Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK - Awaken My Heart (21/?)

I have very little time.

I will have no internet access from Wed morning until Fri evening as I travel home to Australia. I don`t think I will be able to get Part 22 posted before I leave.

Thanks so much for your patience.

Hope you like the ``cliff-hanger``!! :p

Corrina.

Argh! What a place to end it!!

I'm glad Lois was able to find the aquifer, but how will she let anyone know if she's bashed against the rocks? I'm hoping that Tek is close by and will be able to save her. Of course, this could be an opportunity for her to discover another special talent.

Riz mentioned that the trial period would be up in two weeks. Am I remembering correctly that Nor thinks his plans will come to fruition in two weeks? Are these two connected somehow?

Hmmm...lots to ponder!!

Mel

ahhh!!! so happy about the aquifier, and lois is going to discover her other powers now too, right? have a safe flight!!

Oh it is a good thing she has superpowers. What else will her vision allow her to see. Where did Tek go? Hmmmm....

Loved that this was here. Funny about the tongue kissing. With all the deepening I assumed they were doing that already! I can not imagine kissing so long without that. Strange...

Aaahhhrghh..!!!! New Krypton, you're about to have water soon!

Wonder what Tek is up to, by the way? He is probably building something that is going to be very useful, but Lois still needs to find find him and tell him about the aquifer. And she needs to tell him about Nor.

Nor!!!! AAAARRRGGHHH!!!! In two weeks, he will let loose his nefarious plans! New Krypton will need Ultrawoman to come to the rescue, that much is certain. (Will she wear a mask? No, I guess that would be superfluous. All the two thousand NKers know that a female alien from another planet recently crashed on their world, and a couple of weeks later a superpowered female starts plying the skies of New Krypton. What are the odds that the flying woman is the the same as the strange female newcomer?)

As for myself, I just wonder how long it will take before Nor discovers Earthite on New Krypton!

Ann

No time for detailed feedback, but wanted to pop in here and say I'm reading it and still loving it.

Like Lois, I was surprised at what exactly it was that kissing her made Kal want to do. He is too cute for words!

And Tek has some kind of underground lab? I'm guessing there's lead somewhere under those cliffs.

And what is Nor up to? Something that requires the children not to have working translators? It looks like maybe Ching is in cahoots with him. Or maybe he's just taken in by him.

And Kal still needs to find a way to gracefully divorce Za.

Many questions still to be answered.

Have a safe trip home.

Yet again you leave us on a cliffhanger - this time literally - and until you're back in Australia!!

There are loads of questions to be answered at the end of this part. Some more lovely L&K moments mixed in too. (BTW, commenting on other stories now, I'm struggling to type Clark instead of Kal, rather than at the beginning of this when it was the other way around!!)

Lois, he may have been without his jacket, or his shirt, or his... She doesn't quite have the superhero self-control yet!

I love the way you describe their passion gradually intensifying, every kiss getting that little bit harder to stop, even to the point where they have to agree beforehand - 'short kiss?'

This has been wonderful about Kal right the way through - and it brushes off on Lois. This Lois has also been very honest and open about her feelings, particularly compared to what we know of her character on earth, and this is no doubt due to the fact that she appreciates Kal's almost unthinking honesty and trusts him enough to reciprocate.

I like the way that for all the successes they have in communication, there is stil much scope for confusion, particularly where on earth we use phrases without necessarily meaning them to be taken literally. Kal always takes things literally (it's the only way he can intepret the language, though he is beginning to grasp jokes) and his seriousness is always an adorable trait.

This was simple yet so sweet.

Again, I love how now, more than ever, they think of a question and the other answers it. It's so straightforward. I like reading knowing, for a change, that they are likely to be truthful straight away, rather than begin a series of half-truths and misunderstandings that you get in nearly every other love story. (Am I making this sound a bit Tim and Amber Lake?!!! - I hope not, it's not the same at all!)

The thing is, it's unlikely that couples would be able to be this way in a lot of circumstances. The way L&K have found each other is pretty unique, as is the development of their relationship.

