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Top Banana
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Top Banana
Joined: Apr 2013
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Nicely done chapter. It was interesting that the one thing Lois would have loved to hear, an interesting story about something that had happened in Lex's youth, is the one thing Lex wants to forget ever happened and would never recall to a soul. Possibly something to do with Lois' upbringing where Sam and Ellen attempted to approach Lex's style of living and Lois recalls that with great disdain. At this time she had been to Smallville once and had a better understanding of what makes Clark tick than all of the discussions she would ever had with Lex.
Beautiful contrast in personal styles here. Both this and the last chapter were very nice characterization pieces.
Oh and it will be nice to see how Lex responds to Lois' declining his proposal...
Mike
Last edited by Mike M; 05/11/18 01:05 PM.
Create all the happiness you are able to create.
Remove all the misery you are able to remove.
Jeremy Bentham
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Kerth
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Kerth
Joined: Jun 2011
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Very well done chapter! I love how you've had Lois comparing and contrasting her date with Clark to her date with Lex. The fact that she's treating the whole thing like a science experiment definitely underscores how non-existent her interest is in Lex. The cold, placid Lex kiss made me squirm and make a  face. Clark's realization about encouraging her affections as Superman is monumental, and something we really didn't get to see from him until season 2 in the show. (Even then, a lot of his interactions wind up back there, with a he-just-can't-help-himself vibe.) Curious to see if he'll be able to keep that promise though. All in all, another great part. I'm excited for the next part! And nervous... What will Lex do next? Will Lois go running straight back to Clark? /eyes balcony setting warily and wonders if Superman will have to make an appearance after all/
Last edited by Mouserocks; 05/11/18 01:14 PM. Reason: Typo
Nothing spoils a good story like the arrival of an eye witness.
--Mark Twain
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Features Writer
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Features Writer
Joined: Jul 2004
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Lex is a lonely man: Clark has risotto, Lois and sweet kisses, he has turnips, Chef Andre and well, turnips.
"I'm red-eyed, tired and drunk" Teri Hatcher
"Fun will now commence" 7of9
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Apr 2003
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I've been following these feedback threads and delighting in the fact that you all are enjoying the story as much as I did. I love seeing the readers gush over the same scenes that I did when Tracey allowed me to BR.  But I wasn't compelled to post myself until I saw SJH's comment above. I nearly sprayed my screen with my drink.  I can see it now ... a spin-off series with Lex and his root vegetables. Fan favorite episodes include "The Green Green Glow of Parsnips", "Never On Turnip Day" and "Swear to God, This Time It's Not Rutabagas".
Last edited by KathyB; 05/12/18 11:14 PM.
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Dec 2004
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Great part! Love how they both can’t stop thinking about those kisses and how Lois is comparing Lex to Clark to the whole evening. Yay to her turning down the proposal. Can’t wait to see what happens next.
Superman: I hear you've been looking for me.
Lois: All my life.
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,660 Likes: 10 |
Part Four was all about contrasts and emotions. On autopilot, she made her way into the building and took the elevator to the penthouse floor, punching in Lex’s private security code when prompted. Her legs felt wobbly as the elevator rose higher and higher. She turned her head, catching her reflection in the mirrored side of the elevator. For a moment, she just stared, wondering at the woman in the reflection. That woman didn’t look comfortable or excited; in fact, she was expressionless. She looked like an expensive doll, beautiful but lifeless.
Was that Lois Luthor? Yes Lois, that is the person you will become should you allow Lex to slide his ring on your finger. His all powerful need to be the most important person in the room will cause Lois Lane to be nothing more than a mannequin. Ultimately devoid of anything approaching life giving emotion. Glad the reflection made you shudder, it shook off the last of the blinders. “Oh, wow.” She didn’t have to feign her impressed expression. She took a small sip and rolled it experimentally on her tongue, savoring the flavor. “That’s amazing. I’m sure it was an expensive purchase.”
His grin broadened, Cheshire-like. “To the tune of $38,000 dollars a bottle.” What?! Talk about bragging!  Expensive boarding schools, money, power, pleasure: they were pursuits Lois didn’t understand. She looked over at the urbane, sophisticated man who sat across from her, and it was almost as if she was emerging from a dream. She had nothing in common with this man. She had no desire to spend the rest of her life this way, high atop a penthouse balcony, discussing business politics while drinking insanely expensive wine and eating a meal that she couldn’t even pronounce.
