Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: Newsworthy 7/22

Superman returns, and Clark isn't completely gone -- room for a little bit of hope, right?

I bet Lois is a little worried/going to try and drag things out. Clark won't mind, the other three however? I could see them getting irritated with it.

Wow, and I thought the characterization of Clark in the story "Wrong Clark" was pathetic, but this one is definitely taking over that spot.

I get it now, it's Clark's fault for getting a job at the Daily Planet that his secret got exposed and the Kent's were always prepared for the secret getting out so, Lois has no culpability in this at all. Everyone else is to blame for Clark's secret getting exposed and Lois just got caught in the middle. Poor Lois, how dare Clark and the Kent's put her through that, those monsters.

It's a shame that a Clark Kent/Superman character gets reduced to being a doormat for another character, but that seems to be the theme for most of the Clark and Lois stories lately on this site.

I don't have to read it to know what happened. Sounds like all Clark needs is for exuberant, exciting Dan to show up and knock Lois for a loop. Give that alien another swift kick by the second best meddler from the series!
Do you know yet what Clark did to deserve this? Is it fair that everyone knows the truth now about the guy who claimed to stand for truth and justice?

Loved the family group hug and Superman's return. At first I was surprised that Clark had forgiven Lois but then...it does make sense for him. I wish they could go back to the way it was before but that can't happen. I love the growth you've shown with Jimmy/James and I'm interested to see how you continue this.

Joan

The healing has begun. And I am now more intrigued than ever to find out what precisely happened in Smallville to cause Lois and Clark to put such different spins on the events.

Joy,
Lynn

And here come the waterworks already.


Good. That's the first step to healing.


YES! See, Clark?


<buzzer sound> WRONG!


Clark, this is where you have to thank Lois, despite the fact that her article exposed you.


Your mother knows more than you think, Clark.


This entire section is gorgeous.


Awww!


*sniff, sniff*


<gut punch> WHAT?! Yeah, of course Clark would think that way. <shakes head>


LOL! Love it!


Please wake up, Lois! <pokes her with a stick>


Awwww!


You can't see heartbreak, Clark.


Ooh, love this!


No, really, she does.


*sniffles*


You, sleeping next to her, holding her and healing each other's hearts.


Ahhh! Another heart-wrenching, beautiful chapter. I'm so glad they got to talk a little more and that she called him Clark. He needs that more than anything right now. Here's hoping they get to spend more time together and find their way back to their friendship again soon.

Looking forward to the next installment!

It seems clear to me that Clark is not a doormat - that he's making a choice to forgive Lois, because that's ultimately what he needs to do for himself. It's an active, not a passive decision. He did blame her, was angry with her, but feels that he needs to move past that in order to embrace all that he has left - Clark is gone and he needs Superman to exist or else he's nothing. He blames himself for what Lois did - or at least, he seems to, but that's a very human thing to do - to blame yourself for things that aren't your fault in order to justify actions that you just can't explain. That doesn't mean, deep down, that he really does blame himself. He's too eager to heal, to quick to accept that the disappearance of his shaking means that he is fully recovered. No, there's more hurt under his polite veneer just waiting to break free. There's a depth to this story that reaches beyond the surface. And I am enjoying it immensely.

Dear, regarding this chapter I have a question about the language, which is an aspect that I always savour while reading your stories (regardless of what's happening :P). I quote:

For days, for weeks, the feel of that sunlight has been all-consuming as he chases it across the miles of ground and ocean, begging it to return him to his natural state, pleading with it to allow him to once more be Superman. But today, it holds little of his attention.

You chose to write your story in the present tense and it's okay, I totally see your point... But in the piece above I personally would have used chased instead of chases, because it appears to me that you're referring to a previous time (for weeks, for days )in which Clark could only think about the healing qualities of the sunlight (now his thoughts are all about Lois). I mean, he's chasing the light now like he did before, but we're also talking about two different moments in which his state of mind was different, right?
I don't know if I made myself clear or if this is just a messy rambling...

I'm really not seeing the association of Clark acting in this story like a doormat. I honestly whatsoever don't see any of that...

Clark--and completely in my opinion --is accepting some responsibility for the whole of the situation. His part. His wrongdoings. And that's not weakness, it's him being honest with himself (and Lois) about how he feels.

And let me prefrence this by saying that yes, totally, Lois was in the wrong for the how of Clark's secret becoming public. No disagreement there from this reader. She 'outted' him--completely. She exposed Clark to the world without giving him any indication (that we know of so far) that she was going to do it. That was mean, horrible even.

