Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: In a Better Place 18

First of all, my apologies for being so late with my reply! I can't believe it took me nearly a week to get here.

So.

Ok.

I’m going to try to do your comments justice. I really am. Though I’m still a bit tongue-tied and overwhelmed, in the nicest possible way.

The response to this story was so far above what I expected. I am deeply grateful and... some other things I just can’t think how to say.

With that jumbled opening in mind, here we go. With no rhyme or reason whatsoever, just so you know:

I don’t think Hank was there at EPRAD when Superman and Lois were met by Tempus and all the trouble started. But the fact that they were taken at Superman’s debut would be something Hank, maybe back at the office while this went on, would know. Therefore he would know Clark would need to go back in the same guise, since they were headed back to the same time, more or less.

But you’ve a sharp eye, Wendy. I like that.

And this has been picked up and remarked on elsewhere. I think it was Chris who said ‘the subconscious mind never forgets.’ Which is exactly what I was going for. The idea that even if they never remember in a conscious way, what they shared is all still *there* somehow. Harkening back to Lois telling Superman in... um... some episode... “Something about you always made sense to me.” I’d like to think that the events of IABP are that ‘something.’ Faint traces remain, then. Enough that Clark, in WtWFO, really does, although rather half-heartedly, try to talk Lois out of going to Perry White’s party. (I wrote IABP and WtWFO as bookends to the entire series, if that makes sense.)

LOL!! And oh my goodness. They was *clearly* a Freudian slip on Madge’s part. Not that sweet Fredrick isn’t the owner of her heart and loyalties, just... you know, she’s not dead.

Special and most heartfelt thank yous to Sara for quoting me line for line! You know how you write certain lines and certain paras that are your treasures, and you hope to have them noticed? If you missed any, Sara, I can’t think what they were! So... thank you, because I know that was a real labor of love, which is such a great compliment.

Speaking of great compliments:

Yes! Thank you! I’ll take it. And it goes without saying I won’t wear the crown any longer than you want me to. How about a week? So, if we count that from when I posted the final part, that just means until tomorrow. I can be really happy with that, though.

Oh, KathyB. Funny, so funny, you should mention that. Big, juicy can of worms and I haven’t decided if I’ll spill....

I think yes. I’ll spill. Let’s face it, I’m always reluctant, but once I start, I enjoy spilling!<g>

For those who can stomach discourses on soulmates and their possible incarnations (this lets out Wendy and Chris), I’ll tackle this in a separate post. Also, for those of you who are Silas/Petal shippers... and thank you, I love them too, I really do... um... maybe you should stay at the bar with Wendy and Chris?? I’m just saying...

Holy cow, Karen! I do owe you money! Also, for this:

Which is definitely the sequel title we’ve been looking for!

Or. Ok. I’m not promising, since I’m unplugging my brain for the summer. Still, you know how it is once you get a good title...<sigh>

Thank you, Gerry. There is no nicer compliment. And Irene said something about there not being a spare word, and I loved that, too. Your remarks in the thread about Superman’s first appearance were wonderful in giving me a doorway into that first scene, and I so appreciate it!

And while I’m reveling in my awesomeness. (And remember, I’m only Queen until tomorrow, so don’t worry about the ballooning ego, I'll turn back into a pumpkin at midnight.)

Thank you, Tricia. That means so much to me!

And thank you for that, Helga! Just exactly what I hoped to bring across.

Sticky things:

Actually, Chris, I see exactly what you’re saying. And I worded that paragraph with Madge’s musings on this very carefully. It’s a tippy-toeing-through-the-potential-mine-field sort of wording for just this reason.

Does a soul have a fingerprint? (For lack of a better term.) Would all those different incarnations look exactly the same on the monitor? I couldn’t decide, but I’m guessing yes. Therefore, I figured the Peacekeepers would have to have ‘tagged’ all the incarnations of Lois and Clark, so as not to go chasing after one of those- who really would be in their right time and place- by mistake. Which I can imagine them doing too well.

So, given that the soultracer would have those souls and their locations programmed into it, that leaves Utopia’s current soulmates, which, I think Pam might have mentioned, for privacy sake, are known only to Madge.

I hope that makes a kind of sense. I did try to apply a sort of logic to the entirely illogical.

Duh! And yes!!

