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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,797 |
Where do I start, giving FDK on this? Perhaps by quoting this: “And I’m sorry I hurt you that day in the park…and then later in my apartment. We’ve both made a lot of mistakes, and we’ll probably make more. Or at least I will. I don’t have any experience at being in love. I’ll probably be a terrible girlfriend.”
He smiled and pulled her closer. “You’ll still be the only girlfriend for me, no matter how terrible you are. I’ve searched the world over, Lois – literally – and there’s only you. I hope that’s not too much to tell you before we’ve even had our first date, but I’m through lying to you. I want this to be forever.” Or this: “Aw, who am I kidding,” he relented. “I’ve been pulling for you two for a long time now. Lois, Clark here’s been mooning after you for as long as I’ve known him. The minute he met you it was like he’d been hit between the eyes with a two-by-four.” Or this: Whatever happens, we’ll deal with it.”
He smiled, his lips curving under her fingers. “We will?”
“Darn right,” she said, stroking his bristly cheek. “We’re partners, and I’m planning on us being a lot more than that. I’m in love with you, and I can be pretty determined when I make up my mind about something. So if I were you, Clark Kent, I’d forget about all that waiting business and just give in and let yourself love me back.”
He caught her hand and kissed the fingers that had been pressed against his lips. “I never stopped,” he admitted. “Trying not to love you was a complete waste of effort.” Why does Clark love Lois so much? Well, they say that women fall in love with men who resemble their fathers. I haven't heard people say that men love women who remind them of their mothers, but I do suppose that is equally true. And just contemplate the picture of Martha here, and consider Lois's similarity to her: “Here, Jonathan,” Martha said, thrusting the ice bucket at her husband. “Rinse this, please, and go get us some ice. In the meantime, Clark, we brought some of your things, and I can help you brush your teeth.”
“Mom,” he complained, “I can brush my own teeth. Just give me a minute to wake up.”
“He’s going to be a terrible patient,” Martha declared. “Comes of never being sick.”
“And of being a man,” Lois pointed out.
“Oh, that too,” Martha agreed.
“You know, Clark and I are both right here,” Jonathan said dryly.
“Yes, and I can’t imagine why,” Martha returned. “You’re supposed to be getting ice.”
Jonathan and Clark exchanged a look.
“Don’t look at me, Dad,” Clark said with a weak grin. “I don’t have the energy to take on either one of them right now, let alone both of ‘em together.”
“Smart boy,” Jonathan commented, on his way out the door. That's adorable! Yes, I do think it's true that Clark needs someone who loves him with a firm hand. Someone who isn't fading flower. Someone who is strong and can take charge. But also someone who has it in her to be warm and tender. Just consider the lovely example that Martha and Jonathan set to Lois and Clark in this passage: “Your father and I are going to turn in.” She hugged Clark. “Goodnight, sweetie. I’m so glad you’re all right.”
“Thanks, Mom,” he said, returning her hug. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, honey.”
She turned to Lois, then, and hugged her, too, and Lois was touched to see Jonathan pull Clark into an embrace. What a lot of love there was in this family, she thought, and she knew without being told that she was now a part of that. It was an amazing feeling, and the warmth of Martha and Jonathan’s hugs stayed with her, even after the door had closed behind them. And what is it that Lois loves about Clark? Is it that he's Superman? No, it's not, and you explained it so beautifully: “I take it you can’t shave the regular way yet?”
Clark shook his head.
“What’s the regular way?” Lois asked, pausing in her search through the open suitcase.
“He uses his heat vision,” Martha said over her shoulder on her way into the bathroom.
“Used,” Clark said quietly, looking down at his hands.
“Clark…”
“It’s no big deal, Lois,” Clark said, cutting her off.
“It must be, or you wouldn’t have mentioned it. Your powers came back last time, didn’t they?”
“Last time I was only exposed for a few minutes. I think…this may be different. I think Superman may be gone for good.”
“But Clark Kent’s still here,” Lois said softly. “And if I had to choose, I’d pick Clark Kent every time.”
He shook his head. “You were right, Lois. I didn’t want to admit it, but Superman was a big part of me. And if I’ve lost that part…I’m not sure I know who I am anymore.”