I always read sections like this smiling to myself and thinking 'what's he going to ask her next, how is he going to phrase it and how is she going to respond?!' You completely excel in writing these conversations, knowing the characters so well and letting us do the same.

This is such a simple, sweet, reassurance, you almost forget the wording is so bizarre!

I think she's still got plenty to explain before the wedding night!!

I love him actually calling it a 'moving kiss' when describing it to her. All their kisses now seem to have names - so sweet!

I did, like others have said, think that this was what a 'moving-kiss' entailed anyway, but the way he asked was so adorable. She still managed to pretty much say no, due to her ever-decreasing levels of self-control. I can see her giving in though - if she wasn't so busy being swept off cliffs of course!

From Kal's POV, you can see why he's worried. He's still so afraid of seeming like a freak and without asking her, he has no way of knowing what she sees as normal.

For all his innocence and naivete, *that* doesn't need to be explained. He's already familiar with not wanting to stop!



For both their sanity they really need to work out the details of being able to get married!! Hopefully, the cliff-thing will just be a minor distraction, then Lois can come back and, provided he's ok with marrying a woman who can see through walls, can fly, and is seemingly invulnerable they can get on with it!!

Poor Lois, it's a tough life she's got herself!!

Oooh, others picked up on this in other chapters. The little clues you left for us are so clever. This fic will be great to re-read and keep going 'oh yeah, I understand that bit now!'

I thought she might come to see it that way!

Hmm, maybe Ching's not such a good guy after all, or maybe he's just being led by Nor.

Poor Tek, he's trying so hard to carry on his father's good work, with so little support. Hopefully Kal will be able to eventually change this. There were lots of hints in this part of a brighter future.

There were quite a few answers in this part too, for us and Lois. It's so sad that Tek's family is clearly so influencial, yet all he is officially allowed to be is a servant.

Hmm, could the limp for some reason not be genuine?! Is he trying to appear less able and therefore arouse less suspicion in his plans to help build a future for New Krypton?

Will she end up saving Tek too, or has he disappeared underground etc as others suggest? Maybe Tek's father isn't dead? - probably a long shot!

It seems maybe one woman can solve all of the planet's problems, with the help of a strong, fair, well-respected leader.

This has to be where she learns to fly. I guess she needed a reason to want to in order to realise it.

Can't wait for the next part. Have a safe journey home.

Em

So much new information, so little time

Loved the part

Wonder how Ard's non-aging is happening.

Lois encountered blotted-out spots in the ground. Hmm, interesting. Wonder what that could be. Maybe a shielded lab? And is Tek getting transported into the lab. And did they ever find Kip's body?

The auxiliary translators are still only a short-term solution. In 20 years, when most of the current translator-owners have died, where will the auxies plug into?

Wonder how close exactly Nor's date and the end of the trial period will fall together. Will Kal's sponsorship of the new translator spell doom for him when the little girl dies or goes crazy?

Will Lois break the cliffs below or hover above the water? What a cliffhanger

Have a safe trip back home. And will you go back to EOD when you're home?

Michael

Like others, I was surprised to learn that the open-mouthed “moving” kisses were not what I had thought they were! Apparently unlike others, however, I have to admit that I am not only surprised, I am conflicted. On the one hand, the scene itself was funny and sweet. As Em points out, Kal has no way of knowing what is normal. So, I can see why he would feel embarrassed about this, and feel it necessary to ask ‘before’.

But on the other hand, I found that the realization that their kisses so far have not been what I imagined them to be takes away from the impact of the kiss Kal initiated the other night. For me, anyway.

OK, so now *I’m* embarrassed to even be having this discussion, and I don’t normally obsess over whether or not kisses in fanfiction involve tongues or not! :rolleyes: But this story is unique in that the relationship between Kal/Clark and Lois is ever in danger of tipping over to something which I would not be comfortable with – that is, a situation where Lois is entirely in control, and Kal is downgraded to almost a child in an adult’s body. And here, Corrina, I have to congratulate you, because you have *not* allowed that to happen. But part of why it hasn’t happened is because there are scenes which show Kal as strong, forceful, intelligent, powerful, knowledgeable, etc.

