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OP
Columnist
Joined: Sep 2006
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I know you like hearing it, so I'll say it again: You're so freaking evil! And so, so unbelievably talented. I hope you're happy that you made me cry in front of someone else for the first time in years. She would remember watching him in turn, or holding her hand out for him to come back to bed and even now sometimes she would wake up at night still expecting to see him there. When he wasn’t, and the searing reality would force her awake, she would curl up in the cushions and cry until dawn. But during the day she would sit there and usually stared at nothing for hours. Sometimes she would speak, usually to him. On most days though, she would run a hand over her tummy and whisper softly, always beginning the same way.
“Let me tell you Daddy’s story.” You had me in tears from the very beginning! “Sure thing, Doc. No wrestling… kittens?” And yet you still manage to make me laugh out loud. If I knew, I would tell you. Instead of voicing these thoughts, he bent forward again with a kiss that left her breathless and him panting for air. The urgency was there, but he was helpless against it and all he could think to do was to lose himself in her; in her eyes, the touch of her hand, the softness of her body, and the sweet grip of her thighs wrapped tightly around his waist. It was enough and soon he was lost to all but the sound of her breathless cries and the sharp sting of fingernails in his back.
In the end, he was curled against her, head resting against her heartbeat. The urgency had left but was slowly sneaking back in and he could feel it slowly creep up his spine.
“You’re shaking, and I don’t think it’s from what we just did.” Her voice was soft and inquisitive, but he wasn’t sure what to tell her. Loving fingers began to softly thread through his hair and mercifully the feeling began to ebb away once more. “Just… whatever it is, don’t go through it alone. Please?”
He answered her with the only thing he was absolutely certain of. “I love you… so much.” Sorry for the long quote, but this is my favorite part - so heart-wrenchingly beautiful. “He’s coming Lois, and I don’t think I can stop him.” His head began to shake back and forth as he fidgeted in his seat. “Even if my powers return on time, I don’t think I can stop him. Zara showed me what he can do, what he did, and he’s too strong and it’s too much, and I just, I just can’t and I-“ God, poor Clark. I'd give anything to hold and comfort him! He knelt before her on the floor, softly brushing her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “Please,” he begged softly. “You know I need you on this. Without you, I have no strength.” Is it possible to melt into a puddle of tears? Because I think I did. The night before Zod’s ship announced itself, she had had a strange dream involving aliens trying to carve her heart out with sporks. She had woken up screaming that she didn’t know how to make Flame Beast Pâté, and it had taken Clark a good ten minutes to calm her down. <insert odd sputtering-sob-laugh> You really delight in throwing my emotions around like this, don't you? You're very good at it. Then he gave her the biggest, happiest smile she had ever seen on anyone before he pulled her into a warm embrace.
He pulled back and was suddenly unsure what to do with his hands. They fluttered from her face to her arms and then down to her stomach. “Are you sure? Really? For real?”
Lois laughed before nodding. “Yep, pretty sure. So you’d better get my husband home safely, big guy.”
He pulled her in again, but this time it was for a kiss that left her knees weak and toes curling.
“I’ll have him back in time for dinner.” Such a heart warming, sweet little interaction marred so deeply by the knowledge that he wont be home for dinner. I’m so sorry, Lois. He thought suddenly, as the world came rushing towards them. I’m not coming home for dinner. Oh, god!  She struggled against the photographer, screaming. “Clark! Let me go I've got to get to him! I have to make sure he’s all ri- CLARK!” She couldn’t move then and could only slide to the ground.
It was over.
Done.
She screamed herself hoarse into Jimmy’s shirt, who didn’t bother with empty platitudes. I'm beyond words.  This whole thing is so painfully beautiful. I'm sure I'm going to be randomly thinking of this and tearing up at very inopportune times for a long while. I think you owe me a box or two of Kleenex. Amazing job. Jessi
"Lois Lane is Clark Kent's Superman." - Brian Miller
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,145 Likes: 3 |
Painfully beautiful.
Agonizingly perfect.
I love "Daddy's story."
Life isn't a support system for writing. It's the other way around.
- Stephen King, from On Writing
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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Yep, you will hear this a lot... You are evil! Very evil. But OMG, this made for such an amazing story! You write the bestest evil stories ever and I love you for that! As for the puppy dog pouts (aaawww!) you should know by now that I really can't resist those at all. *giggles* Fortunately, however, I was able to write this out pretty quickly. Quickly? AH! Try lightning fast! Cat sent me a short snippet early today and by tonight, it was all done. I don't know how she writes so fast... I just sit there and try and try... and then end up on eBay. *lol* And you have to realize that since she's been feeding me little bits and pieces of this story all day, I've been teary-eyed most of the afternoon and evening. Now that is even more evil... making a story last all day. :p This last bad guy had been amateurish at best, but what he lacked in experience he had made up for in Kryptonite.  That's the worst kind of bad guy!!! “Sure thing, Doc. No wrestling… kittens?” <snort> That's so silly! I love that! By the time she was six years old, Kaley Elaine and her mother had established a nightly ritual that would continue until she was ten. Her mother would ask what she wanted to hear for a bedtime story. The response was always the same, and even though her mother would resist at first, she would eventually relent.
