|
|
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 844
Features Writer
|
OP
Features Writer
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 844 |
Very cute story! "I promise, Jimmy." She patted his arm. "Clark's secret is safe with me." And it is, she thought. His secret is safe. But maybe Clark won't be safe with me from now on.  That was, by far, my favorite line. We all know that Mad Dog Lane has a one-track mind when it comes to getting what she wants. I hope you'll write a sequel!
Clark: "You don't even know the meaning of the word 'humility,' do you?"
Lois: "Never had a need to find out its meaning."
"Curiosity... The Continuing Saga"
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,883
Merriwether
|
|
Merriwether
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,883 |
Carol, I read this story over lunch and loved it. I don't have time right this minute to give you the details of why, but I will be back!
Lisa
lisa in the sky with diamonds
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,797
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
|
|
Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,797 |
Carol, you made me completely empathize with Lois, which is something I so easily do, of course! This whole thing was way too family. She'd failed family. This was not some formal, business related gala where she could work the room, gathering information and making contacts. This was different: this was family and friends of such long standing they might as well be family. For that you needed small talk. Lois had failed small talk, too. Lois had failed family, she had failed small talk... you had me sniffling in sympathy with her. Who was she kidding? All her relationships had been federal disasters. Besides "all" was a dismally short list, and she vaguely wondered how long something had to last to qualify as a bona fide relationship.  "You're so bloody normal, Clark. So ... " Her hands flailed as she glared at him, feeling foolish, angry - at him for she had no idea what exactly, at herself for so many things, for being so absolutely, appallingly ridiculous. For behaving badly. Yet she couldn't stop herself.
"What?" He was astounded.
"You're so damned ... whole."
He was stunned. Whole? All his life he'd been searching, always knowing something was missing. A piece of his soul. And then one day he'd walked into the Daily Planet and there she was.
"Lois... No, never - not until I met you."
She raised her head then, looked at him, met his dark eyes, the turmoil in hers gentled by the depth of emotion in his.
"Oh." A sigh escaped her lips, and the tension slid from her shoulders. "Oh" she breathed. You know I love this, Carol. The soulmate connection. But I don't quite believe him here: "Lois," he repeated, touching her cheek gently, willing her to see him, all of him. Clark, if you want Lois to see all of you, you might have acted slightly different with her when you flew her to Smallville as Superman: She snuck a look at the man in red and blue beside her, intimidated by his stoic mask. But you hinted that Clark might be reconsidering things, and might be willing to show Lois more of the real him. I would really, really like to see a sequel! And I just have to add a few more of my favorite quotes from this vignette: There had to be a good reason why she couldn't go.
....
Well, there wasn't, of course. For this, she blamed Perry White's inability to assign her at the appropriate time to anything Metropolis related that was out of state or in a foreign country or the backwoods of Canada or wherever - there were so many possibilities if he would have just given it some thought. The Chief had absolutely no imagination! You had me laughing and crying here! Still, it was odd. Frivolous, and she doubted Superman had a frivolous bone in his very perfect body. But then it was Martha who'd arranged it, and that explained it all; Martha probably had stuff on Superman, too. Embarrassing photos or something.
Martha Kent was pretty amazing - Lois thought they should just put her in charge of running the universe. Delightful! Great vignette, Carol! Ann
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,006
Top Banana
|
|
Top Banana
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 1,006 |
Oh!!!! It's a story for me! This is extremely exciting.  I can't wait! Either her boss was getting soft or Martha knew stuff about Perry and had used it. Lois suspected the latter. Wouldn't surprise me one bit. But then it was Martha who'd arranged it, and that explained it all; Martha probably had stuff on Superman, too. Embarrassing photos or something. You bet she does! Hehe Finally he blurted. "It just never came up."
Jimmy's widened. "You mean, you can't... Gosh, I'm sorry, CK - have you seen a doctor about this?" Lois, on the other hand, at this moment, was a mess, brushing at the cake crumbs that littered the front of her brown calico dress, the one she'd bought at the Corn festival last year. He smiled. She was absolutely the most beautiful woman in the world. Aww! "You're so damned ... whole."
He was stunned. Whole? All his life he'd been searching, always knowing something was missing. A piece of his soul. And then one day he'd walked into the Daily Planet and there she was.
"Lois... No, never - not until I met you." That was beautiful! This was such a great story. A little sad, really funny and with a happy ending, just like I wanted. I loved it. Thank you so much for taking the time to write it for me! Laura 
Thanks to CapeFetish for the awesome icon.
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,065
Top Banana
|
|
Top Banana
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,065 |
I tried to read this several times during the day but the boards were down.  I finally got to sit down tonight and read it. It was really lovely! I loved Lois in this and all her crazy thoughts. Especially the ones about Martha. Hehe! (Although I think the world might be a little scary if she ruled it o_O) It was very nicely done and I hope we see more from you now that you have broken the dry spell on writing. ^_^
Angry Clark: CLARK SMASH!
Lois: Ork!