Which is why the kiss Kal initiated was, to me, significant. When Kal explored Lois’s mouth “with careful attention and mind-numbing thoroughness” it re-enforced in my own mind the important concept that Kal is very much a man. The more powerful the kiss, the more powerfully that point is made. This kiss also helped put Kal’s and Lois’s relationship back in balance. Lois-as-teacher-and-Kal-as-student needs to be occasionally offset by times when Kal is clearly in control. But now, I learn that the kiss I thought was so powerful was really rather tame (in my mind, anyway). To make matters worse, Lois is back in control again; Kal asks permission to use his tongue, and Lois says no!

I’m just saying that, for me, Kal's kiss of the other day was important in creating the proper balance in Kal and Lois's relationship, and now I feel a bit disappointed. I wish Kal had either asked this question earlier in the story (before the kiss he initiated), or that he had asked about something else – it doesn’t have to be X-rated, it could be something like him finding that his hands want to wander and he doesn’t know exactly where he is allowed to touch her, or something like that. I don’t know. How do others feel about what I’ve said? Am I a complete nutcase for dedicating 5 paragraphs to why I feel disappointed to learn Kal and Lois have not yet kissed with their tongues?!?

Moving along... great cliffhanger. Will Lois learn to fly? To hold her breath for 20 minutes? To dry herself off using heat-vision?

Have a safe trip back, Corrina. I hope you enjoyed your trip.

I know where you’re coming from on the 'kiss-thing' Vicki and I have given it quite a lot of thought too - don't worry!

I think, as you said, much as it seems strange to discuss 'tongues or no tongues' in such depth, the gradual, sweet, development of intimacy between L&K is integral to this story. Each step is significant because it is so new etc, and that's why it's important to know what level of intimacy they have reached in the context of their blossoming, innocent relationship.

So much intensity has been so wonderfully conveyed by fairly innocent acts, particularly as all physical contact is new and wonderful to Kal and such strong, loving feelings are new to Lois.

I thought along similar lines as you, Vicki, when I realised just how innocent their kisses had so far been, but for slightly different reasons.

I do feel that the relationship has long-developed past Lois being in complete control, particularly from when Kal set his 'plan' into motion, but before that too, he did, at times, take the initiative. I think, until recently, it was sometimes easier for him to do so, because of his lack of knowledge and experience. Lois was all too aware of where things could lead and how easily, whereas Kal was not. I think this is also though partly where my problem lies, because realising that Kal ‘kissing her’, rather than the other way round was less than I thought it was somehow takes away some of the impact.

I think the term 'moving' seemed to signify ‘tongues’ too!

This is very hard to describe, particularly as I just wrote something that described it a lot better and somehow lost it!

What I am trying (not very well) to say is that I think some of the intensity is maybe lost knowing that their kisses hadn’t really progressed, but I don’t feel that this reflects on Lois and her power to the extent where Kal seems more childlike.

As you did say, Vicki, Corrina has handled making Kal appear the physical age that he is, rather than the age of the years of life he has known, very well. Although Lois holds the greater experience when it comes to love and close personal relationships in general, Kal has led a planet and, despite how shielded he has been, he knows his own mind and has strong morals etc. What he lacks in some ways because of his sheltered existence and lost childhood, he makes up for with the responsibility he has had to shoulder etc. His maturity has not been affected at all, nor his intelligence.

The other way Lois is empowered, of course, is with her grasp of the unknown quantity that is earth language, but Kal does have a strong desire to learn this. She also possesses ideas and ideals from earth, which Kal has no way of knowing, but does have a keen interest in. He is open-minded enough to realise that there may be better ways of seeing and doing things than has always been the Kryptonian way. Kal’s ability to learn Lois’ language with such ease further emphasises his power, commitment, and intellect.

