Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: If I Were You (12/?)

Yay, thanks for the new installment tonight, Caroline. I've been waiting and waiting and waiting patiently for it.

I really am enjoying this cat, who really is so much like Lois.

And I was laughing out loud over the whole t-shirt debate:

Sorry it's such a long quote, but that was absolutely hilarious.

And yet even with all the light-heartedness, you never allow us to lose sight of the emotional core of your story.

And then Clark with:

That was beautifully put.

And, gaaah! Luthor has sprung his trap! How will Lois learn of what has befallen Clark? What will they do now?

I have missed your writing, and I'm so glad you're back. I can't wait to read what happens next.

I, too, am so glad that you are back with this, Caroline. Like everyone else I'm in awe of your writing, and like everyone else I marvel at your ability to look at our favorite couple with all their oh-so-well-known issues and hangups, and describe their feelings and problems and motivations in amazingly new ways that shed completely new light on them. You show us the things we know already, but you make us see them more clearly, and you make us see all these underlying reasons and connotations. It takes a heck of a lot sensitivity and sensibility to do that, on top of beautiful writing skills. Just think of the beauty of this passage, for example:

I love the way this passage forces us to think of the expression "falling in love", the helpless "falling" which is implied here, and the way you make Clark, and us, realize that for Lois love won't be about falling, but fighting. And after you have made Clark realize this, you have him come to the following conclusion:
I love the way you make us feel the wrongness of Clark falling in love with "some complacent farmer's daughter". Lana, anyone?

Like Incognito, I loved the following passage:

A very long time ago, in 1969, I read a comic book where Superman proposed to Lois Lane. In 1969, I read at least three stories where Superman proposed to Lois Lane, and that was the year I became a Superman and Lois fan. But the story I'm referring to here was the proposal story I didn't like. Superman was going to marry Lois as Superman, not as Clark, because - well, because he couldn't very well tell her he was Clark, could he? How undignified that would be! He couldn't very well let her know so much about him, as if she was his equal or something, could he? So he was going to marry her as Superman, and he was going to let the world know that Superman was married to Lois Lane. Now, that would put Lois in terrible danger, wouldn't it? So how could he protect her?

Here's what he was going to do. After the wedding, Superman was going to fly Lois to his pretty much impenetrable Arctic Fortress of Solitude, where he would lock her up. After, presumably, spending the night and possibly an Arctic honeymoon with her in his Fortress, he would then just leave her there absolutely alone, while he flew back to Metropolis to be Superman! And then I guess he planned to come visit her from time to time in the Arctic!

People, can you imagine the horror of it? Of being locked up all alone in a huge, anything but cosy fortress in the Arctic for your own protection, and being completely cut off from the world? Of spending days, weeks, months all alone and having nothing to look forward to except the odd surprise visit from your husband? Talk about being treated like a piece of chattel that your husband-owner can dispose with at will and keep safe so that he can enjoy your company at his own pleasure! Reminds me of that Biblical story of Adam and Eve, where God creates Eve just because Adam is lonely and needs company, not because Eve has any sort of independent value of her own.

That comic book story was from 1969, and today it would be impossible to suggest that Superman could ever lock up Lois all alone in the Arctic, possibly for the rest of her life, for her own protection. Nevertheless, I so appreciate the way you make Clark struggle with the question of how he can protect Lois, and to what extent he must respect her wishes to take risks in her life.

And I love the way you make Lois over-protective toward the cat, the way she tries to run the cat's life, keep it safe and prevent it from going to places that might be dangerous. Perhaps her own behaviour toward the cat can make her understand how tempting it is to try to protect others, but how bullying and belittling of one's charge such behaviour can be.

Your story is so full of insight and empathy, and I completely love it. I also love that you make Clark and Lois understand things about themselves, so that it is not just the reader who is enlightened. I love Clark and Lois's introspection.

