Lightning Only Strikes Once

Fanfiction
Title:	Lightning Only Strikes Once
Author(s):	fiona_249
Date(s):	Published March 6, 2016 – January 23, 2017
Length:	307,790 words; 133 chapters
Genre(s):	Canon divergence AU, time travel, fix-it, femslash
Fandom(s):	The 100
Relationship(s):	Clarke Griffin/Lexa
External Links:	AO3 link Goodreads link
Poster by Alais Legrand for the graphic novel adaptation
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Lightning Only Strikes Once by fiona_249 is a popular Clexa fanfiction hosted on Archive of Our Own. It is a canon divergence AU in which Clarke and Lexa are sent back in time following Lexa's death, and get the chance to re-do the events of the series.

The summary from AO3:

Consumed by grief, Clarke climbs Lexa's tower, not really thinking through what she plans to do. But any plans get taken away when she's struck by lightning, mysteriously transporting her back to before any of it happens.

Back in her cell on the Ark, Clarke remembers exactly what went wrong - and mysteriously, so does Lexa among her people on the ground. Between the two of them, can they get back to each other? Can they find a way to save both of their people and themselves? Or is the hatred surrounding them too strong?

The fic was published in 133 chapters from March 6, 2016 to January 23, 2017. On AO3, it is the third most popular The 100 fanwork by bookmarks and hit counts, fourth most popular by kudos, and has the third most comments; as of January 2021, the fic has in excess of 14.4k kudos, 5.4k comments, 2.4k bookmarks, and 396k hits.

The first ten chapters of the fic were adapted by fans into the graphic novel Lightning Only Strikes Once: A Clexa Comic.

Reactions and Reviews

Quite possibly one of the best Clexa FF's I've ever read. I daresay it's so well written you wouldn't even need to be familiar with the show to enjoy it, it's that well done. Brilliant. Just freaking brilliant.

This has been such a blast in all imaginative ways one can think of! A thank you seems not enough for all the time you spent on research, plot, creating all those spectacular twists, the beautiful character developments, the amazing worldbuilding and last but not least the perseverance to finish this. And yet you get a THANK YOU for writing and sharing, just know it carries also lots of love and much deserved appreciation for your talents. Wish you well for all your future endeavours (including relationship, puppy caretaking, ... =)).

Chiming in as another person who just spent over a week reading this and knows you deserve way more than 1 review from me. I hope you are still reading comments. I am in awe of your perseverance, your plotting, your character development... everything. The only word that describes it is epic. I loved Clarke and Lexa more and more as the story progressed, from soothing each other through their nightmares to finding peace in each others' arms while staring in the face of death. It was also wonderful to see Anya and Gustus and Wells get to live, for themselves and also for Clarke and Lexa to be able to tell them just how much they mean to them. So THANK YOU for spending like a year writing this.

Just finished this story (super binge read it because I couldn't stop.)

This was fantastic and exactly what I was looking for but didn't know it. This was such an incredible story and it did Lexa and Clarke - and all the other characters - justice. I love how they traveled in time and were able to fix mistakes, but also make new ones and still grow and learn and make hard decisions. I was worried at first they would be hesitant to fight the mountain again, or wouldn't be able to do the fights and wars that were needed because how badly it went the first time for them, but they were able to do everything wiser while still having new struggles.

For a little bit there I was like "oh no! How is this going to end well?" Especially when Clarke was taken, or when the majority of the group was injured. I loved that Wells showed up and it was even foreshadowed! I super forgot about the second group, but that was really clever. I loved that moment of realization I had once it was revealed.

I love the way every character was portrayed and the relationships between each of them. I really don't like Finn from the show, but I was able to emphasize with this version of him much like Clarke could.

The beginning was incredible as well. It was fun to see the 100 group act like kids again, while Clarke is more mature than everyone because she remembers the previous life. The difference between her and them was done so well. It was also cool to see them slowly mature again, and be changed by the events like they had before, but in different ways.

I'm honestly considering reading it again right away. I want to look out for hints that I missed the first time around. I never re-read fanfics, but I know I will for this one. It was written so well, the concept and story was unique and awesome, and overall it is just the best fanfic I've read - probably the best story I've read even. I'm totally blown away by this. Sorry for my long review and ranting!

Thanks so much for writing this! It was a pleasure to read and I loved every second of it.

I am so late to this party, but I just read this masterpiece and oh my goodness. I could not put my phone down the whole time!! This is seriously so amazingly thought out and well planned and written like a professional author that there were times where I forgot this is a fanfic and not canon. Well. It is definitely canon to me. You did 100x better with this than JRoth could have ever done and you really brought such an amazing story to those of us that were incredibly hurt by the outcome of the show. Plus, the vocabulary and metaphors and similes and description words and phrases you used were so vast and satisfying to read. I need to use more than the generic words in my life as well as my fics! My fics never managed to come out as creative as this. Your brain is stunning to me! I remember seeing this in the options to read years ago and just never clicked on it and I think life was just waiting for the right moment for me to finally decide to open this. Halfway through reading this (the day after Thanksgiving) my dog was hit by a car and died and it has been such a hard time coping with the loss... but reading this really helped me to get my mind off it for a bit, and my heart really needed the distraction . So thank you so much for this. Thank you so very much. I'm just upset with myself for not finding it sooner so i could have been on time to buy the comic!!

Also knowing you are not a young teenager or child and are, I assume, a young adult is comforting to me because it means I am not alone! Haha

I postponed reading tho story for so long due to the hype around it - I was pretty sure I'd be disappointed in it.

But Damn.

Everything about this story is amazing. It is so well written, so well thought out, it managed to surprise me so often and connected all loose ties neatly at one point or another.

I really want to thank you for writing this wonderful piece of art, so thank you.

Just reread!! It is rare to find a story that has so many unforeseeable and exciting twists and turns, and one that gives the same clexa goodness!! especially one so long! for that reason this will always stand out to me as one of my favourite clexa docs, if not THE fave. Thank you for writing it, and putting so much thought and effort into it. It was an incredible read!

p.s I would just like to say that the way you've written raven in this is absolutely my favourite thing ever - she is so sassy and witty but so cute and caring at the same time! I love the ranya relationship developed!!

100/10, would read again. also, i got sucked into this again cause i planned to download it to archive and thought "oh, I'll read this again, it's relatively short" forgetting that it's over 100 chapters long. ha, jokes on me. i neglected my projects, but... worth it.

also, i had moments while i was reading this where i was just thinking about how this would make a really great play after the end of the world. like... your story makes it through an apocalypse and the survivors put on a show based on this.

and i was just continuously impressed with how you navigated the politics and i loved how you explained what was going on, why they made the choices they did without making us feel like idiots.

i was even talking to my sister about how i prefer your version of Clarke to the one in cannon. how cannon Clarke just seems to stay stagnant, never really learning from her mistakes while staying true to herself and her values. but yours seems alive. she still had all her faults and personality and thought processes, but you let her grow and adapt like anyone in her position should. it was beautiful to watch it unfold and I'm grateful to have the pleasure of reading it. thank you. :)

as a final note, please pet your dog for me :D

Fanworks

• Lightning Only Strikes Once: A Clexa Comic - graphic novel adaptation
• Aesthetic Edit by thehaughtcommander