To sum up my great big waffle, my enjoyment of the fic has not been affected, but I do agree that what we learnt in this part does seem to take away a little from the kisses they have shared (especially later ones and those initiated by Kal) up to this point, particularly more recently when they have found it increasingly difficult to stop. I thought that this was due to the more passionate nature of their kisses. When Kal kissed her with ‘mind-numbing thoroughness’ I did assume things had at that point developed.

I am still completely addicted to and love this fic. It is because of this that I, like Vicki, have just written about 12 paragraphs on kissing in it!!

Hope you are home safe, Corrina, and not too jet-lagged. Hope for more soon.

Em

I, too, loved this chapter. And I really laughed when I realized that you'd left us with a literal cliffhanger. LOL, that's awesome.

But I was especially delighted to read this:
This plot point had occurred to me earlier in the story, after Lois had first read to the children, but I didn't say anything at the time because I'd feared I'd just noticed a major plot hole. I went back and forth about whether to say anything, and decided that I was enjoying the story too much to risk you pulling everything apart to to rework it <g> so I figured if the issue wasn't resolved at the end of the story, I'd mention it then, so you could make changes for the archive. Let me tell you, I feel really silly now -- I was all worried for nothing!

Now, putting my $.02 into the kissing discussion ...

I'd originally held off in posting my feedback in this chapter because something felt "off" to me about that one scene, and I was having a hard time getting it to gel in my mind to write about it. But having read Vicki's comments about how important it is that Kal always appear as a fully participating man, even when his experience level is that of a child, I was finally able to grab hold of it and say, "That's it!"

No question, there was a lot of sweet humor to be found in how innocent his request turned out to be, but at the same time, I found myself amazed that Lois had never used her tongue in their kisses before now. I have no problem believing that Kal wouldn't initiate such contact, but I find it hard to believe Lois wouldn't have just automatically done so as soon as their kisses grew more intimate, which would have taught him right from the beginning that it was OK for him to do so as well.

I do think there is an easy fix, though. My suggestion would be to make Kal's question about something different but related -- specifically, his "embarrassing request" should be that he wants to kiss and lick other parts of her body, not just her mouth. That would make Lois's response, to me, a lot more understandable -- yes, deeper kissing can bring up deeper desires, but they are both adults here and won't generally get carried away by this alone. (Especially given the descriptions you'd provided earlier, which did indeed imply there were kissing fairly deeply already.) But pushing aside some clothing and kissing other body parts (even if it was something that we'd consider quite innocent, like a neck or shoulder) is still a notch up on the intimacy scale, and one that would logically prompt Lois to explain why they had to tread carefully.

Have a safe trip home! I'm ridiculously eager for more of this story, but in the meantime, I'm basking in the joy of participating in the wonderful, meaty discussion threads that this story has inspired.

Kathy

That's exactly how I felt, Kathy. I really struggled with how to comment on the point without making it sound like it had taken too much away from my enjoyment of the part as a whole. I ended up commenting on how sweet it was, (which it was, I still smiled throughout!) but didn't go into what didn't feel quite right.

Also posted by Kathy:-

I guess I thought that too, though it hadn't fully occured to me. I just knew I thought things had progressed a while back. I think at the point when they first shared a 'moving kiss', of course initiated by Lois, I took this to mean she had added a little tongue exploration and it had gone on from there!

I like the suggestions for what Kal could have asked instead, those are more what I expected him to say.

I too am very, very, keen for the next part and to see exactly how Lois saves herself from her fate (not realising yet of course that she can!). It is because this fic is so great that we find ourselves involved in these long-winded dicussions and I am very much enjoying being a part of it.

Em

Hi everyone.

I'm home and it was great to find some FDK waiting for me. I'm going to attempt to answer it - but I'm not guaranteeing it will make sense.

My 5 hour flight from NY->LA ran 1.5 hours late so we had less than 10 minutes between flights in LA. LA to home was close to 15 hours. A total of 20 consecutive hours on a plane has left my brain scrambled.

Mel Thanks, Mel.

