Originally posted by John Lambert:
I really like this story. I was glad to see Clara and Louis have dinner, although I have to admit I never expected Lucy to be their to, or Clara to make it. So they really did not go on a date.
It was good to see that Louis is totally enthralled with Superwomen. I was also glad he stuck up for that name. Supergirl is just plain demeaning to a women who is clearly in ther late-20s. I guess the issues is Superman is 3 sylables, and we cannot figure out how to do another name in 3 sylables other than Supergirl or Superchick. That would go over even less well. Superlady is not written as long, but still is 4 sylables. Really I think Superwomen totally works, and really do not think it is too long.
I guess Clara will have to move out soon, but I like her being at the Lane apartment.
I can't quite have as much sympathy for Louis' situation with Claudia as I always did for Lois with Claude. Still, it sounds like Clara does see Louis as the wronged party.
I like how Clara tried to make the break-away belieable. I guess Louis assuming he is better to carry Jimmy makes sense. I guess another plus with the Supermwoman costume is Clara will not have to deal with people assuming she is not very strong.
I guess her concession of carrying Louis on the side makes sense. I also like that you explained where Louis was while Clara lifted the space shuttle into orbit. That was always unclear in canon.
I can't wait for the next episode. Thanks for the great feedback!
Re: Louis and Claudia - That's part of the reason that genderflip stories are so interesting, I think, because of the way we're socialized to view interactions differently for men and women. I mean, Louis didn't have his heart broken here, but he was still misled and had his work stolen. But because he's a man, we have a more difficult time seeing him as a victim, and might even view him as deserving what he got since all he wanted from Claudia was sex. If however, the genderflip was reversed, but the twist on the situation remained the same - that Claude pretended to just want a sexual relationship, but was really after the story notes, and then told everyone Lois led him on and broke his heart, suddenly we're much more sympathetic towards Lois, because society teaches us to view women as victims, and because society teaches us that women are fragile, especially when sex enters the equation. And society also teaches us that men are more likely to be predators.
I actually also had to sit down and have this conversation with myself, when I was trying to find a way for 'Claudia' to still be the bad guy and it work with Lou's characterization, and I realized, she still is the bad guy. What she does to Lou is awful, but it just seems less so because of the way we're taught to think.
/my two cents
Thanks for all your feedback! I'll try and have the next episode out in a week or two.