And then there is the A-plot!!! Gaaah! When I rented old videos and played them on my VCR, I would always fast-forward the nastiest A-plot parts. Well, because that way I had an idea of what was going on, but I would mercifully miss many of the scariest details. That's really how I prefer to read my Lois and Clark stories, too: I like to fast-forward past the worst A-plot bits and quickly move on to the happy ending. So you'll forgive me for being quite unable to quote anything from the end of this part, because I was really fast-forwarding it. I did get this much, however: Luthor has captured Superman in a Kryptonite cage.

So what will happen now? I hope you will let Lois help save Clark. He promised her that he would be back in Smallville with her at seven that night and bring her things about the story that she could work with. He won't be able to keep that promise, and I hope Lois will be able to figure out that something bad has happened to him. Personally, I would very much appreciate it if she decided - perhaps not that night, but at least the next day - that she has to get back to Metropolis and try to find out what has happened to him. It shouldn't be impossible for her to figure out that it may be Luthor who has taken him. I'd very much appreciate it if you'll let her be instrumental in freeing Superman!

Ann

Hmmm, by the way, Caroline. That tension between Martha and Jonathan in the beginning of this chapter. Could you by any chance be hinting at a little marital spat here?

Damn. Just when I thought it was safe, I have to get out the chocolate doughnuts AGAIN.

I know it's already been quoted, but I loved this line:
There's a lot of lines I really liked, many of which have already been quoted, but that one made me laugh out loud.

~Toc

Ahh..Caroline, I'm so glad that you are back! I am loving this story but wondering if Lois will have to go to Metropolis to save Clark. Of course if she calls to try to find out why Clark doesn't arrive at 7pm, Luthor will be able to trace the call. Surely he has Clark's phones tapped! Then Luthor will find her in Smallville.

Please, post again soon. I'm on edge now.

I totally concur!

OH, I'm wounded! That horrible cage has to come into play...totally didn't see it coming, but I wouldn't have gone down to the basement to begin with, Clark!! But alas, I have to go paint, so as I cut my comments short, I'll just say, save his naive butt, Lois!

JD

Hi,

Great part.

I'd assumed that Martha told Jonathan about Clark's encounter with Kryptonite, and that's what has them both distracted and worried. But I could be wrong.

And I think Ann's comment:

really hit the nail on the head regarding why I am in utter awe of this story, Caroline. So much so that I wanted to reiterate it. Truly well done.

Yep, this is what I was going for. Since the scene is in Lois's POV, there was no way to make that explicit, but I think parents always worry a good bit more than kids give them credit for. Martha and Jonathan would have to feel very helpless in that situation, and even more so since they can't even discuss it openly when Lois is around.

Ann - and Chris - thank you so much for these kind words. I wanted to write this story and have enjoyed writing it so much, but in the back of my mind was the thought that it would likely be greeted as a retread of the many other wonderful BatP/HoL rewrites out there. And that was actually OK with me, since I'm not plagiarizing anyone (unless you count the Levines...) and I'm having a good time telling the story I want to tell. Still, it's lovely to hear that there are readers who think I've actually brought something fresh to a storyline that has been explored from so many different angles and to characters who have been alive in their imaginations for a long time now. I am delighted if I can do that even a little and entertain a few people along the way.

Hee! My work here is done, then.

You know, I ask myself the same thing. It just about killed me to write it this way because I think Clark would be smarter than that, and having him walk into that trap feels like a travesty of characterization. But it's canon. He walked straight into that cage, even knowing that someone in Metropolis had Kryptonite. Perhaps when you've spent years being invulnerable, one previous and fairly brief encounter with Kryptonite isn't enough to make a believer of you. He did learn to hate the stuff a lot more in later episodes, so maybe he had to spend time in that cage to learn proper respect for his limitations. Still, I'm with you - I think Clark was definitely having a dumb moment that day. I've wanted to keep this story as close to the actual storyline of HoL as possible, however, and just as Lois being sidelined from the investigation is part of that (though the reasons are obviously different in my story) Clark being trapped by Luthor is part of that, too.