I wasn't sure about leaving Lois so precariously placed for a considerable length of time, but I assumed most people would realise she will find a way out of this - I mean we wouldn't worry if I left Clark there, would we?

Sarah Thanks, Sarah. You're right about Lois - she'll be fine.

Laura Thanks, Laura. See below for the whole tongue kissing bit.

Ann Thanks, Ann.

Clark was an alien on another planet. Kal is the Supreme Ruler of his entire planet. Kal can afford to be honest because he has never been hurt. Clark (pre-revelation) understands how much he has to lose if his secret gets out. I too am enjoying writing an honest Kal, but I can see why Clark made many of the decisions he did.

Lois is the alien here - being out of her comfort zone has make her nicer, more understanding, less dismissive of Kal/Clark. She has given Kal less reason not to trust her.

Thanks for your comments, Ann. I'm glad you like this Kal/Clark.

Happy Girl
Yep.


I haven't really got a comment, but, yeah, if I were reading this instead of writing it, that's what I'd be thinking.

Any ideas? (Only joking!)

Thanks for your FDK.

Emma Thanks for such great FDK (as usual).

Re Lois's superpowers.
I really think Lois and Clark would react differently to having powers. Glad it seems in character to you.

Michael

There's nothing more sinister going on than because of her childlikeness, she rarely stresses about things. That lack of worry, plus great looks to start with mean she looks younger than she is.

The rest of the Kryptonians have had it rough - planet being destroyed, looking for a new home, settling there, dwindling water, cold winters and the ever-present threat of war.

Ard just likes to draw!

Not yet. I have a very small buffer, although most of the end is written.

My intention had been to end at (not suprisingly!!) the ending, then use an epilogue to tie up a few loose ends. I'm now thinking the 'how' those ends get tied may deserve more than a leap to an epilogue.

Or maybe I'll end it where I'd planned to and think about a sequel??? Don't know.

However, it won't be EOD, but at least I no longer have to search just to get internet access.

Vicki I had an amazing trip, thanks. The history, the fall colours, the different cultures, the language differences, some stunning scenery - wow!

I'll attempt to answer the rest of your FDK below.

Kathy I'm glad the answer to Dom's understanding worked OK for you. Again, I can't say anything else.


Now ... about the kissing. Here's my .02 which you are welcome to disagree with.

I think we all understand why Kal hasn't initiated the tongue kissing. The diagram explained the mechanics, but I didn't think it would include tongue kissing.

Kathy explained it well.

So that brings us to Lois.

Now in my opinion (and some will disagree), the specific purpose of tongue kissing is to turn on (got to be careful here, don't want to cross the nfic line).

I realise that could be argued of non-tongue kissing, but less so?

Here are my reasons why Lois didn't do it.

1) Initially, she didn't want to sleep with Kal because she had been burned by being intimate with men who then betrayed her. This was resolved fairly quickly, as Kal showed his trustworthiness.

2) However, by then, she'd realised a lot more about Kal's experience (or lack of it) and felt it was her resposibility not to allow things to get out of control ...

Because ...

3) He's married.

4) She doesn't want to get pregnant until she knows the political implications/her future on New Krypton.

So, for me, deliberately heating things before she was ready/willing to go beyond kissing would have been a little like prodding an unexploded bomb.

And, it came way too close to teasing (in the worst sense) for me - particularly with Kal's unique situation of dawning understanding.

Another point - in the show, I think there were a couple of instances where it seemed clear that tongues were involved. But there were also a LOT of sensual, heated, passionate kisses that (for me) did not suggest tongues.

Now, *I've* spent far too many paragraphs on this topic , but I felt your discussion deserved the fullest reply I could manage with my brain completely sluggish.

Kathy said

I considered something along these lines, but felt it didn't really fit with Kal's obvious embarrassment when Lois caught him without his jacket. I know things have moved forward a long way since then, but Kal understands privacy issues with regard to (semi) nakedness.

Obviously the scene doesn't sit too well with a number of readers, so I'll review it with that in mind and may edit it out or change it or possibly even delve a little into Lois's reasoning during some of the lead-up kisses.