But getting back to Clark. Clark had a 'Secret Identity'. A fake persona. And you fake that persona, in a sense, by lying. Clark chose to pretend to be someone else, to pull the wool over everyone's eyes. Yes, he did it for good, but yes, it was still lying about himself--to his co-workers, to his friends, to the world. He knew that he could always be exposed--it's the nature of hiding a secret. And at this level--while he was, in a sense, saving the world--the implications would be that much bigger. And, like Clark pointed out in the story, he did all this while working at a world-renowned newspaper. While being partnered to their most-celebrated investigative journalist / / . (Hate to say it, but you can almost see some of this coming ... ).

Clark was mad at Lois, he told her so. And I applaud that. But he needed to, and has to, move on. Does he really want to live his life, never having forgiven?

I'm sure Clark won't forget, but he can forgive--for himself, above anyone.

We don't know what happened in Smallville, but from the sounds of it, something definitely did happen. Something big. The ramifications that we've seen so far in the story might very well make more sense than we think (Lois' ).

With all of the amazing powers Clark possesses, wouldn't his sense of self--his innate goodness, allow him to forgive the person that (honestly) probably means the most to him? His personality attributes have always impressed me far more than anything 'Super' he's ever done. He didn't choose to have his gifts, but he chose daily in the series to be the person that he was. And that was someone pretty impressive .

IMO, forgiveness is not Clark being weak, it's him coming to peace with himself. And that's not easy--sometimes you are your own worst critic .
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A little 'post-rant' praise now...

Amazingly wonderful job, Anti-Kryptonite . I am enjoying this story to no end. This chapter completely came to life for me as I read it today. You have that ability to do that--to create a story so real, so alive, that you feel like you are experiencing it with the characters. And that takes talent!

The Highlight of my day--fantastic!
Laura

So, according to your reasoning it's perfectly okay to out people in witness protection. They have to lie to co-workers and friends about who they really are. So, if their secret gets exposed it's okay and the person that ousted them has no culpability for putting them back in danger.

Clark's secret was protecting his parents/friends and his freedom to be Clark Kent. By exposing that secret his parents and practically anyone Clark befriended has been put in danger.

Secret's are kept for a reason and not all secrets are bad.

I have no issue with Clark forgiving people, but just because you forgive someone does not mean they will be welcomed back into your life.

Clark is letting someone he barely knows, (he knew Lois what, 2 to 3 months max before she exposed his secret), back into his life because he still has a crush on her, really. Again it if was someone else that exposed his secret say Lana, Linda King, Cat Grant, Jimmy, etc.. people on this board would be calling Clark a lunkhead and crazy if he wanted that person back into his life. But for some reason Lois gets a free pass, why because she is Lois.

But...he didn't fall in love with Lana, Linda, or anyone else 'at first sight' like he did Lois, either . The connection he felt with her was immediate, very strong, and very real. It wasn't something that could be duplicated. IMO, a lot more than a crush.

Trust me, Lois--in my book--does not get a 'free pass' for doing what she did. She's had four months of hell. She feels terribly guilty. And she is always going to have to live with what she has done. Also, just b/c Lois is forgiven by Clark, doesn't give her redemption with James, Martha, or Jonathan. Who knows how they'll handle the situation?

This story is centering around Lois' mistake. I don't know how I'd respond if it was someone else. I'm just going off my interpretation of how I feel the story is going, of who has done what. Another story, another situation, would get equal consideration in by book (whoever that story happens to be about ).

Again--completely in my opinion (which, hey, could be totally wrong )--Clark knew all of this before he decided to be Superman. It was a risk he was evidently willing to take (regarding his friends/loved ones).

Totally, I'm mad at Lois for what she has done. But we don't know the whole story. Clark does. And I trust Clark's gut instinct on this one .

Interesting discussion, There Is No Spoon .

You've definitely got us hooked, Anti-K . Great story.
Laura

I definitely felt a sense of closure for Clark in this part. A finality. He's back as Superman. Lois recognizes that he's Clark. Everything's right in his world, well, as right as can be now, so he can now move forward. I don't see him imagining Lois in this future. He's moved past his anger with Lois. He's proven to himself that he has forgiven her. She can now leave and go back to her old life, and he believes he can move forward and start this new chapter.