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 605
Columnist
|
|
Columnist
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 605 |
Hi Carol, Great to see you haven't lost your touch. So good to see you writing again. The characterization was wonderful. Yours Jenni
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 748
Columnist
|
|
Columnist
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 748 |
Martha probably had stuff on Superman, too. Embarrassing photos or something.  Oh, and I also like how through the story Lois thinks that Mayson is there too. I really love jealess Lois. She's just so funny! Jimmy ... giggled. "Nothing there, Lois. Nada. No hayloft experience. Clark just told me he's a virgin." Aaaah, well bye bye secret! What a few Kansas Tornados won't do to you. There was a Pearl Jam concert... I liked how you put that in. To bad that they won't see the concert  Camy
"I have no regrets. If you regret things, then you're sort of stepping backwards.
I'm a believer in going forwards." ~Kate Winslet
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 4,058
Pulitzer
|
|
Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 4,058 |
LOL really cute story but I wish it would continue. 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"
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,644
Pulitzer
|
|
Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,644 |
Carol... you still got it! This was a lovely vignette with some very funny lines. Everybody else has already pointed out the things I liked, so just go read theirs again and mentally substitute my name for theirs And yeah, a sequel might be good... PJ
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 543
Columnist
|
|
Columnist
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 543 |
Did ya notice that everyone above picked out my favourite parts?  Yes, this is a great little vignette (is that redundant?)  And the opening is so much better than the original. We do need to read more of your writing, Carol. gerry
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,147 Likes: 3
Pulitzer
|
|
Pulitzer
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,147 Likes: 3 |
Carol, this is a funny and heartwarming vignette. I liked Lois's idea that Martha might have some embarrassing pictures of Superman (although what they might be she, of course, has no idea). And where did you get the idea for the name of the beer? That was funny! "Drink Kansas Tornado! One too many and the room spins and you're in Oz!" And the ending was sweet and tender, promising much while revealing little.
If you choose not to write a sequel or a continuation because you've said all you intended to say, that's fine. But don't think you've lost your touch or that your muse has gone on permanent hiatus, because neither of those things has happened. Good story. Thanks for sharing.
Life isn't a support system for writing. It's the other way around.
- Stephen King, from On Writing
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,302
Top Banana
|
|
Top Banana
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,302 |
Thanks for the encouragement. Laura, I'm glad you liked the story. Have to say the virginity confession business was trickier to handle than I thought it would be. EditorJax, thanks for starting the thread. I wanted the "secret" line to work on two levels so I was happy when you picked that one out. Lisa thanks for letting me know you liked the story:) Ann, such amazing fdk But I don't quite believe him here:
quote:
"Lois," he repeated, touching her cheek gently, willing her to see him, all of him.
Clark, if you want Lois to see all of you, you might have acted slightly different with her when you flew her to Smallville as Superman: Ah, yes:) That's the thing at this point - I see Clark as subconsciously at war with himself on this issue - approach-avoidance. He meant what he said to Lois there - it's the first thing that crossed his mind. but.... Besides this story had to be set in S2 and so it didn't seem right to do anything too major with S2 continuity JoJo , Jenni, Pam, Laurauch thank-you! Camy and Terry - you think there might be a market for Kansas Tornados? Terry's come up with a great ad slogan. Gerry, you were right about the orginal introduction:) Sequel? - it's called 'The Phoenix' and Clark does invite Lois out. ( I bet Ann didn't know that ) Your comments have meant a lot to me - thank-you for taking the time to post them. carol
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,667
Pulitzer
|
|
Pulitzer
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 2,667 |
It's set in S2. I'm nervous about posting it. It's been some time since I've written anything. Pish posh - nervous? I'm so glad you posted. <g> I laughed at Lois's thoughts about Mayson. And that whole "it just didn't come up" thing with Clark... Carol!!! You have no idea how hard I snorted. And then Jimmy blurted out Clark's inexperience to Lois - LOL. And a sweet ending - a nice lead in to the next ep. Cute story Carol. -- DJ
Smile and the world smiles with you ... frown and you're just giving yourself wrinkles.
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 544
Columnist
|
|
Columnist
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 544 |
Sorry I'm coming in so late with fdk. I really liked this story. I think my favorite line was when Lois thought that Martha should be in charge of the universe. Priceless! Wonderful job, and you definitely haven't lost your touch!
Silence is golden.
Duct tape is silver.
