Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic World Enough, And Time - Comments

C_A this is just...stunning. Almost every single word is a poetic dream, beautifully crafted, wonderfully lyrical.

Sad, yes. And yet, that single, last line, with its hint back to that moment when Clark first saw Lois in Perry's office, which tells us that he has at last found his Lois again and is so full of hope and joy, makes what came before suddenly bareable.

Breath-taking. Thank you for sharing.

LabRat

Wow that short piece blew me away. One can feel the pain between the lines until it boils over in:

He can’t remember the last time he felt like this, or felt anything at all.

Picturing Clark outliving his family, his descendants and the entire population of earth - if the former weren't already enough - has to be a very sad thing. There are stories which cover parts of that thought but never have I read anything to that extent. This almost eternal life might just be the biggest punishment to be burdened on him.

Also, I can't help but be reminded of a poem I've heard and read years ago from some TV show. There's probably no exact title but it's the first entry on The Poetry of "Space" , a website dedicated to the show Space Above and Beyond.

Ahhhh C_A, that was absolutely bittersweet and lovely. Poor Clark - ageless but not immortal. If Lois thought her paranoid imagination in "Brutal Youth" was bad, the reality for him was even worse.

My favorite bit was this: There is nothing he can't be for her. <sigh> Exquisite. And the line about her eyes reminded me of a song by the Beautiful South, "Prettiest Eyes". The guy sings about his lover's eyes and the wrinkles on her face. He keeps track of where each wrinkle came from. "Take a look at these crow's feet, sitting on the prettiest eyes."

Nicely done!

Wow, some of the authors on this site amaze me. I go to read a story expecting one thing and I walk away with another. I'm left emotional and grasping for words to decribe what I have read.

You my friend, have just done that for me. Beautiful.

Thank you for sharing it with us.

So, so pretty. I absolutely love the imagery, the snippets of memories, which all add to the dreamlike quality of it. It really enhances the mood of the piece while keeping all it's delicacy. The ending mantained that delicacy too, keeping with the overall flow, without seeming contrived or excessive. I'm not much of a vignette person (the same way I'm not much of a poetry person), but *sigh* this was just wonderful.

This is great!

Do you know the movie "The Green Mile"? I thought the end of it was horrific, because for the first time it made clear to me what immortality would really mean for a person. Your fic renembers me very strongly of that scene at the end of that movie.

It´s so sad to see him outlive everyone and everything including earth. He doesn´t deserve that fate, other than Tom Hanks in the movie!

Oh, this was just wonderful.

I'm reminded of the scene in Smallville when the guy who sees everyone's death doesn't see death for Clark. He only sees an endless existence.

Who wants to live forever? (from the Highlander themesong)

I rather like and hate this idea. It's sad to think about, but yet I like it because in my imaginings, I've often thought of Clark in a far flung future. (I believe that was done in the comics, too - not just the graphic novel.)

This was a sad fic.

I wonder, was the title a deliberate mention from the poem "To His Coy Mistress?" (At least I think that's the name of the poem that the line "had I but world enough and time . . ." came from.)

I liked this story; it was tragic, yet not.

Beautiful. Gut-twisting, heart-wrenchingly beautiful. Thanks for sharing this with us, C_A.

Wow, thank you for the wonderful feedback. I've had a few lousy days and this is just what I needed. I'm very happy you all liked it, in spite of its gloominess.

I'm glad it wasn't too obscure an ending. I felt it needed to end on a hopeful note, but I didn't want to come right out and say, "He's in heaven now and Lois is waiting for him." Since I don't even believe in stuff like that...

Yes. Yes it is. I don't know what got into me. Maybe I need to lay off Enya.

I've never seen that show and I hadn't read that particular piece of writing, but it does fit very well. Eerie how that works.

Thank you. Just out of curiosity, what were you expecting?

Thanks. I'm glad you liked the ending. Like I said, I'm happy it worked and wasn't too weird or contrived or downright sappy.

I've haven't seen "The Green Mile" or that particular episode of "Smallville", so that's a coincidence. I did mention my main sources of inspiration in my author's notes. I suppose it's not that original a premise, so it doesn't surprise me that it's been done before.

Yes, it is a deliberate reference to the line "Had we but world enough, and time" from Andrew Marvell's poem--although, of course, the meaning of it is very different in the context of this vignette. I had assumed that everyone would recognize it since that particular phrase has seeped into our culture and has been used repeatedly in other works of literature etc. in the past.

Thanks again, everyone.

what was I expecting? Well coming from other fandoms that don't have that high of quality to them, you learn to go into a fic not expecting a lot if it is an author you haven't read before. I'm learning more and more to throw that pavlovian response out the window with this fandom (because the authors here are just awesome).

Just me being silly and being proven wrong by all you amazing people time and time again.

C_A, this is the second time in as many weeks that you have left me without words.

I was going to quote the best lines, the most beautiful, but frankly that would be the whole thing. So I will refrain from all but one:

What an ending. What a story.

Oh, yeah and do send this one along to the Archive, C_A - you want to get it in by year end. Don't forget The Tower Fell, too. <g> Will save you having to mail K-Comm to have them include it on the Kerth list. I'm looking forward to nominating both of these. And I doubt I'm the only one.

LabRat

Wow. The last line really made the whole story sing. This was a delightful surprise.

Eeek! New feedback that entirely escaped my attention.

MrsMosley, Shayne, thanks for posting. I'm glad you like it and that the ending worked for you.

LabRat, I'll e-mail the committee about the vignettes. I'm paranoid about submitting my stuff to an archive, so I just host it on my own website.

I just saw this on the archive C_A, I'm stunned, chocked, in need of oxygen
The images you evoke is just.. seriously.

I seldom really enjoy vignettes because I don't get much immersion. Undiluted Wham almost never do much for me because it most often feels gratious. But this was like a black hole and perfectly bittersweet.

The quiet dignity and the homage you give those who knows the lore just blows me away.

Oh, wow, thank you, Arawn (and thanks for PMing me to let me know to check this thread). I'm very flattered by your kind words, as I am by all of them. I don't consider myself a writer, so I am always amazed when people tell me how much they enjoy my little stories.

Again, thank you .

Wow. I don't usually pull up old message threads, but since Arawn so kindly did it for me , now I can use it.

I'm trying to get caught up with some reading before nominations start, and I just read this on the Archive. This was a incredibly moving piece, C_A. It's always been sad to picture Clark living so long that he would outlive all the people that he loved, yet to now imagine him outliving everyone and everything. To see the entire world die around him, and yet be powerless to stop it.

Remembering Clark's sense of "aloneness" before Lois, how horrific here to realize how strongly that sense would have been reawakened in him over these countless years and become a living nightmare.

Thank you for giving us such a beautifully written piece.

Kathy

Ohhh, thank you, Kathy. Glad you liked. And don't worry, I don't mind you pulling up old fdk threads...

P.S. Nice avatar :p .