Decisively, she put down her fork. “Lex, we need to talk.”
His lips upturned slightly as he picked up his napkin and dapped at his mouth. “Haven’t we been?”
“No.” She pushed her plate away. “I mean really talk. About us.” She took a deep breath and plunged ahead with what she’d come here to say in the first place: “Lex, I can’t marry you.” Good! Forget about talking, get out of there! 
Morgana
A writer's job is to think of new plots and create characters who stay with you long after the final page has been read. If that mission is accomplished than we have done what we set out to do, which is to entertain and hopefully educate.
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Kerth
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Kerth
Joined: Jun 2011
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Fan favorite episodes include "The Green Green Glow of Parsnips", "Never On Turnip Day" and "Swear to God, This Time It's Not Rutabagas".  Hahahaha, I haven't laughed so hard in a long time as I did at that last one.  Thank you, KathyB. "Swear to God, This Time It's Not Rutabagas" is going to stick with me for a long time.
Nothing spoils a good story like the arrival of an eye witness.
--Mark Twain
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2003
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Great part! I very much enjoyed seeing Lois slowly realize what her relationship with Lex really is. It always bothered me that she hadn't done that in the show! Looking forward to more! See ya, AnnaBtG.
What we've got here is failure to communicate...
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Hack from Nowheresville
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OP
Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 173 |
Thanks for the comments on this part, everyone! They are so appreciated. Mike - I always enjoy your comments. Always insightful. At this time she had been to Smallville once and had a better understanding of what makes Clark tick than all of the discussions she would ever had with Lex. Yes! She knows Clark in a way that she would never be able to know Lex, because Clark has always been willing to share with her (well, except that one thing  ) Even though Lex has told her bits and pieces, there's a lot about him that's still a mystery, and probably always will be - Lois realizes that now. Beautiful contrast in personal styles here. Both this and the last chapter were very nice characterization pieces. Thank you! What a nice compliment Mouserocks - thank you for commenting! I appreciated this - The fact that she's treating the whole thing like a science experiment definitely underscores how non-existent her interest is in Lex. The cold, placid Lex kiss made me squirm and make a sick face. Exactly what I was going for there! And don't worry, I totally made the same face while writing it. At first, I wasn't going to have her kiss him because of the yuck factor... but then I thought, nah, she's Lois Lane - girl would totally do it, lol. All in all, another great part. I'm excited for the next part! And nervous... What will Lex do next? Will Lois go running straight back to Clark?
/eyes balcony setting warily and wonders if Superman will have to make an appearance after all/ Love your questions! I think they'll be answered in the next part. SJH - Lex is a lonely man: Clark has risotto, Lois and sweet kisses, he has turnips, Chef Andre and well, turnips. Like Kathy, I totally laughed out loud at this comment. Of all the things I thought people might write about this part, that comment had not occurred to me, lol. But I love it!! Yup, Lex and his lonely vegetable life.  And thanks for stopping by the fdk thread, Kathy! I thought I laughed hard at SJH's comment, but then I read yours - I can see it now ... a spin-off series with Lex and his root vegetables. Fan favorite episodes include "The Green Green Glow of Parsnips", "Never On Turnip Day" and "Swear to God, This Time It's Not Rutabagas". - and just about died laughing. Like, in my kitchen, at my dining room table, laughing like a crazy person. And then there was lesser known, but still-beloved eps "That Old Beet of Mine"and "Carrots, Lies, and Videotape"... eh, we could do this all day Great part! Love how they both can’t stop thinking about those kisses and how Lois is comparing Lex to Clark to the whole evening. Yay to her turning down the proposal. Can’t wait to see what happens next. Thanks, jackiek! I mean, who wouldn't be thinking of those kisses, right? Morgana, thanks for your comments, too! Yes Lois, that is the person you will become should you allow Lex to slide his ring on your finger. His all powerful need to be the most important person in the room will cause Lois Lane to be nothing more than a mannequin. Ultimately devoid of anything approaching life giving emotion. Glad the reflection made you shudder, it shook off the last of the blinders. Glad that her visit with Lex worked for you! That's what I was thinking - I wanted her to really envision what a life with Lex would be like. Great part! I very much enjoyed seeing Lois slowly realize what her relationship with Lex really is. It always bothered me that she hadn't done that in the show! Yes, Anna! That always bugged me, too. So part 5 is next, and it's the last one. Thanks again, guys! Tracey
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Aug 2016