“Tell me Daddy’s story." ...and here begineth the serious evilness and all the crying... GAH! “You’re shaking, and I don’t think it’s from what we just did.” Her voice was soft and inquisitive, but he wasn’t sure what to tell her. Loving fingers began to softly thread through his hair and mercifully the feeling began to ebb away once more. “Just… whatever it is, don’t go through it alone. Please?”
He answered her with the only thing he was absolutely certain of. “I love you… so much.” So sad and beautiful. *sniffles* “Mamma?” She finally croaked out and the frantic woman stilled her movements. With a small voice she hadn’t used in years, clutching a worn black and white teddy bear and tucked in her father’s old bed, she asked for something that she hadn’t asked for in a child’s millennia.
“Tell me Daddy’s story.” The "child's millennia" bit is so incredibly beautiful. And sad... OMG, sad!!! He knelt before her on the floor, softly brushing her cheek with the pad of his thumb. “Please,” he begged softly. “You know I need you on this. Without you, I have no strength.” *sobs loudly* “No, I don’t need you to come back to me." She took a deep breath, once again wondering if this was the right thing to do. “I need you to come back to us.” Rip my heart out, why don't you... That was SO hard to read! A surge of renewed strength flowed through him as he lifted his head. “My name is Clark Kent,” he growled before lunging forward again. ...and this is when I noticed there was a puddle of water around me. *sniffle* I can't tell you how much I love that you had him insist on what his real name is. OMG!!!! I’m so sorry, Lois. He thought suddenly, as the world came rushing towards them. I’m not coming home for dinner.
As the ground got closer he could hear his name ringing out through the sky.
He squeezed his eyes shut and focused out everything else but what he was doing this for. As Zod’s struggling diminished, he let his mind go out to them.
I have my future to save. You know... I've read this part at least 10 times already, but every time it has the same effect. I've got this really huge lump in my throat and I'm choking back tears like you have no idea. That's seriously one of the most poignant things I've read in a while. And the fact that you're using the comment about him not being back for dinner like he promised her before is just positively brilliant. She struggled against the photographer, screaming. “Clark! Let me go I've got to get to him! I have to make sure he’s all ri- CLARK!” She couldn’t move then and could only slide to the ground.
It was over.
Done.
She screamed herself hoarse into Jimmy’s shirt, who didn’t bother with empty platitudes. I cried so much at this! You evil mastermind, you! This was as hard to read as the death of Superman in the comics was, 14 years ago (omg... has it been so long already?) “Mamma?” she asked, so softly that she wasn’t sure the other woman had heard until the movement against her side stilled. She kept her gaze steady on the pair of anxious eyes in the mirror as she swallowed. “Do you think he would be proud?”
A soft hand cupped her cheek and directed her gaze to a pair of similar brown eyes. “He’s been proud of you since before I told him about you.” The older woman gave her a soft watery smile. “You’re his legacy.”
Kaley tried to hold back the tears, but was betrayed by a loud sniffle.
“Tell me Daddy’s story.” Now see... by now, I'm surrounded by a very large size puddle of tears. That was soooooooo heart wrenching. OMG! You know that line in you sig that says you wish to one day write a story where people's hearts are ripped from their chests, puréed and all that and that they'll be standing in line for more? I think you can stop wishing because OMG, this is so it, Cat! And, honestly, seriously, *please* I want more!!! I loved this piece it was wonderful from the very first word all the way to the last one. Thank you!!!!
Superman: Why is it that good villains never die?
Batman: Clark, what the hell are good villains?
=> Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
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Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
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Cat... That was...beautifully done, but oh so heartwrenching! I would cry loudly, but people are sleeping, so I'll refrain. Why oh why did you have to rip my heart out and stomp on it like that?  So well done... ~Anna.
Lois: Jimmy, give me back my dress.
Clark: Now there's something you don't hear around the newsroom everyday.