Thanks so much for your comments. I love that you take the time to think through and write your reactions to the fic.

Corrina.

Hi!

This was another great part but now I begin to suspect Tek. How could he disappear without a trace?

It must be scary for her ... how could such a huge wave disappear out of nowhere?

I hope you can catch up some sleep after the long travel. Get some rest.

I understand your reasoning re: the kiss thing, Corrina. It's pretty much what I thought it would be. I think, as you say, it just maybe needs some clarification from Lois' POV earlier on. That's how it felt a little strange, as we had made assumptions based on what we thought we knew.

I can see with all the uncertainties and Kal's lack of experience why Lois felt the need to keep things fairly tame, I just thought at times in earlier parts she had thrown at least some of her caution to the wind.

It's understandable Lois not wanting (probably the wrong word because she does *want*)to take things further. I didn't think this extended to 'tongue-kissing' but I do see your point.

I also think actually you're right that there were some incredibly passionate kisses on the show that probably didn't involve tongues (or weren't meant to, how much the actors were or weren't acting aside!). So yes, I hadn't really thought about it, but it is possible to convey a lot of passion through a kiss without.

Anyway, onto something else you said...

A sequel!!! This fic simply can't end any time soon!! At least not forever. And about that not-quite-promised-but-hoped-for nfic scene(s)...

Hope you're recovering well from your flight etc Corrina. Looking forward to Part 22.

Em

I love it more and more. I do not have time for feedback but just wanted to let you know I am still reading and loving it. I am anxiously awaiting the next part and hope to see it before I head out of town on Tuesday for 10 days.

Kathy
www.chili-everyway.com

I hope your flight home went well and you found time to rest. I miss your posting of the story, spoiled brat that I am. I hope we see this fiction again soon, as well as the nfic version. I could use the lift! But take your time and get rid f the jet lag,. We'll be there when you post it. Laura

Kathryn Hi Kathryn. Thanks for your FDK.

Tek's disappearance will be explained.

The wave that knocked Lois into the ocean - I'd already established that the currents are strong and the waves big. Rarely are a series of waves all the same volume and magnitude. About one in ten (on Australian beaches anyway) is bigger and occasionally there a freak wave significantly bigger than all the rest.

The cliff is not that high - just a few yards above the water. The danger is not so much in falling into the water, but in being thrust onto the rocks at the mercy of the waves.

Hope this makes it clearer.

Emma Thanks for your reply.

When I go back and edit for the archive I will probably have Lois tempted to stir in a little more heat, then decide not to for the reasons I listed.

This is just another example of where this fic will be better thanks to the input of others.

As for a sequel - I'm undecided - but I am fairly sure I will fill in some of the gaps between the end and the epilogue.

I want to get back to the Weekend in Smallville series before too long.

Kathy Thanks for leaving comments. Glad I got the next part up before you went away.

Have a great time.

Laura Thanks Laura. I keep waking up ridiculously early - which isn't great for my tiredness, but is wonderful for my writing.

(Just finished writing Part 27 )

Corrina.

Corrina,

I have absolutely *no* time to formulate a decent feedback post. I'm on my way back to the hospital. I just wanted to let you know I am still reading, and still enjoying this wonderful story. In fact, I have printed it out - just under 100 pages (47 sheets printed on both sides), Verdana 8 font, 5 columns per page.

Remember what Lois told Kal about why people write and read fiction? Well, RL has been tough this past week - my mother-in-law underwent an emergency and very high-risk surgery for colon cancer. Your story has been a welcome place to go when I need to get my mind away for awhile. Thank you for writing!

- Vicki

Edit - I put this in the wrong thread. I had intended this to be in the feedback thread for Chapter 22, which I had just finished reading. I've now read Chap. 23, also. Still no time for proper feedback, but I am loving this story!

Vicki

So sorry to hear about your mother-in-law. At least she has you and your husband there to support her through this time.

Thanks for your thoughts re the fic and I'm so glad it has given you an outlet during a stressful time.

Corrina.