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I can see it now ... a spin-off series with Lex and his root vegetables. Fan favorite episodes include "The Green Green Glow of Parsnips", "Never On Turnip Day" and "Swear to God, This Time It's Not Rutabagas". I agree with the last one. Have you ever eaten rutabagas? If not, DON’T.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 179 |
A truly great chapter. I’m enjoying this story a lot… Material things are a great way to realize what would be involved in a marriage to Lex. Glad to see that Lois is coming to her senses, realizing that she merely would be a trophy wife for Lex’s autocratic manners. You weaved psychology and description nicely and ended up with Lois’s detailed flow of consciousness, which is both enlightening and enjoyable. Lex’s kiss was disturbing, and it sealed the coffin on their “relationship”. I also loved the way Lex mistook Lois when she said “we need to talk" Lex uses words to cover his meaning, Lois uses language to delve into meaning. They are on different planes of relationship, as language is a tool for Lex, but a tool used to put his real meaning in shadows. The exact contrary of Lois’s investigations skills. You did a stellar job showing that to your reader. I also liked Clark’s realization that he was confusing Lois with Superman. I always wondered why Clark, an intelligent man, didn’t think of it sooner… No matter what happened from here on, he couldn’t keep distracting Lois by flying by her apartment late at night and dropping in for a little chat, no matter how badly he wanted to see her. If he wanted Clark Kent to have any real chance, he needed to start treating Lois more like a friend when he was in the cape, instead of encouraging her crush on Superman.
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
Joined: Jan 2007
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Hi Tracey! I loved this part. I've mentioned before how much I love Lois's introspection in this story, but her reliving her date with Clark and especially the kisses that they shared, was marvelous. Not only reliving it, but associating everything she did with Clark's affections and then catching herself fantasizing about Clark in a way she hadn't allowed herself to before. I hope this helps her realize that Clark is the man for her. Yay for Clark's realization that he needed to keep Superman away from Lois so as to not muddy the waters any more than he had in the past. Smart man, Clark. Oh, and the date with Lex was so interesting. I don't think I've seen anyone explore a date with Lex so clinically before. She really was a scientist the whole evening, almost calmly deciding to do something - like kiss Lex or ask him to share a personal story - and then finding him lacking in his response. He smiled smugly. “I would’ve thought you found out all you needed to know about me a moment ago.”
Ugh. The haughty smile that she might have found charming a week ago now made her want to shake him. She wanted to say, ‘Found out what? That I want to kiss Clark way more than I want to kiss you?’ but she refrained. LOL! I loved her response. She's too smart to say her thoughts out loud, but it would have been so brash (and satisfying for me) to tell him to his face. I always fear that Lois will be in danger when she turns Lex's proposal down. I hope Clark is keeping an eye out for her.
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Hack from Nowheresville
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OP
Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 173 |
Just popping back in here to say thank you for some more comments... I appreciate them so much! Mille (do you mind if I shorten your nick? I always spell it wrong when I try to spell it out, lol), thanks for your comments! I'm so glad that you enjoyed this part of the story. You weaved psychology and description nicely and ended up with Lois’s detailed flow of consciousness, which is both enlightening and enjoyable. Lex’s kiss was disturbing, and it sealed the coffin on their “relationship”. Yes! It totally did. Thank you so much - your comments are always sweet and well-written! And BJ, thanks for coming by the comment thread! I love that you said this: I've mentioned before how much I love Lois's introspection in this story, but her reliving her date with Clark and especially the kisses that they shared, was marvelous. Not only reliving it, but associating everything she did with Clark's affections and then catching herself fantasizing about Clark in a way she hadn't allowed herself to before. I hope this helps her realize that Clark is the man for her. I'm glad you enjoyed her introspection, and you're right - that night truly opened up some new ways of seeing Clark! She'd shoved all 'those' kind of thoughts about Clark away for so long, but the evening spent at his apartment really did open her eyes. LOL! I loved her response. She's too smart to say her thoughts out loud, but it would have been so brash (and satisfying for me) to tell him to his face. Haha! Yes, that would have been too funny! I wonder what Lex's expression would've been if she would have said it out loud. There you go, now you have a new fic to write: Lois Lane tells Lex Luthor exactly what she thinks! Thank you both again for leaving fdk! Tracey
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