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Aug 2005
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First of all, Catherine, I really liked it! No, I didn't like it, I loved it. But I wouldn't have liked it if it had been a Lois deathfic. I don't think I have it in me to like Lois deathfics, and for two reasons. Over the years, I have become convinced that there is a general tendency all over the world to regard women as both less valuable and more aggravating than men, which makes it unrewarding to fight for their survival and well-being and satisfying to kill them in stories and movies for the entertainment value and katharsis and plot value of their deaths. (I strongly believe that the vast majority of you FoLCs either don't agree with me at all or else consider my reasoning totally beside the point when it comes to judging the value of a LnC fic, so I'm not going to pursue that line of argument here.) Anyway, the second reason why I can't appreciate a Lois deathfic, while I am willing to give a Clark deathfic a chance, is that I care about Lois and Clark more than what is good for me. I love them, and I frankly think of them as people with an ongoing existence, albeit a fictional one, whose future is dependent of what their owners, their trademark owners, think of them. Now I'm not worried about the continued existence of Superman, because there is no way that DC Comics and Time Warner and other owners are just going to destroy their Superman property by killing the hero off. It just can't happen, honestly. It could be that the powers that be might get tired of Clark Kent and decide to kill him off and pass the Superman mantle off to someone else, but honestly... no, I can't see that happening, either. But Lois? What is she? She's Superman's love interest, that's what she is, and surely anyone could play that part as well as her, or better? The world is full of Lanas and Chloes and Mayson Drakes and Paris Hiltons and Britney Spears. Just look at what is happening in Smallville, where a Clark/Lois pairing seems about as likely as a cow falling down from the sky. And do you know what is going to happen in the new Superman movie? No? Well, Lois is going to die, Superman and Richard are going to fight for custody of Jason, and Superman is going to find himself a new love interest. (I'm kidding... but if this really was to happen, it wouldn't surprise me!) So the thing is, I'm paranoid about Lois deathfics, because I'm so scared that the powers that be are going to kill her off for real. But I know that they are not going to kill off Clark - well, I'm 95% certain that they are not going to kill off Clark, and 100% certain that they are not going to kill off Superman - so I can regard any Clark deathfic as an "Elseworld" story, which is never going to come true in the "real world" (whereas a Lois deathfic is like a premonition of things to come to me). So! Off to some FDK on your story, Cat. In the last months before her daughter came, she would sit in the chair in the bedroom. It had been his chair, though not by any spoken rule; she used to wake up to find him in this same spot after a bad dream or even worse rescue. She would remember watching him in turn, or holding her hand out for him to come back to bed and even now sometimes she would wake up at night still expecting to see him there. When he wasn't, and the searing reality would force her awake, she would curl up in the cushions and cry until dawn. But during the day she would sit there and usually stared at nothing for hours. Sometimes she would speak, usually to him. On most days though, she would run a hand over her tummy and whisper softly, always beginning the same way.
“Let me tell you Daddy's story.” This is just incredibly beautiful, and it packs an absolutely amazing emotional punch. The idea of looking at a chair, or another piece of furniture, or just any household object that you so strongly associate with your loved one, and as you're waking up you still expect to see him near or in or beside that mundane object... and then the realisation hits you like a ton of bricks, that... no, he isn't there, and he is never coming back. Oh, it's absolutely heart-rending, Catherine. And Lois is pregnant, too. And Clark died many months before his daughter was born, perhaps soon after her conception.... And then Kaley, Clark's daughter, is going to be a superhero of her own, and... “Mamma?” she asked, so softly that she wasn't sure the other woman had heard until the movement against her side stilled. She kept her gaze steady on the pair of anxious eyes in the mirror as she swallowed. “Do you think he would be proud?”
A soft hand cupped her cheek and directed her gaze to a pair of similar brown eyes. “He's been proud of you since before I told him about you.” The older woman gave her a soft watery smile. “You're his legacy.”
Kaley tried to hold back the tears, but was betrayed by a loud sniffle.
“Tell me Daddy's story.” Beautiful. Perfect. A wonderful story, Catherine. Ann
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,977 Likes: 11 |
Woo! You posted!  Bruuu! Excuse me, I have to stop before I start crying in a public place here. And it takes a *lot* to make me physically cry, I hope you know.
~•~
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
Joined: Feb 2007
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He's been proud of you since before I told him about you!? OMG! Pass the tissues.
When Life Gives You Green Velvet Curtains, Make a Green Velvet Dress.
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Columnist
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Gut-wrenching. And so good.
Fanfic | MVs Clark: "Lois? She's bossy. She's stuck up, she's rude... I can't stand her."Lana: "The best ones always start that way.""And you already know. Yeah, you already know how this will end." - DeVotchKa
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Columnist
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Wow! I..Wow. Beautifully written. I just can't form words right now. That was to good. Rach
Me: what are you looking at *Snatches pic* OMFG! Dean smeared in peanut butter?! WTF?!
Sara: LMAO it was chocolate!! smeared in chocolate!
Me: LMFAO chocolate smeared in chocolate!
Sara: LMAO the *chocolate* isn't smeared in chocolate!
Me: that's the way i read it. was trying to picture chocolate smeared in chocolate
Sara: ROTFLMAO
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Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
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Incredible! And my husband and son have no idea why I came to dinner crying.