This is the point at which I plead a severe case of ‘rambling gloop’ (a technical writer’s term taught to me by Auntie Y.), in which I had looked at the final part so many times, it was pure gibberish. Thank you for the catch!

Is it my imagination? Or am I taking forever here? Sorry! Picking up the pace...

This is from Vicki. (Thank you, Vicki, for every one of your comments. Such a gift to me.) Love this because it sums that whole idea up so perfectly.

And speaking of readers summing up ideas perfectly:

Heavy sigh, Sara. Thank you for that!

And really interesting, too. Whereas I saw this as the eternal tying of two souls forevermore, Tank summed it up thusly: a little bedsheet samba.

Heh.

He’s off the hook for that, though, because this:

just killed! LOL!!

Also, since I seriously doubt I could get Tank to accept the love scene for what I intended it to be, I'm willing to work him a trade. A toss-away line or two from Lois, something that has her appreciating the shorter-haired version of herself.

You’ve put your finger right on what I worried was the weakest part of this story, Sheila. And what I was doing my best to wrestle with.

When Silas, Lois, and Clark enter his office, they are going to cover *a lot* of ground in one night, in what is essentially one loooong conversation. Since this entire adventure occurs in four days and this is the end of the third day, there is so much that has to be said before they head out at sunrise and off to the bakery.

To avoid leaving just that impression- three characters sitting around talking for page after page- I cut to different characters who were *doing.*

So in one small room in Utopia, all of this information is being imparted, and outside that room Utopia’s Peacekeepers are running themselves in circles trying to fix things.

Pacing was a real challenge. And this is part of the reason is takes me months to move a story from the boards and to the archive. It takes me awhile to live with it as a whole, see what needs revisiting.

Paul really answered this just right. It wasn’t meant literally. But Utopia is the lighthouse, and the Peacekeeper are keeping watch from within it. They don’t turn and look at what’s inside the lighthouse, but rather their focus is always turned outwards- over the reaches of time and space. Something Tempus exploited to his advantage.

Ok. Nearly there! I promise!

The last thing: Sheila’s question as to why she was wrong when she guessed early on that Silas might be an incarnation of Clark. My reply to her at the time was that she was close to mark, but not dead on.

This, along with KathyB's comment, falls neatly under SoulMates: Stammering Explanations and Sherry Warned Me I Should Have Been More Specific, part II of the Never Ending Comments.

(Which I'll try to get to soon if anyone is still interested. Or... actually, I'll do it even if you aren't )

But to boil it down to its essence: Sheila busted me. But good. And I couldn't help but smile at the irony, even as I cringed. Before I posted the final part, and after I'd smugly said that I knew who the soulmates were, but like Madge I wasn't going to tell, I scrolled through all my previous comments to be sure I hadn't tipped my hand.

I saw the very one Sheila referenced. Saw it and had a moment in which I was sorely tempted to hop back into the timestream and correct my mistake-- edit it away or tweak it to make it less obvious. However, she caught me fair and square!

My apologies for how long reply this was!

And thank you to all readers for sticking with me- not just through this rambling, free flow response, but through the previous eighteen parts- and for being such a pleasure to write for.

This has been so much fun. Thank you



CC

Just checked back here to see if maybe you had come back to edit your "placeholder" post like you said you would instead of adding a new post which would have tipped us off to the fact that you'd come back. Glad I did.

Don't have much else to add, but I did want to comment on this:

Well, good. Now you know how we've been feeling for the last month or two.

Paul

Yay, I now have hope:

This is going to be like the Star Wars trilogies!(sorry MUCH MUCH MUCH better...)

You realize now that you have told us there *will* be sequels. Yes in the plural!!

YAY!

Actually, Chris, when CC referred to "bookends to the entire series" I think she meant that these two stories were bookends to the TV series.

Which therefore doesn't automatically mean sequels/prequels/whatever, but I'll certainly be most delighted to see any if they show up...

Kathy

CC, just wanted to let you know - belatedly - how much I enjoyed this story.

I'm looking forward to the Archive version, CC. And, of course, the 'Silas and Petal' story!

I'm so glad you liked it, Ursie. Thank you for letting me know.

And Chris, KathyM is right! I meant the television series!! Ack!

You're killing me...

CC

And speaking of being busted ...

I'm ready any time you are, buddy! 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.

Me, I'm ready.

Kathy

ACCCCKKK Yourself!!! The series is gone, it's up to you, CC, to carry the mantle...

