I agree with Julie on the Lois/Martha conversation-- that was well done, and very believable. Lois probably does think that Martha, a very giving person, is suppressing her own pain to console Lois. Knowing Lois, while this conversation has, indeed, given comfort, she probably feels even more guilt now: she's not at all convinced she's not to blame, she's feeling guilt for her actions with Superman, and now she's taking comfort from a grieving mother...
I found it interesting (was it intentional?) that Martha, who is definitely very wise and loving, has slipped slightly a couple of times. She tells Lois that "not even Clark" could have forseen the situation-- one could wonder, why Clark over any one else? And she says, "Clark's always loved you" which is a bit more present tense than one might expect-- instead of "Clark always loved you." These were very, very subtle, and Lois probably won't remember every word of the conversation (people usually don't remember conversations word for word, especially emotional conversations). But still-- there's potential for continued slips in future conversations. Whether that wording was intentional or not, it sure works-- not only is it hard for Lois and Clark, it's hard for his parents. They have to pretend to grief they don't feel, and they have to stay in the past tense forever-- with people they've known all their lives, including other relatives, as well as with people they've met through Clark (like Perry).
I also agree with just about everyone that Clark should have told Lois the truth: should tell her as soon as possible, but probably won't; and that whenever he does tell her, she's going to kill him, his invulnerability notwithstanding. I still don't see how on earth they're going to get around this: regardless of their degrees of culpability, and regardless of
how or
why the encounter happened, the fact is that Clark did take advantage of Lois in her grief, and Lois did take an agressor's role in the encounter-- however unintentionally on either's part. So there's going to be a lot of angst, isn't there?
I liked the expanded insight into how this is affecting them both. You've shown how isolated Clark is now, even from his parents because of the need for extreme descretion. He truly believes he has lost his life, doesn't he? He's lost his real
himself: he can't go home to the farm, he can't stay in the city as Clark, but he can't just move elsewhere and leave Lois to future danger, either. But he also can't live just as Superman-- he never felt that Superman was a real person. He has lost the person he's been all his life, and all the details of that life.
And Lois-- she's not going to go back to the happy person she was since Clark, but she's also not going to give up. Yay, Lois! I said after part two that she could conceivably just give it all up, but she's not going to, I see. Of course, her heart won't be in it quite like before (at least, not for awhile). And I do still think that if this story ended along the lines it's traveling now (and it's not going to, RIGHT, Wendy and Kae???
)-- with Clark dead to Lois, and Lois facing a future without him-- that she could very possibly revert back to the person she was before she met Clark, and possibly even worse. (By the way, what's worse than Mad Dog Lane?)
I've read TOGOM variations where Clark tells Lois the truth, then deals with the aftermath of her anger. I've read other versions where Lois figures it out on her own-- sometimes he's around, sometimes he's moved on, and sometimes he's at the farm. I've also read versions where she stumbles across it by accident-- by showing up at the farm, or by a slipup on Superman's part, or by some technical missing detail (such as no blood). And there've been versions where Clark tells Lois almost immediately-- either at the club or at her place (or his). There are obviously many, many variations of the revelation-after-TOGOM story. But I still don't see where this version is going to go.
So I wonder what your clever minds are concocting. And I hope you're going to keep to the current fast posting speed, because I'm hooked.
~Toc
