra which has, hands down, the hottest opening line of a fic ever.

Read! Enjoy! Cry and love! Send feedback! Yay!


1. Parry: First story in the Fencing Lessons series. At the end of "Stray" Clark never asks Lex to stay, so Lex takes Lionel's offer and goes back to Metropolis. Parry: a block of the attack, made with the forte of one's own blade.

2. Riposte: Second in the Fencing Lessons series. Lex may return to Smallville after all. Riposte: an offensive action made immediately after a parry of the opponent's attack.

3. Balestra: Third in the Fencing Lessons series, follows 'Riposte.' Balestra: a forward hop or jump, typically followed by an attack such as a lunge or fleche.

4. Feint: Fourth in the Fencing Lessons Series. Follows "Balestra." Feint: an action intended to draw a response from an opponent. It can be offensive or defensive.

5. Reprise: Finale in the Fencing Lessons Series. Follows "Feint." Reprise: renewal of an attack that missed or was parried, after a return to en-garde.

6. Trompement: Epilogue in the Fencing Lessons Series. A trompement: deception of the parry. (previously posted as "I'll Be Gone") ETA: The epilogue contains a character death after a long and happy life. If you feel that you can't deal with that, you might want to just end with Reprise and skip the epilogue.

Comments

[timian.livejournal.com]

Wonderful rec. Those are really excellent stories.

[rhiannonhero.livejournal.com]

Hey you! I thought about you a ton today! :D *hugs violently*

(BTW, don't ever hug Jacyn online, she hates it.)

Thanks for backing up my rec. I think these stories are really classics in the fandom and I'm always just so proud of her when I think of them.

[emrinalexander.livejournal.com]

I loved each story in this series, until I read the Epilogue. Sigh. I detest death stories for the most part, even well done ones where said character death takes place ears later on. So, I hit the Epilogue, and that little one page story ruined, for me, the extremely happy effect of the other very excellent stories. At some point, I'll reread the series, especially the final one where Clark and Lex do, at last, find their way back to each other, and enjoy them again. I'll just know to skip the coda this time.

[rhiannonhero.livejournal.com]

Sorry about that Em. I guess I could put a warning, but then I think people might not read the other stories because of the warning on the last one. Sorry to have upset you. :(

[emrinalexander.livejournal.com]

No warnings necessary! I read at my own risk *G*. I knew better than to keep reading after the first sentence - it was obvious that it was about a 100 years on in the timeline and so any discomfort was engendered on my own responsibility.

In a different, less soggy frame of mind, when I'm not ovulating, and had not just sobbed my eyeballs out watching "Jitters", I probably would have said "Uh ho, stop here and go back and reread the last story again!"

[stone-princess.livejournal.com]

Parry was the first fanfic of length I ever wrote and as you know it was never intended to be a series. I meant Parry to stand alone. Which it didn't. Riposte was supposed to finish up the loose end of Parry. it didn't. The whole thing spun out of control and wrapped up rather nicely I think, even if it did take more than a year to get it all down on paper.

[rhiannonhero.livejournal.com]

I think it wrapped up wonderfully! I'm really proud of you for finishing this thing and for doing it so beautifully. Yay for FL Series! Yay for J!