Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: Further On Down The Road 37/41

We're getting closer to romance between these two (or so I hope!). But the argument they had in Japan shows that they still have several issues that need to be worked out between them.

And I'm curious... what were the nuances the captain was talking about?

Words from English tend to come into Japanese verbatim, and not be translated into the equivalent, e.g. KOMPYUUTA and HAMBAGAA.

Superman is SUUPAAMAN , and Wonder Woman is WANDAAUUMAN, and Japan's own Ultraman is URUTORAMAN (and actually is usually just written "Ultraman"), so Ultrawoman would be URUTORAUUMAN.

Since you're showing their speech translated, I'd advise you to just use "Superman" and "Ultrawoman". You can give the translation you had for Ultrawoman if the policeman asks what it means, but there isn't a Japanese alive who wouldn't be able to figure out what Ultrawoman means given the name of their own superhero.

"Chou" does get used, but only in conjunction with native words, and these days, mostly by teenagers. E.g. "Chou-kawaii" (super-cute).

Interesting to see how both Lois and Clark are both uncomfortable enough with their feelings that they feel the need to talk about them with their confidantes.

I must say that I am still glad that they each got together with their respective third parties. It will make their love all the sweeter if it is a conscious decision to choose each other.


Elisabeth

This was a really gripping part, and since it consisted entirely of two conversations, I'm obviously impressed by your dialogue-writing abilities.

It kept surprising me throughout Lois's and Martha's conversation how much Lois was opening up to *Clark's mom*. Not that it seemed wrong, per se; I just would have felt much too awkward in a situation like that to keep the conversation up!

And Clark's and Perry's was great. “You’re bein’ awful defensive, Clark.” Heh. That's a classic case where the speaker is supposed to slow down, pause, and say, "Did I say that out loud?" Clark doesn't seem to have noticed, though.

Since I've just been reading Carol's Learning To Love, where Lois clams up totally about her fears and suspicions, I can't help noticing what a total contrast that is to Lois in this fic. I was amazed at how incredibly frank and open this Lois was when she talked to Clark's mom about how she felt about Clark. Personally, I would have been so embarrassed to talk about that to Clark's mom that I would almost rather have died than said what Lois said in this part.

But I'm not saying that it is wrong to portray Lois that way. Not at all. Although I am anything but an expert on the show, I think there were aspects of the show where Lois was shown to be ready to be quite open about her own problems and worries. So I'm not saying that it is at all wrong to make Lois so ready to spill her heart to Martha, but I will say that it is fascinating to compare this Lois with Carol's Lois. How different these two women are! And yet, both of them are convincingly Lois-like.

I enjoyed that Japanese part of the story. Indeed, expectations and traditions are so different in different parts of the world. I don't think that Japan is as traditional as it used to be, and I doubt that all or most Japanese policemen are like Hideki Shimusen. It was, however, very interesting and enjoyable to see Clark and Lois meet a Japanese traditionalist.

This part was very well written, as usual, and the story remains enjoyable.

Ann

Debbie, thanks for the feedback on the "chou-" prefix. I'm very ignorant of Japanese as a spoken language, so it's good to learn this. But the reason I wanted to use a native term for each of the super-powered people was to give a slightly different insight to the pair. I'm sure it didn't escape your attention that the captain began by addressing Superman as "Choujin" and ended by addressing him as "Choujin-san." It was intended to show that Superman had earned a bit of respect from this very correct police officer. And while Japanese society has indeed "loosened up" over the last generation, that's quite relative. The saying "The nail that sticks up will be hammered down" is still valid in that society today. (That's an observation and not a criticism.)

And Superman's translation of "Ultra Woman" was intended to show a bit of his real feelings for her, and to demonstrate that he's not fluent in Japanese even though he and Captain Shimusen can understand each other.

Concerning Lois's rather intimate conversation with Martha: I wanted to show that Lois doesn't have any other woman in whom she can totally confide about her life. And I wanted to show that she's got some real conflict about her feelings towards both Lex and towards Clark. Maybe Clark's conversation with Perry might have been better coming from Jonathan, but Clark's dad doesn't see Lois and Clark working together on a daily basis, so he couldn't know all the things Perry does.

Ann, thanks for the comparison to Carol's "Learning to Love," which I'm also following. I don't know that our two portrayals of Lois are so different after all. Both of them are basing their actions on the expectations of others and their preconceived notions of how others (especially Clark) feel about her. Carol's Lois is taking all that frustration and stuffing it down inside her, while my Lois is lashing out, but both of them are failing to communicate and both are refusing to deal with the root problem. This is a fairly common human condition, but I think it's definitely something any Lois would do, especially the pre-wedding-to-Clark Lois.

Thanks for reading, y'all! And thanks for caring enough about the story to comment on it. Bonus post coming up today!