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Kerth
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Kerth
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Framework4
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,797 |
I cried so much at this! You evil mastermind, you! This was as hard to read as the death of Superman in the comics was, 14 years ago (omg... has it been so long already?) Just have to add, since I insisted that those who own the Superman trademark won't kill him, that DC Comics brought him back from the dead after two months... or was it three, Lara?  (And the sales figures went through the roof. I don't foresee them doing the same thing if they decide to kill off Lois.) Ann
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
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Wow--what a story!
How hard will it be for Lois to watch her daughter take up Clark's mantle, fulfilling his legacy but also putting herself at risk just like her father?
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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Just have to add, since I insisted that those who own the Superman trademark won't kill him, that DC Comics brought him back from the dead after two months... or was it three, Lara? (And the sales figures went through the roof. I don't foresee them doing the same thing if they decide to kill off Lois.) You know... you would think I would know the answer to that. I have the paperback versions of all of these comics right here. But I don't know for sure how long it took before they brought him back. They brought in these 4 people for a while... and then they brought Clark himself back. Maybe 3 or 4 months, even. I'm really not sure at all. (and I did look for the answer, but I can't find it on the web and I'm too tired to keep looking!) As for what would happen if they killed Lois... My only comment - because I honestly do not want to start a debate on this - is that they won't even try to kill Lois Lane. Why? Because to do that would literally kill Clark. His greatest weakness is the people he loves and if his wife happened to die, that would break him - completely. I'm positive about that. Besides... when do they kill the hero's spouses anyway? Not very often, AFAIK. They kill heroes, but their spouses seem to keep on living.
Superman: Why is it that good villains never die?
Batman: Clark, what the hell are good villains?
=> Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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CB, you are not  . Nay, that would be too kind. To call you monstrous would be a compliment. To call you talented would be over-stating the obvious. You have more talent in your dying hair follicles than I will ever have.  But... You are despicable. Thank you, I think. James
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 1,864 |
Best line in the story... This last bad guy had been amateurish at best, but what he lacked in experience he had made up for in Kryptonite. It makes the short list because it packs both humor and anger into one sentence. The foreboding feeling that ebbs through the story is delicious and all-consuming. The power you give to Zod is chilling. When Zod announced he was claiming the planet for himself, his voice thundered through the heads of every single human being on the planet. I love the little pieces of humor you lace throughout the story--Lois' dream, genetically altered kittens, etc. It balances the dread nicely. And your descriptions are wonderful... If she had had her way it would have been raining, angry clouds swirling around their heads as thunder and lightning warred for dominance in the heavens. I didn't quite understand this. Our coffee pot isn't very heavy, and I wasn't sure why that would shatter. This morning in their kitchen, he had barely been able to lift the coffee pot and had almost immediately shattered the coffee mug in his hands. James and I have been reading fanfic out-loud to each other all week long. (Okay, the truth is that I've been reading out loud to him since he's so good at conning me into doing it and I fall for it every time.) I don't know what I thought I was doing when I starting reading this piece to him. Scratch that--I thought, "It's only a vignette. We can get through the whole thing tonight." I managed to eek my way through the whole thing without falling apart like a blubbering idiot. I only got teary-eyed at the end. Ya'll would have been proud of me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go cry into my pillow. Elisabeth
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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Oh dear. I might start crying. That was tragically beautiful. I really don't know what to quote... it was all so heart breakingly sad! But so well written... Anyway, everyone else has already told you how wonderful it was. I just wanted to add my vote. I really don't mind a deathfic once in a while... they have a good way of making you appreciate the characters just a little bit more. And you know it's great writing when one affects you like this did me!
--Laura
Thanks to CapeFetish for the awesome icon. 
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
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Brucie, I don't know how I missed this when you posted it, but I'm glad I found it today. This is beautiful. It seems odd to say that about a deathfic, but you did such a wonderful job at bringing out emotions that I can't think of a better word for it. I felt the pain, courage, love, joy and fear straight down to my toes. Great work.
Lisa
lisa in the sky with diamonds
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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Wow! I discovered this story thanks to Jessi's FFP. I loved this story. I normally don't read death-fics (especially a Lois / Clark-death) but this was heart-wrenchingly forward-looking, full of hope and love!!!!! 
If she had to move heaven and Earth, perhaps come back to haunt Perry and explain the story after they'd killed her, she would do it.
Waking a Miracle by Aria
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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Ditto everyone else.
This is wonderful. Absolutely heart breaking and if it hadn't been for kids interrupting me continuously, I probably would have been crying too but they kept bringing me out of it so...
My favorite like was actually as they were falling. "Welcome to my world, buddy." His world. And he was going to protect it at all costs.
Two great fics I read today by Cat Bruce!
Carol
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