She crossed over to him and put the razor and shaving cream on the side table before kneeling in front of him and taking his hands in hers. “You’re Clark Kent,” she said firmly, “farmboy from Kansas. And you’re Superman, Kal-El of Krypton. And you’ll be those people whether the powers come back or not. You think Superman is about what you can do, Clark, but he’s not. Superman is about the fact that you choose to do it at all. Kryptonite can’t take that away from you.” Yes, Lois loves Clark for being Superman. But being Superman ultimately isn't about being superpowered, but about wanting to make a difference, about wanting to fight for what is good and right. Having or losing superpowers can't change the need to fight the good fight. It's Clark Kent who is this extremely good man, and it is Clark that Lois loves. Ah, but let's proceed to the most delightful aspects of this final chapter, of Clark and Lois daring to show their love for one another. I just loved this: Clark did feel better after taking a shower and shaving, though he nicked his chin during his shave and stared at the blood on the tissue with what Lois told him was a positively morbid fascination.
“This is only about the third time in my life I’ve ever seen my own blood,” he said defensively.
She snatched the tissue and tossed it into the trash. “Your blood looks just like everyone else’s, Clark.” She kissed the tip of one finger and touched it gently to the cut on his chin. “There. All better.”
“Hurts here, too,” he said, pointing to his cheek.
She couldn’t discern any injury, but she raised up on tiptoes and pressed her lips obediently to his smooth cheek. “Anywhere else?” she inquired.
“My lips,” he said quickly. “They hurt bad.”
She raised her eyebrows at him. “You cut your lips shaving?”
“I think it was the Kryptonite,” he murmured, tugging her closer, his intention obvious. “It does terrible things to the, uh, lips.” Awwww.... *melts* And this: “Let’s go to bed.”
He opened his mouth to speak, closed it, and then tried again. “Lois, just so I know that we’re on the same page…”
She grinned at him. “To sleep, Clark. To sleep. I think anything else should wait for a day when we’re not quite so exhausted and one of us hasn’t nearly died.”
Clark’s eyes widened in exaggerated horror. “Lois, I don’t want to rush you into anything, honey, but if we have to wait for a day when you haven’t nearly been killed…that could be years…decades, even.”
“Oh, very funny, Kent. Hilarious. Perhaps we need a reminder of just who rescued whom today...and did you just call me ‘honey’?”
He gave her a sheepish smile. “I was just trying it out. What do you think?”
“I kinda like it,” she admitted. “Almost made me forget about your pathetic attempt at humor.” Unlike Lois, I did find Clark's quip funny. But I also found it so sweet that he was longing so much for her, and that he admitted that he didn't want to wait for her for ages. Oh, but now I suddenly need to interrupt my happy quoting of passages describing the growing physical closeness between Lois and Clark to quote this very interesting piece of conversation between them instead: “Do you really want to go to Kansas?”
“I really do. I think we both need a few days of peace and quiet.”
“And Mom’s cooking.” A small smile touched his lips.
“Mmmm,” she agreed.
“What happened today is going to be the biggest news story in a decade. Do you really want to leave now?”
She sighed and rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. “Part of me doesn’t,” she admitted. “But the other part knows that I’m too close to this one to write it up objectively, and there are too many parts of the story I hope are suppressed, for one reason or another. That feels…strange, to not want to tell the whole truth about a story. I’m not quite sure how I feel about that yet.”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “Tell me about it.”
“I guess you’ve had to get used to that, huh?”
He shook his head. “I’ve never gotten used to lying.”
“It’s not lying, Clark. It’s just not telling the whole truth. There’s a difference. It’s just going to take some getting used to, that’s all.” How interesting. Lois feels the need to lie, or at least not to tell the whole truth. To compromise some of the things she believe in so strongly. I think she has a slightly better reason for doing it than Clark had, because he was assuming that Lois would expose his parents to the world if he told her about himself, and that cruel suspicion was uncalled for. Lois, on the other hand, is sacrificing her instincts as a reporter, at least for the time being, so that she can take a vacation with Clark - and so that she can protect his parents, not to mention protecting him, Clark. Still, she begins to understand a little of why Clark has been lying to her. Let's get back to the physical sweetness between Lois and Clark - I just loved this: “This has been a day full of miracles, Lois, and this…” he gestured at the two of them, nestled together in the tumbled bed, “this is the most amazing one of all. I love you so much.”
