Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic fdk: Forget Paris - 4/?

I love your take on Claude.

You're take on Claude is hugely interesting. He seems...less slimy that I would expect? But as canon points out Lois stole Clark's story, too. She didn't sleep with him first, but it was still a similar offense. Maybe some reporters just get over-zealous, and Claude got caught in the front-page lust, too? I'll have to think about this some more, and keep an eye on the Butcher...

And heh, Lois as a glorified research assistant. Classic. But I have to admit, sometimes it's nice to take a break from the actual task that you screwed up in; I'll optimistically think that Lois will find some good from the ladder-climb, but ultimately we all know she's just itching to bag those French headlines, and she's a good reporter. :p

Great part!
JD

ETA: Ohmygod what if Claude has an illegal scheme up his sleeve and is putting a damper on Lois' investigative skills to keep her off the scent. /end ridiculous theory.

Fantastic version of Claude. He was once overeager and handsome. Now he's a little older and wiser and regrets his earlier mistakes.


Elisabeth

I both cringed and laughed at that line. Couldn't tell ya which was first.

Yeah, still don't trust Claude. And it just wouldn't be Lois if she just instantly forgave him. Nope, she's gotta have drama!

Can't wait for the next installment with Clark!

hey, hey, hey don't make us like Claude! I like how you wrote him as well. Lois is a research assistant she is gonna hate that!

Can't wait for more.

Hmmm, interesting take on Claude. I have to admit that he still makes me squirm on Lois's behalf. Lois stealing Clark's story was a bad and backstabbing thing, and it is good that she is forced to think about her own behaviour. But what she did to Clark isn't comparable to what Claude did to her. Making someone believe you are in love with her, sleeping with her, stealing her story while she is asleep after lovemaking, breaking her heart and making her an object of ridicule and scorn all over the office - no, the way Lois stole a story from Clark isn't even comparable! (Although perhaps in your fic, no one knew what Claude had done to Lois, and therefore she wasn't the victim of office gossip?)

I still shudder to think of Lois working for Claude. They used to be equals at work, but now he is her boss! That is so unfair. I don't usually complain about men being promoted ahead of women, in fact I don't think I've ever made such a complaint on these boards before, but it just galls me that the man who played so unfairly to take advantage of a talented and dedicated young woman and make her lose faith in herself in order to advance his own career, is now her boss!

Well, Claude was the first one who made Lois lose faith in herself. Lex was the next one. In your story, Lois has lost her 'mojo', as Jen so delightfully put it, because of the damage that Lex did to her. Perhaps she can get over her insecurities by doing som good work in Paris, although I shudder to think that she should have to prove herself to Claude! He already knows that her stories are good enough to be steal-able.

Looking forward to more, although with some trepidation!

Ann

Just to point out though that this Claude is not nearly as guilty as the Claude in canon. This Claude may or may not have been in a committed relationship with Lois. The Claude in canon slept with her only to get the story, but this Claude stumbled across the story after he had slept with her. Both Claude's are totally guilty of stealing the story and breaking Lois' heart, however this Claude didn't tell a soul about Lois so she wasn't an object of ridicule. There is a vast difference between someone who is a premeditated jerk and someone who makes a bad decision on a whim and regrets it later. That doesn't mean I like Claude, but I've made bad decisions like that too, even if it wasn't *that* bad decision.


Elisabeth

Woohoo, DJ, I managed to get caught up on this one and actually leave FDK along the way Great story

So what do have here... There is The Butcher - hilarious nickname, by the way. Lois is enjoying a glass of wine in the solitude of her room, nothing to worry about at all. No, sir, nothing to worry at all. Clark is completely confused on how to handle things and on top of it all Claude. I disagree with it being a different Claude-situation than the canon-one. Lois only told Clark that she thought she was in love with Claude and one night she woke up without Claude or the story. It's only fanon that made Claude into a misogynist bastard that flat out targeted Lois, seduced her, and took off with her story. I *think* it wasn't ever even mentioned that he spread her sleeping with him around the water cooler. One might almost *like* the guy you are portraying. He is just the male version of Lois.

