Elyza Lex

Elyza Lex is a fanon character created by Clexa (Clarke/Lexa) shippers after one character in their ship, Lexa, was killed in the third season of The 100. The actress who played Lexa, Alycia Debnam-Carey, appears on another show, Fear the Walking Dead, where she plays Alicia Clark. Elyza Lex was thus created to be a crossover between the two shows. She is shipped with Alicia Clark and their ship name is Lexark.
Since Elyza is fan-created, her characterization is determined entirely by headcanons.When the Fandom Gets Creative: Who Is Elyza Lex and Why Does She Matter by Jin Jet Cava, March 22, 2016 (Accessed April 4, 2016).Elyza Lex™, Riot Grrrl, and Creativity in the Face of Grief: A Fandom Love Letter by Elizabeth Bridges, March 15, 2016 (Accessed April 4, 2016). Archived version. Due to her origins in the Clexa fandom, she is often understood to be a reincarnation of Clarke Griffin (retaining Clarke's memories to varying extents) and therefore "played" by the same actress Eliza Taylor, with Alicia Clark similarly being a reincarnation of Lexa.
Some of the most popular characterizations for Elyza include that she is a badass who is adept at slaying walkers (zombies in The Walking Dead universe), wears a leather jacket, uses multiple guns as weapons, is Australian, is gay rather than bisexual (Clarke is bisexual), has tattoos (often relating to Clarke or Lexa's character on The 100), is immune to walker bites. She is often personified as being sarcastic, proud and open about being gay, reckless when fighting walkers but protective of Alicia, and aware of how attractive she is.more elyza lex/lexark headcanons by ohapocalypse, March 2016 (Accessed April 4, 2016). Archived version.more elyza headcanons by commanderofthe12raccoons, March 10, 2016 (accessed on April 4, 2016). Archived version.elyza lex headcanons by damnlyza, March 13, 2016 (accessed on April 4, 2016). Archived version.my elyza headcanon by gaysassheda, March, 2016 (accessed on April 4, 2016). Archived version.More on Elyza Lex's zombie bite immunity. by jaspies-yabos, March, 2016 (accessed April 4, 2016). Archived version.things i know about elyza lex by lexaspirit. Archive version.Let me make sure I'm getting this right. by blaqpanther, March 11, 2016. Archived version.
==History==
When Alycia Debnam-Carey's character on Fear the Walking Dead was revealed to be named Alicia Clark ahead of the August 23, 2015, premiere, the Clexa fandom began joking that the show should introduce another character named Elyza Lex played by Eliza Taylor, giving her a name that is complementary to Alicia Clark's--Elyza, instead of Eliza (Taylor), Lex, as derived from Lexa.
An example of an early exchange between fans on The L Chat (a lesbian web forum frequented by Clexa fans), dated August 10, 2015:"The 100 part II; Honestly, what is this? The 100 or The Lexa?" (page 640), The L Chat. Archived version.
By February 2016, the idea of "Elyza Lex" had become somewhat of a running gag:
And again in February 27, 2016, as fans were discussing the possibility that Lexa would die on The 100:"The 100 - Part V" (page 1822; comment #54653), The L Chat. Archived version.
=== Rise in Popularity ===
Fans only began taking the character of Elyza Lex seriously after the March 3, 2016, airing of season 3 episode 7 of The 100, when there was an overwhelming fandom uproar over the death of Commander Lexa. The popularity of Elyza Lex's character was set in motion by a Tumblr post made the following day that read "Here's hoping that Alicia Clark gets a girlfriend in the future and that that girlfriend is played by Eliza Taylor,""Here's hoping that Alicia Clark gets a girlfriend in the future and that that girlfriend is played by Eliza Taylor." by thealiciaclark, March 4, 2016 (accessed April 4, 2016). Archived version. to which another user's responded "and call her Elyza Lex""and call her Elyza Lex" by alyciasass, March 5, 2016 (accessed April 4, 2016). Archived version.. This post gained over 5,000 notes and after that, many other people in the fandom jumped on board and began creating headcanons, making fanart, and engaging with The Walking Dead fandom and the Fear the Walking Dead show.
A Tumblr user joked:Tumblr post by toodrunktofindaurl. Archived version.
Initially, most of posts on Tumblr about this character and her relationship with Alicia Clark were tagged with Fear the Walking Dead or FTWD, as well as under the Alicia Clark, Elyza Lex, Lexark (the ship name for Elyza Lex/Alicia Clark), and occasionally The 100 tags. However, over time the fandom became more aware and conscientious of Fear the Walking Dead fans who did not want their tags invaded, and so there was a call to tag posts as QTWD, or Queer the Walking Dead.TAGGING COURTESY: QTWD, LEXARK, ELYZA LEX, ELYZA X ALICIA by theheartspeaksloudest, March 14, 2016 (accessed April 4, 2016)QTWD tag on Tumblr
==Relationships==
Elyza Lex is shipped mainly with Alicia Clark and their ship name is Lexark. Because the character was popularized by the Clexa fandom in the wake of Lexa dying, and so the apparent end of their ship in The 100 canon universe, she was created in order to allow for this femslash ship.
Alicia Clark/Elyza Lex was the 7th most popular crossover pairing on AO3 in 2020.[Fandom stats Crossovers, fusions, and crossover pairings on AO3] by toastystats (destinationtoast). December 31, 2020.
On the AO3, there are also a few fanworks for the pairing of Elyza Lex/Lexa.
==Fan Opinions==
=== Is it RPS? ===
Some fans are turned off by the similarities between the character Elyza Lex and the actress Eliza Taylor:
==Example Fanworks==
===Fanfic===
* do you believe in soulmates (because I'm yours and you're mine) by geralehane. Complete, unrated, 7K.
* I think I've met you before by kittymannequin. Complete, rated M, 61K.
* Have We Met Before? by Insatiables. Incomplete, rated M, 150K.
* The living are hungry, Hodnes., Complete, rated M, 90K.
* Kiss Me, Kill Me; It's Just The Same, Isn't It? by AgentJoanneMills. Complete, rated T, 19K.
===Fanart===
* Character breakdown of Elyza Lex including my own headcanons and some of the excellent ones I've come across so far. by blindwire.
* Elyza - y = Eliza, Alicia + y = Alycia ... by cariykon.
* QUEER THE WALKING DEAD - Elyza Lex by panagiota-k. "I would've worn my leather jacket... but it had too much blood on it"
* Finally we meet again... by fast-baby-turle. "Alicia, have we met before? You look really familiar to me! I feel like we've known each other... like... 100 years ago?"
* "You won't lose me, idiot. And who the hell is Lexa?" by alyciaswink.
* for all those damn crossover post on my dash by zhe-end.
* Alicia Clark and Elyza Lex have a quiet moment by alphacommander.
==Fannish Resources==
*Elyza Lex fanworks tag at AO3
==Further Reading==
*"When the Fandom Gets Creative: Who Is Elyza Lex and Why Does She Matter", by Jin Jet Cava, Huffington Post. March 22, 2016.
*"Elyza Lex™, Riot Grrrl, and Creativity in the Face of Grief: A Fandom Love Letter", by Elizabeth Bridges, The Uncanny Valley. March 15, 2016.
*"The Life of Eliza Lex: How the 'Mary Sue' trope is used in fan fiction to repair the harmful LGBTQ-storyline in The 100", by Caroline van Rijthoven, Bachelor Thesis, Utrecht University. June 23, 2017.
==References==
Category:Fear the Walking DeadCategory:The 100
Category:Fanon Characters