Thanks again to all who have taken the time to comment. I appreciate each and every one.

Best,

Caroline

Heh. As I was reading, I was muttering (out loud to the screen, much to the annoyance of my roommate): "Don't go to the meeting with Luthor, Clark. Come on, don't be so stupid. Don't do it." And I kept thinking: "She's changed other stuff, maybe she won't have Clark walk straight into the trap." And then he goes and makes the same dumb mistake again. Argh!

It's like watching Titanic for the tenth time and hoping that maybe this time the ship won't sink.

Gorgeous a usual Caroline, you should have written the dialogue for the series.

I didn’t find it that odd. (there are far worse sinners then this.) In the series he is rather disconcerted over the marriage. Clark knows Lex is dangerous but that’s to other people. With his powers its hardly strange that he is prone to overconfidence.

In fact Lex's lack of wariness for Superman disturbs me more. Hmm, this guy can crush me like a bug whenever he pleases, lets annoy and irritate him as much as possible and take for granted that he will continue to play nice.

I like this story a lot! I love the dialogue and the interplay between independent but interwoven conversations. Clark's shirt reminded me of some things my wife has disposed of without consulting me because she didn't know about (and I probably didn't tell her) how much each item meant to me personally.

Ann, I want to quote something you put in your feedback.

That's not it. Eve was created because Adam was incomplete without her, just as Clark is incomplete without Lois. Does that mean that Lois has no value without Clark? No. It means that they are meant for each other, like Eve and Adam were meant for each other. Neither Lois nor Eve is merely arm candy. They're both intelligent, independent women.

Although I have to agree with you about the comic book story you mentioned. That sounds terminally stupid to me, too. You made me think of another story from the same time period where Clark decides that if Lois won't love him as Clark, he'll end the charade and "kill" himself by falling off a tour boat and being swept over a waterfall. Of course, Lois realizes that she doesn't (and can't) love Superman in his new civilian disguise, so that character disappears and Clark makes a miraculous reappearance that would put Emil Hamilton's cloning technology to shame.

And Lois swallowed the whole story! Actually, Clark just said, "You see, when I went over the falls, Aquaman rescued me."

So she not only takes that absurd statement at face value, she visualises the process Aquaman went through to keep Clark alive and help him to heal (a process that supposedly took months). That's about when I decided that DC comics characters weren't any smarter than the ink on the pages where they were drawn.

Back to this story (which is far superior to that old comic book). Clark is close to believing that Lois loves him and not the guy in the fancy suit. But without Lex's cummerbund, how will Clark get the key to the cell door? Will Lois get the word that Superman is in mortal danger? What will she do?

I want to read the next part of this story soon! It's about to reach critical mass, and I hope you get the next chapter ready soon!

Okay, Caroline! It's been 7 days. Where are you?

I'm standing here, tail wagging, drooling, tongue hanging out...

Oops! Sorry, Sheila. I swear I'm not just playing hard to get . Turns out summer break has been a little less break-ish than I'd anticipated, and the rough draft of the next part is written but is a good deal rougher than usual. So...really not ready to post. I'm going to try to work on it this weekend, though, and the kids have VBS next week, which means I'll have a few hours to myself each day. I've promised myself that time to write, which is my personal version of a vacation (they do Bible school, and *I* get the vacation. Yay!)

Anyway, it's coming, I promise, but still being worked around real life in the form of two kids who want to live at the pool this summer. Great place to hang out - impossible place to write.

Thanks, as always, for your interest and for your lovely comments. I'm delighted you're continuing to enjoy the story!

Best,

Caroline

I love this. Maybe I'm just emotional tonight, but that brought tears to my eyes.

Every word, Caroline, is just... perfect, beautiful, and so many other things I don't have words for. *sigh*

I LOVE this story!

Sara