Lois wanted to stay with Clark until he was healed. Well, that didn't take long. He's all better now, so bye-bye, right? Nope. I don't think she's quite ready to leave yet. Will Clark (or the Kents, or Jimmy) kick her out? No, I can't see Clark or the Kents sending her away, Jimmy maybe though. They might wonder why she doesn't leave. Will she outstay her welcome? The closure I feel is only on Clark's side. He has forgiven her all the hurt that she's brought upon him and his family. They've moved on.

BUT Lois hasn't forgiven herself. Until she does, she can't move on... can't move forward. Of course, she would then have to admit that what she did was wrong... and wrong in a monstrous way. What crazy Lois plan will she come up with to clear her conscious of this hideous act that she enacted upon Clark and the Kent family?

Clearly, what happened in Smallville was seen differently (until Lois exposed Clark) between the two of them (and Clark realized how extraordinarily pissed off Lois was), so I'm dying to know WHAT DID HAPPEN?!

You're always so great at building suspense. Can't wait to read what happens next! I know I say this every FDK, but are you ready to up your posting schedule yet?

This was a difficult chapter in which to strike a perfect balance, so I'm glad to hear it had mostly positive reactions.

Christina, I think Lois is pretty much worried about everything right now, and the others might not like her 'dragging it out,' except for the fact that they've really only let her come because they want Clark to get help from somewhere, and they'll let her stay as long as it looks like he IS being helped.

I'm sorry you don't like the direction this story is taking, There Is No Spoon. As stated earlier, we obviously have very different views on what forgiveness is and just how much strength it takes to offer it -- not to those who deserve it -- but to those who don't. Clark, canonically, takes the blame for most everything onto himself, and this time is no different. If the story makes you too angry, you are, of course, free to stop reading at any point. If you choose to keep reading, then I thank you for the additional views and feedback.

RJS, in life, it's always the good guys who get hated on the most, so that might be what he did 'to deserve this.'

Thanks, scifiJoan. That family hug was one of my high points, too, just because I really wanted to give Clark something good!

We will find out eventually what happened in Smallville, Lynn. Lois and Clark do have a history of seeing the same things very differently, don't they?

As always, love your play-by-plays, DC! This story IS sad, but there is some hope, always there in the background.

Thanks for the support, Groobie! I really like how you put that about his forgiveness being an active decision rather than a passive one. Very true, and just what true forgiveness calls for. But you're very correct in assuming that there's a lot Clark isn't dealing with yet -- ignoring things and avoiding them are something of his specialty when it comes to emotional hurricanes!

HiddenMoon, I wish I could quote English and grammar rules to support my use of the verb tense in 'chases,' but alas, I'm much better at spotting what works and what doesn't than remembering what rule backs me up. However, I do believe, in non-professional terms, that the use of 'has' earlier int he sentence qualifies the tense used in 'chases.' Other than that, I only know that when I read it aloud, it sounds better with 'chases' than 'chased.' Sorry if it broke you out of the story, though!!!

Great thoughts, LMA! This story, essentially, is just following to the end what all Superman-detractors think would really happen if a guy were to try to pretend to be two different people via a pair of glasses in front of investigative reporters. Clark doesn't know that in universe after universe, Elseworld story after Elseworld story, that pair of glasses has worked out perfectly well for him. Newsworthy-Clark didn't keep the secret for long, and to him, that just meant it was a bad idea and he should never have tried it. When he first showed up as a separate persona, he was pretty much holding his breath and waiting to see if he'd have to accept the consequences of such a bold move. What Lois did was not laudable, but it was foreseeable, if we didn't have decades worth of stories to shadow our own perception of how the story should go. And you made an excellent point about Clark not wanting to live his whole life NOT forgiving Lois and being bitter about what happened. So glad that you're enjoying the story; I hope it continues to be a highlight!

Interesting insight, Virginia, that Clark isn't really imagining a future with Lois -- he's forgiven her, he's okay, and now he's ready to move on. What I liked was the turnaround that it's Lois, in this story, who doesn't want to move on, but is trying to hold on. I was gratified to hear that the suspense is working for you -- I always feel I'm much too blatant about my foreshadowing and hint-dropping, so I got a smile to read your comment.

Thank you, LWhite! Always look forward to seeing your comments! Characterization is the most important thing to me, so it was nice to hear you like the way the story's going!

It's interesting to have a story with such divisive but interesting views! I hope it doesn't disappoint you all, and that you can see it and enjoy it as an interesting and maybe thought-provoking what-if story!