“I love you, too,” she said, making no attempt to hide the tears his tender words had brought to her eyes.
And then with one final kiss, she fitted herself into the strong curve of his body, heaved a deep sigh of contentment, and relaxed into sleep. Oh, and.... thanks for bringing The Daily Planet back! And I loved Lois's display of delight. We don't get to see that sort of thing from her to often, so it was just lovely to see! Finally, there was the epilogue. And the kittens. And the shirt. And the hayloft. Well, it was all a delight, just perfect! Well, I'm really glad that the cat was smart enough to really have her kittens in that box that Lois had prepared for her, and on Clark's unspeakably ugly shirt. Citizen Kane, you lost Rosebud after all. But seeing that you got to make out with Lois Lane in that hayloft, that's a small price to pay. Also you managed to fly her there, so your powers are back! Finally, Caroline, let me just quote something you said in your closing comment: (Jonathan wanted me to mention that the first four people to offer feedback on this final chapter will receive a free kitten…  ) Ahh, thanks, Jonathan! Yeah, I'll have one of the kittens - provided you invite me to Smallville so that I can meet you and Martha, and why not Clark and Lois, too! And Caroline: I so, so, so hope that this will not be the only LnC story that you are ever going to write! I don't have to tell you that we have all been sitting by our computers with stupidly gaping mouths, marvelling at your talent as we've been reading this story! Ann
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Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 446 |
Hah! I got a kitten! If it's a boy, maybe I'll name it Clark...
Anyway - I'm so glad you wrote this story! It was so good, and I loved how it unfolded. I'm glad that at the end, you used Lois's "I can't"... because she couldn't, could she? She couldn't promise to love Lex, or any of the other stuff... and she knew he wouldn't let Superman live. She understood, in the nick of time, that whether they both - she and Clark - got out of that intact or not, she would have been forced to betray Clark. Something, incidentally, that Lex himself never knew - exactly how diabolical his plot actually was.
I also loved the incorporation of Clark's stray into this story. It was just perfect - allowed us to see some of Lois's thought processes, and allowed her to see some of them, too, when she spoke them aloud.
Wonderful story! Make sure you submit it to the archives right away, so everyone can enjoy it!
~Toc
TicAndToc :o)
------
"I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three."
-Elayne Boosler
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 289 |
I absolutely love this story, especially the conclusion!!! You covered a lot of ground in these 15 installments including all the emotions Lois and Clark were going through at this point in their lives. I just came back from a mini vacation and was able to read the last 3 parts at once. You resolved everything so effortlessly, I am in awe! I knew Lois would do anything to save Clark and Clark realizing she loved him after all made me melt inside. Awwwwwwwww at all those little and not so little kisses towards the end. I think Lois will really like being apart of the Kent family!!!  at the cat scene. Thanks for always adding a little humor to ease the tension! You have a lot of talent and I hope we will be seeing more from you soon! Natascha
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Columnist
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Columnist
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 738 |
I loved the last phrase and it will stay in my mind for a long time. Thank you for this beautiful fic. It was perfect in every single way and thanks for the kitten part I loved it.
I will cuddle my cat now. She had four kitten 5 years ago, so cute.
Tahu
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,846 |
Hi, Great story. 
Maria D. Ferdez.
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Don't like Luthor, unfinished, untitled and crossover story, and people that promises and don't deliver. I'm getting choosy with age.
MAF
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Apr 2003
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Awww, I miss out on a kitten  I loved this from beginning to end. Thank you! Helga
Knowledge is knowing that tomatoes are a fruit.
Intelligence is not putting them in a fruit salad.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Apr 2004
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What a truly wonderful reading this has been for me.  It's hilarious, sweet, painful, loving, serious, colorful and beautiful all rolled into one!!!
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Posts: 1,441 Likes: 1
Top Banana
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Top Banana
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 1,441 Likes: 1 |
Thanks for a lovely story.... If I Were You... I would start writing another terrific story... (j/k)
If she had to move heaven and Earth, perhaps come back to haunt Perry and explain the story after they'd killed her, she would do it.