Oh, and Lois reaction to Michele was hilarious. Never been to France, but the cliche does paint (especially Parisan) women as a little more flirtatious. Or perhaps she is just Claude's secretary/affair and he is a misogynist pig

Looking forward for part 5, Michael

Claude who? Green eyed Jacques is the one, baby.

*WAVES*

Hi everyone! Sorry I was so negligent about responding to all this wonderful fdk. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Too much RL going on and I was out of pocket/out of town this weekend.

Hi Patrick! Thank you! I'm glad you like it. I just thought it would be interesting to see a different take on him.

Hi Jen! Ooooh, thank you! Similar... yes, but keep your eye on the Butcher nonetheless. You just don't know about him. Heh. I personally LOVED your "ridiculous theory" That definitely could have been fun.

Hi Elisabeth! I'm glad you like this take on him. Yes... older and wiser... err... we hope.

LOL Squirky! I'm glad to see you appreciated that line. Lois is the drama QUEEN. Heh. Thanks for the fdk.

Hi cp33! Hee hee... sorry bout that. Glad you're enjoying it. Thanks!

Poor Ann! Don't be in too much trepidation. Never fear... there will be some Lois/Clark interaction soon. As for Claude... yes, in my story he didn't spread water-cooler talk. But really (as Michael points out below) if you go back and watch the Pilot episode (which is the only episode that Claude is even mentioned in) Lois merely says... well, actually, why don't I just quote what she says from the script? But I'll put the script quoting in at the end... right now I'm thanking Ann for her comments. Thank you!!! Hope you continue to enjoy the story.

Hello again, Elisabeth! Please see the part below that I took from the scripts. We really didn't know a whole lot about Claude... I just took his character in a little bit of a different direction. I always wondered what happened to him after his indiscretion and what would happen if Lois ever saw him again. Thanks again for the comments.

Yay! You're caught up, Michael! And thank you for all that lovely fdk. LOL - glad you enjoyed the nickname. I thought about his last name for a long time. But I can't really take credit. I was looking up French surnames, trying to pick one for Claude (since we didn't have a last name for him) and when I saw Boucher (which was derived from the profession of butcher) I just thought it was perfect - given the way he had sort of butchered his relationship with Lois. Heh. Thanks for bringing up the point about Claude. Since there's been some questions about the canonization of that character, I decided to post some script below. LOL - I cracked up at your last comment about Michele/Claude. Thanks for the fdk! Glad you're still enjoying it.

LOL SJH! I can't slip anything past you can I? No, but seriously, there is something coming up that... um, nevermind, I don't want to say anything... hee hee

Thank you all so much for your wonderful comments and fdk! Glad to know you are all still enjoying it. And please keep in mind that this story is exploring our favorite characters (and even characters we love to hate) "outside their element" and maybe not always acting "in character" or rationally. So enjoy the ride.

And here's the quote from the script:

This is the ONLY time Claude is mentioned in the series (CANON) - he is written about a lot though. So you can see, no water-cooler talk is mentioned. It isn't even mentioned whether or not Lois & Claude were dating or just had a fling. And Lois certainly doesn't say whether or not they could or could not have been assigned to the same story... so I just took a few liberties and elaborated on what we were given to create a different background for that story. As much as I love Lois, we are all guilty (at least I know I am) of being "one-sided" in the way we tell a story (or even remember it, for that matter)

Anyway, just wanted you to know that I did do my homework first... before taking liberties. LOL!

-- DJ

You're welcome and I so love your sparky FDK-FDK-style. Oh and I noted you mentioned 65 pages and pretty much done. So I take it this will be about 8 parts? That's soooo little time for Lois to explore her feelings for Claude and Jacques.

Michael, who is now wondering if part 5 will be Thursday...

Thanks.

And just to surprise you... part 5 will come... now.

Yeah, I'm thinking somewhere around 8 to 10 parts. We'll see.

-- DJ <who is running off to post>