And be sure to post in a new post ... none of this editing stuff that hides the fact that you've reposted. Write up that dissertation on who YOU think the soulmates are and ... tell Wendy and Chris not to read it.
LOL!
Well, KathyB sort of read my mind. I was going to go edit it back in<g>.
Ok. I owe you one dissertation. Soon. Today. Really. (The kids are out of school for the summer, and it's so hard to think now...)
So, I'm holding *this* spot for it, which is in no way cheating!
Edit: I’m back! And what follows is just an additional/ probably not even interesting/definitely not need-to-know information on the whole Soulmates subplot.
Read on only if you’re really bored! Or if you're not Wendy or Chris. Or if you’re KathyB who, as my friend, is willing to humor me no end.
The Soulmates Thing: Or, how I tried to adhere to canon by being as vague as possible, and then caused some confusion, and why I’m not really sorry.
First of all, for those of you who love Petal and Silas, thank you for that. I love them, too. And
if a sequel ever tempted me, it would be that one. The New Utopia, the New Superman and his partner, the Education of Andrus and the Chasing of Tempus. All of that.
And, not to digress too far, but my grandmother met my grandfather on a Monday and married him four days later on Thursday. He was teaching horseback riding lessons and she thought he was cute, so she pretended she’d never seen a horse in her life, never mind the stable next to her home. She was 19 and he was 21. She's now 97 (and would kill me for revealing that) and he's 99. So, doing the math, they've been married for... a million years.
Are they reincarnated soulmates? Um, I'll just say that to my way of thinking, no. Is there such a thing as 'knowing' or love at first sight? Definitely. They are my living proof.
So, does it lessen it for you Silas/Petal shippers if they aren't the soulmates? <asked in a tiny voice> but rather what Silas felt was love at first sight?
I don't want it to.
Which is why when the speculation tilted heavily in that couple's favor, before Petal even moved into Silas's orbit(!), I stayed with Madge’s one really, really vague thought,
'She had the pleasure to work with one of them.' Which left the possibility wide open for it to be Hank and Elise or Silas and Petal. And if thinking it was Petal and Silas made you happy, I was happy! Really! And I can totally see why the majority went in that direction.
First because Silas is Superman. So, it stands to reason he’s a ‘Clark’ all on his own. But he is a real mix of both his ancestors. Early on the comments about him spoke to his blindness in seeing what was in front of him. And we first meet him ditching a blind date to go back to work. He has this sort of cynicism about life and love, especially surrounded by the fairy tale as he is. And some of you pointed out he seemed 'older' for it.
On the flip side, he is also very naive. Wears his heart on his sleeve. Is burdened by the things he suspects are true about himself. And with that comes this immediate attraction to Lois Lane. Every Superman needs one. That would have been drilled into Silas's head from early on. And the part of Silas that worries and dreads he may be Superman really wants a partner like her.
And Petal is a woman of action. She is enthralled by the chase of the bad guys. And her favorite quality, to me, is how much she loves it. She describes it as 'fun' more than once. Silas needs someone as brave as she is. As cool-headed in a crisis. Madge and Hank get frayed at the edges, but Petal really thrives on the stress. She takes a lot of joy in her job and won't be intimidated by working closely with Superman, something she makes clear when she reminds him he'll be her apprentice. The rules of seniority will apply to him, despite who he is.
So, *of course* they look like the soul mates. And if you want them to be, Ignore This Next Part.
Just skip on past and we're square.
All is good.
Ok?
Ok.
The thing I love about this is that when it came to guessing who was who, Superman (Silas) overshadowed Clark Kent (Hank).
Hank is the ordinary man living the double life. The woman he loves has no idea he works to save the world.
I hinted at that here:
In the early days of their courtship, that fact of his life had threatened to sink them. He had vowed to her he would be honest in all things he was able to. But that at some point, she was just going to have to trust he couldn’t say any more.
He had waited a nerve wracking two weeks before she had shown up on his doorstep one day and put him out of his misery
I wanted that to echo how Clark's double life hurts his relationship with Lois. Also the final scene from Whine, Whine, Whine, when Lois shows up and tells Clark he's the one she's sticking with.
Hank has no powers, but he has one huge secret. He is, also, loyal, determined, fierce in the protection of his world and those he loves. He is one of the first to see the flaws in Utopia. One of the first to voice them.
And Elise. She's smart. She's take-charge. She can't cook and she rambles. She is the one who comes up with the idea of exposing Tempus, ripping away the veil of secrecy. Her thoughts and Lois's are very similar. Utopia needs to grow up. Its false sense of security isn't doing it any favors.
”Yes.” She smiled at him as if he was her prize pupil, making him feel ridiculously proud and foolish all at once. This was his job. His work, and yet, she had something. Something he hadn’t even come close to thinking of. He couldn’t be anything but awed and grateful.
No doubt how Superman had felt about Lois Lane their entire shared life.
So, when these soulmates met their 'counterparts,' Elise took one look at Clark and blurted 'holy freakin' cow,’ got more than a little awed at being held by him. When she spoke to Clark on the flight to the Ministry, he felt an 'instant kinship' with her that was 'exactly right.' Lois looked at Hank and said, 'Do I know you?' And Hank looked at Lois and his smile changed.
On the whole, and it has been a lot of words to get here, I don't really think it matters who the soulmates are. But since I wanted this to slip right back into continuity for the series, I didn't want to ignore the soulmates part of canon.
Should I have been more specific? Come right and out and pointed at the couple I thought it was?
Nah. This was way more fun. This way, the reader really decides. And both couples do live HEA, I promise!
Thanks for indulging that one last ramble. And, again, thank you so much to all the readers for their participation in this story. I can’t tell you how grateful and thrilled I am.
I only wish I knew how to say it better!
CC