Waking a Miracle by Aria
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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Posts: 4,058 |
Wow what a beautiful ending to this delightful story. It has all the makings of a great Lois and Clark fiction. I loved the romance and the trials and tribulations that Lois and Clark had to overcome. And that last line is very memorable. Wonderful wonderful job! I hope your muse spits out a few more for us in the near future. Laura
Clark: “If we can be born in an instant, and die in an instant, why can’t we fall in love in an instant?”
Caroline's "Stardust"
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
Joined: Oct 2003
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Caroline, I'm so glad that you didn't keep us waiting to read the conclusion of such an awesome story. I think this passage about sums up the whole story: “We’re partners, and I’m planning on us being a lot more than that. I’m in love with you, and I can be pretty determined when I make up my mind about something. So if I were you, Clark Kent, I’d forget about all that waiting business and just give in and let yourself love me back.”
He caught her hand and kissed the fingers that had been pressed against his lips. “I never stopped,” he admitted. “Trying not to love you was a complete waste of effort.” You did this with so much emotion and incorporated peripheral influences, like the cat and Adam. This is certainly a job well done. BRAVA!  I certainly look forward to hearing from you sometime in the near future. 
I'm a firm believer in the fact that God doesn't put any more on us than we can bear. He does however make us come to Jesus every so often.
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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Ohh what a happy ending. This whole fic was just great. I loved the bits about the stray cat the whole way through. There were just too many killer lines in this last part to quote! It was funny, and sappy, and serious all rolled into one.
Jen
"Meg...who let you back in the house?" -Family Guy
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 247 |
What a wonderfully satisfying ending to a beautiful story, Caroline. He was Kansas and Metropolis and Krypton all rolled into one. He was flannel shirts and wild ties and blue spandex. He was scuffed Nikes and shiny wing tips and red boots. He was Clark Kent and Superman…and wherever he was, whatever he was wearing, when she was with him, she was home. That last paragraph says it all, doesn't it?  They're home to one another. I loved the deft way you handled the development of their relationship, the gradual peeling away of the layers of hurt and denial in order to uncover a love that is strong and pure at its core. I loved your characterization, which rang so true, and your shading of the actions of both Lois and Clark, from which could be drawn such lovely insights into the characters. Your story shed greater light on things I already understood about the two of them, and new light on issues to which I hadn't given a name before. And the humor you inserted into an emotional tale really did elevate it further. This was such a pleasure to follow, and I'm looking forward to rereading it in full. Please don't let this be your only story in this fandom; your writing is such a gift to fanfic readers such as myself.
Chris
"Superman is a guy who's seen wonders we'll never see and Lois is to him, one of those wonders."
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,147 Likes: 3 |
When this journey started, I wasn't sure how you could possibly resolve all the issues you'd raised by having Clark slap Lois across the face with his dual identity, but you did a marvelous job! My interest never flagged, no matter what side journeys you took. And all of those side journeys pointed to the ending, which was excellent!
I loved the way you showed Lois blending her life with Clark while remaining herself. That scene with the kittens was hysterical! And it paralleled Lois's journey to trusting Clark beautifully.
Even though Clark griped about losing his shirt (which obviously did mean a lot to him), he was willing to supplement those memories with new ones (represented by the new shirt Lois provided). I don't like relationships where one person or the other completely overshadows the other, and I'm so glad Clark and Lois don't have that kind of relationship. You hinted at how that kind of marriage would be between Lex and Lois, and you showed it as the terrifying beast it really is.
I, too, am ready for more from your fertile mind, Caroline. Please nudge your muse and suggest a few story lines. Your talent should be shared with others. Two thumbs up!
Life isn't a support system for writing. It's the other way around.
- Stephen King, from On Writing
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Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
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Wow! Thank you all so very much! I really appreciate your many generous comments - I'm floating on a WAFFy cloud of feedback right about now.
I believe that kittens are awarded to TOC, TicAndToc, In4Adventure, and Ultra Woman. Jonathan sends his sincere thanks for taking them off his hands. You can choose the gender and even the color if you like - imaginary cats are very cooperative that way.
I was so flattered to be asked about future stories, but the answer is that I really don't know. I do have a "Tempus Fugitive" plot bunny hopping around in my brain and have even written a few pages on it, but so far it hasn't turned into anything worth posting. At the moment, I'm looking forward to catching up on my fanfic reading and seeing what great stories I've missed while I've been busy writing. And of course, as of next week, I'll be spending whatever free time my kids allow me watching Season 3.
Thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to comment along the way. Your feedback was sincerely appreciated!
Best,
Caroline
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Boards Chief Administrator Pulitzer
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Boards Chief Administrator Pulitzer
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 3,109 Likes: 41 |
Well, I'm *really* late to the party! I just caught up on the last three parts - all in one go. I really don't know what to say, Caroline. Did I mention this is truly one of my favorite stories now? I loved every line of this. The characterization, the emotions, the humor... all of it is brilliant, especially the characterization - I'm awed by that. I'll echo the requests for more stories from you!  Sara 
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Kerth
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Kerth
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Posts: 2,367 |
Oh wow. I stayed up until two a.m. this morning (last night?) to finish reading this story. It looks like we both started posting our first stories on the same day and all I can say is it's a really good thing I didn't read this until months later or I never would have written another word. Seriously! Your characterizations are so perfect, the tension and the banter between them is so, well, "perfect" is really the only word for it. To quote you to you: ...she'd come to appreciate Clark's (Caroline's) graceful turns of phrase. They seemed to beg to be spoken aloud, and then they lingered on the tongue like a fine wine. (snip) ...deep down, she felt the occasional (constant) pang of envy that Clark's (Caroline's) writing attained heights her own workmanlike prose would never approach. That's exactly how I feel.  I see you're writing another story. I hope you'll forgive me if I wait until it's finished before I read it (I'm too impatient and scatterbrained to be able to follow a WIP). You're awesome! Your newest (but certainly not last) fan, Sue
Lois: You know, I have a funny feeling that you didn't tell me your biggest secret.
Clark: Well, just to put your little mind at ease, Lois, you're right.
Ides of Metropolis
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Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
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Oh, thank you, Sue! It was fun to see this thread pop back up - though I admit my first thought was, "Oh, looky...someone else wrote a story about kittens." I'm a little slow first thing in the morning! Anyway, I thank you so much for your kind words, and I'm delighted you enjoyed the story. It looks like we both started posting our first stories on the same day Really? Let's plan an anniversary celebration next year. Something small and tasteful, but with wine, of course.  all I can say is it's a really good thing I didn't read this until months later or I never would have written another word. Seriously! Oh, my. What a lovely compliment...thank you. I'm delighted it didn't work out that way, however. I suspect if anything I did were to put you off writing, your fans would hunt me down and beat me to death with their mousepads! Plus, I've always firmly believed that the more fic there is the better. It's exciting to see that there are still new writers coming to this fandom so long after the show went off the air. I see you're writing another story. I hope you'll forgive me if I wait until it's finished before I read it (I'm too impatient and scatterbrained to be able to follow a WIP). I feel exactly the same way! The days when I had the brainpower to follow multiple WiP's are gone, I'm afraid. I also don't read much while I'm writing, both for lack of time and because I don't want to be influenced by other authors' characterizations, which is why I'm probably the only person in this fandom who hasn't read "Faustian Bargain." I'm saving it for a reward when my WiP is complete, however, and understand that I'm in for a treat. Again, thanks so much for taking the time to comment. Best, Caroline
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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Hi Caroline. I too had your story on my "must read" list. I was too busy over the summer with beta reading and writing that I didn't read any really long stories (except Faustian - and I was beta reading it... yes, you ARE in for a treat). Anyway, I'm in the middle of a break right now, and I'm getting ready to start your story... so look for this thread to be revived again... when I get finished. Thanks! -- MR 
Smile and the world smiles with you ... frown and you're just giving yourself wrinkles.
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
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Caroline, I read this story at fanfiction.net before I discovered these message boards. I am not sure I ever commented on it over there, so I wanted to let you know here that not only did I love this story, but it was the reason I started seriously reading L&C fanfic. I stumbled across your story by accident, but after that I was hooked!
lisa in the sky with diamonds
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Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
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Thank you, Lisa! I'm always surprised and delighted to hear that something I wrote had the power to "hook" someone and lead them to more stories they enjoy. Of course, I've wondered before if sharing one's addictions is really a kindness And DJ, thanks for letting me know my story was on your reading list! I do hope you enjoy it Best, Caroline
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