Part of me wants to stop here. Leave the rest up to your fertile imaginations, because... well... I believe we've hit the penacle of feedback. No place to go from here but down! And this high is... high. I don't want to leave it! I want us to all stay here, gathered round the warm fire, enjoying how smart we all are. Can we? Please?
Well, think it over and get back to me, ok?
Here we go. All so good, so very, very good. (Really, we should stop here.)
I do love that woman. She didn't quite stuff Andrus in the locker next to Herb, but she sure came close!
Yes, exactly! And, again, big thanks to James for providing an excuse for Wells non-appearance which fit the mood of the story so perfectly.
But now you have met Lois, you simply can't be satisfied with anybody less. So...Silas isn't like to live in Utopia. Could Mr Wells take him along to adventures to another universe where there is Lois without Clark
Really, really like this. And... that's all I'm saying.
Whew! And, furthermore, hurray! That globe scene- meant to be a three-way revelation- who Clark is, who Lois is to Clark, who Lois and Clark are to Silas- basically killing a lot of plot birds with one, erm, globe, nearly did me in. Tweaked it so much the words looked like gibberish. Thank you to the panel of consultants who assured me otherwise! And to the readers for such great confirmation.
This*, my friends, is why we didn't get much from Lois before. All of it before... though emotional, was really all just intellectual realizations and revelations. She really hasn't seen it til now. None of it, even after she accepted the veracity of the whole thing - Utopia, the Museum, the marriage, the legacy... she really didn't truly understand until now. Now, it's her heart's turn. This is her heart and her soul realizing her place in the world.
And this, too. Yes, yes, yes, yes. And thank you!!
Now for the gigantic wrench in the works, compliments of diabolical genius KathyB- close, personal friend and brilliant plot-thinker:
Which would mean that the real man we know as Tempus has another name, a secret identity ... like John Doe (heh) ... or John (dare I say it?) Kent ...
but after reading Kathy B's, I'm going to have to go lie down.
KathyM isn't the only one who had to go lie down, because... holy cow!! Here's a ramble. I read that while doing the jaw-drop thing exactly like our graemlin friend. I could *totally* see that.
Tempus as the ultimate black sheep. Maybe just wanted to be invited to be on the Family Council. Maybe just wished to be in the JL, but he is one of his generation with no enhanced abilities, so he was passed over. Maybe was just sick and tired of sitting at the kiddie table during Thanksgiving dinners. And then he meets Wells, who trusted him *because* he was a Kent. And he decides, suicide or no, he's going to pull the whole thing down around his ears.
Gads. I *love* that. And don't think I didn't spend a lot of yesterday contemplating tearing off the back half of this story and writing just that. Under the guise of, 'Yeah, sure. That's what I meant. Of course I thought of that, because I am so smart!'
Only, it's KathyB who is the smart one. Still... so tempting... so very, very tempting.
And rivka is now forgiven for any complaints about the lengths of the chapters. Because of this:
The Peacekeepers' entire existence, from the donut-shop facade on down, seems to be devoted to ensuring that the populace of Utopia never have any clue as to the terrible, ever-present jeopardy they are in. With Tempus tirelessly trying his best, non-existence is a specter that looms large. That knowledge would panic Utopia. Panic is likely not very compatible with a sharing society.
In fact, rivka, you are forgiven any future complaints as well. Consider yourself covered for the duration, because... exactly.
And Toc, also, has won the immunity necklace, with this:
I loved the way Lois and Clark have meshed into the classic partnership/friendship/soul-mates thing they do so well. And they've done it without really realizing it; that is, they started out with disbelief and some animosity, at least on Lois's part. And even Clark didn't originally define what he felt for Lois as love - it took him awhile to realize that what he was feeling for her was love. So here they are now, just a few days into this whole situation, and they have evolved to the point where they finish each other's thoughts, and they interact as if they've been together for years.
Oh, so great. What I've been trying to do, and finding really challenging, is write a 'slow-build' love story in a tiny window of time, against the backdrop of a legendary love, and not have it feel false or rushed or short hand. Reading this made me feel all kinds of better!!
Seriously. I think we've hit the highmark. Let's think about resting here, ok?
Also, I have an afternoon of soccer and Little League, so... if we do decide to move on to part 12, I strongly discourage it, it will be a few hours before it's posted.
Thank you, again, so much to all readers! (And Maria! Welcome back!!)
You guys are making this *so* much fun!
CC