~Saw it on a T-Shirt.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,302
Top Banana
|
|
Top Banana
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,302 |
Symbolicangel and DJ, thanks DJ, that comment from Clark was a result of ML's usggestion for maybe a bit of nfic. So I added that - its a bit of gfic - nfic:) I think , though, that she was hinting that Clark and Lois might do a bit of, er, haylofting. c.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,454
Pulitzer
|
|
Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,454 |
Oh, very nicely done, with touches of angst and WAFF and fluff and some lovely uses of humour along the way. Of course we all know that Martha has stuff on Superman. And I love the thought that she has stuff on Perry too! And poor Clark. Forced into confessing his virginity to Jimmy by a conversation that just escalated on him, and the first thing Jimmy does is tell the woman Clark would probably most not want to know. Well, apart from Martha, perhaps. Nice segue into The Phoenix, too - keeping it canon but giving us a little more understanding of why he asked her out. Lovely piece! Wendy
Just a fly-by! *waves*
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,883
Merriwether
|
|
Merriwether
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 1,883 |
Carol, I just realized that I never came back and told you what I liked so much about this story. And of course I've forgotten the details from the first time I read it, so now I get to read it again! *rubs hands in anticipation* placed three thick reports on top of it Like hiding it will make it go away! Cautiously, she lifted the reports; it was still there Told you, Lois. I like this, Carol - this strong, confident woman can still be a bit childish and stick her head in the sand, just like the rest of us. Well, there wasn't, of course. For this, she blamed Perry White's inability to assign her at the appropriate time to anything Metropolis related that was out of state or in a foreign country or the backwoods of Canada or wherever - there were so many possibilities if he would have just given it some thought. The Chief had absolutely no imagination!
It wasn't as though there wasn't a perfectly good conference on municipal sewage disposal, in Philadelphia, this weekend. Oh, she'd dropped hints all right; Perry had even picked them up, and then assigned Ralph! The new guy Ralph Whatshisname. The one with the bad suit, the eyes that wandered where they shouldn't, and no discernible talent of any sort. He was the one who got to go to Philadelphia! Perry is such a presence in these two paragraphs, even though the whole thing is in Lois's head. And it made me laugh, too! Martha probably had stuff on Superman, too. Embarrassing photos or something. Lois, you have no idea. Martha Kent was pretty amazing - Lois thought they should just put her in charge of running the universe. I agree! And I love that Lois thinks this. "Jonathan, you knew," Martha whispered accusingly. He did nothing but smile, and still Martha knew. You can read 50 years of companionship in that one sentence. She'd done this before, Lois told herself sternly. The Corn Festival - she'd had fun that night, she and Clark. But so long ago - before Lex, before Mayson, before everything had changed so much between her and Clark Kent.
Before she knew Smallville. I love this. Can't put my finger on why, but I do. "Mom, who's that with Maisie?"
"Her new husband, Tommy Trucker."
"Mom, his name is not Tommy Trucker."
Martha laughed. "No - I don't remember his last name, Clark honey. Maisie's only known him five weeks, and that includes two weeks of wedded bliss. He's a trucker, just like her last two husbands - occupational hazard when you work at a truck stop, I guess." She paused. "Good looking trucker though."
"Mom!" Your Martha is so excellent, I can't even put it into words. I could see a woman wanting to marry her son just so Martha could be her MIL! (The fact that her son is Clark is just double incentive.) "You know it wasn't until my first year at college that I even got to third base ..." He looked sideways at Clark for a moment, then raised his beer to his mouth. "I sure could sure use some advice. How do you get that home run, CK?"
"What?"
"You know - get a girl to make a man of you. How do you do it?" Oh my god. Poor Clark. I can just see his face. Finally he blurted. "It just never came up."
Jimmy's widened. "You mean, you can't... Gosh, I'm sorry, CK - have you seen a doctor about this?"  he'd been so distracted by (Lana's) prettiness until the day she'd betrayed Rachel. I'd love to read this story. Yeah, I suppose that's one way to refer to it. Unbidden, the memory of his kiss in the Honeymoon Suite slipped into her mind. Yep, all the parts of a man. In solid working order, too. She blushed, smiling to herself, and tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. You've given Lois a wonderful voice in this story. It's great. "You're so damned ... whole."
He was stunned. Whole? All his life he'd been searching, always knowing something was missing. A piece of his soul. And then one day he'd walked into the Daily Planet and there she was.
"Lois... No, never - not until I met you."
She raised her head then, looked at him, met his dark eyes, the turmoil in hers gentled by the depth of emotion in his.
"Oh." A sigh escaped her lips, and the tension slid from her shoulders. "Oh" she breathed. And she dances away with Wayne Irig. This is no less than perfection. No big scene, just a quiet little change, a quiet little understanding. It's so darn wonderful that I want to sweep it up in my arms and hug it! (I realize that sounds very strange.) Carol, I hope you'll be gracing us with more of your writing soon. I'm hooked. Lisa (who, on second thought, was actually hooked way back at Recognition (Truth) .)
lisa in the sky with diamonds
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,302
Top Banana
|
|
Top Banana
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,302 |
Wendy, thanks so much. Yes, Terry's ad for Kansas Tornados was perfect. Lisa, when you get back with details, you don't mess around. Thank-you - it's great to know which bits worked. This story was really about family:) I could see a woman wanting to marry her son just so Martha could be her MIL! quote:
he'd been so distracted by (Lana's) prettiness until the day she'd betrayed Rachel.
I'd love to read this story. Shameless plug here: It's a very, very short fic called "Don't Tell" which I wrote about Clark when he was 17. Thanks! carol
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,994
Pulitzer
|
|
Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,994 |
Oh, what a charming story!
James
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,764
Pulitzer
|
|
Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,764 |
I missed this the first time 'round. Very sweet . Love that Mayson wasn't there . Carol
|
|
|
|