Take your time, rest up this summer....

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:


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.

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

CC,

I enjoyed this story very much for pretty much every reason everyone else has already expressed, so I won't reiterate through all of them. The biggest two were dialog and originality.

At the very end, I was left wondering two little things, however. Putting aside how I might feel about a Lois and Clark coupling, technically, Clark isn't a v... v... very patient man anymore. Too bad he doesn't remember it. Also, I hope they used some form of protection. I would be interesting to see what would happen if Lois ended up pregnant.

Great story, thanks for sharing.

Jeff, thank you for your comments! I really appreciate them.

As for the potential pregnancy complication... Yeah. That turned into an unexpected bonus. I like Paul's idea; this could be a possible explanation for the Family Hour baby.

So, if anyone wanted to tackle that premise...? I'd love to see it! I'll happily BR it!

CC

Oh no you don't, young lady! Get that Muse harnessed and back to work! Don't you know it's cruel to leave a Muse unemployed all summer long? What's the poor thing to do except eat chocolate and get fat if you don't put her to work?

LabRat

Re: the soulmates angle ...

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm delighted by your explanation, CC. I don't feel like going back to find the comment post of mine, so you'll just have to trust me it's there, but during the scene where Hank comes home and just holds Elise, I said something like "Does anyone else keep seeing Lois and Clark in this scene?" It so totally felt like them to me, which is why, as much as I loved Silas's reaction to Petal, I really wanted the soulmates to be Hank and Elise.

And the section you quoted was why:

This is one of the parts that did it for me ... that just sucked me in to their love story and made me hope that they were the ones. Alone, they are each great, but together, they are unbeatable. And now, after (how many? a few?) years of marriage, they will finally be able to unite completely, and the world will be a better place for it. Hank and Elise will create the new Utopia ... and that's exactly how it should be.

Happy sigh. Thanks for your thoughts on that, CC.

Kathy

Actually, when I made my comment, I was already thinking of Zoomway's The Persistence of Memory

Sherry

Ah ha!!

Sherry is exactly right. A really excellent fic. I think the baby is conceived during the first Tempus episode...? And from there, all kinds of juicy time-space conundrums follow.

So. Ok. Problem solved. And I'm neatly off the hook for any sort of sequel along those lines. That path has been explored. Also, I'm 99.999% positive L&C used some sort of protection. It was carried in the gift shop, and I don't want to go into any details, but I'm certain it worked a charm. (And was colorful... but that's all I'm saying.)

And thank you, KathyB! So glad you liked that!

CC- really, truly finished commenting here. I know I'm bored to death with me; I can't imagine how the rest of you feel!!

private to a certain 'Rat and friend: oppitstay ithway the equelsay alktay!!

Oh My God!
Given the bright red, blue and yellow colors of the Superman Museum, that comment put a horrendous image in my head! I won't say more here in a general thread, but do they glow in the dark and have an "S" shield on them?

Artemis

You know what the only GOOD part about not having time to visit this place in almost a month is?

When I finally get back, I not only get to read part 18 of this INCREDIBLE, WONDERFUL story (whose only real problem was shortness of story parts) . . . but the entire comment thread. I laughed so hard I'm still trying to catch my breath.

CC, we need a new fic. Summer, shmummer! *cracks whip* Get that muse back to work!
If what it cranks out is 1/10 as good as this was, we'll be deliriously happy!

REM!

CC
GET THIS THING SUBMITTED TO THE ARCHIVE!!!!

JAMES

Yikes!! I know!!

I will get this to the archive. Really, truly, absolutely. Right away. It's been orphaned on the boards long enough.

And thank you for the gentle shove, James. It is much appreciated!

CC

I REALLY enjoyed reading this story. It took me about an hour and a half, and I skipped most of the stuff that hadn't a thing to do with L/C. (Sorry, I get tied up in backstory/sideplot and don't reconnect a lot.)

When I was done, I just said "Wow" and sat still for a moment to appreciate the feeling. The plot was well-thought out and briliantly executed. The last chapter was worth the wait--Silas using the original suit was a grand idea, and their dialogue is wonderfully reminiscent of their future feelings (read: shamelessly ripped from future happenings, but that's ok).

I really liked that you told us where you got the idea for the plot bunny. It was a nice way to end the story process. I hope to read more from you soon!