Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: Blind Faith - Part 2

FDK goes here. Same drill as last time: I welcome every kind of feedback -- good, bad and ugly. So have at it!

Well, you've figured out how to hang ten at the cliffs. This was one of the better "reader incentives" I've ever read. And it's a pretty interesting twist on the episode, too.

But if there were two bodies on the floor, why wasn't the Planet's newsroom cordoned off by the police as a crime scene? Could the police have finished all their work in such a short time? Apparently that was the reason they kept Lois at the precinct for so long, to try to make sure she had nothing to do with the deaths, but now Perry's going to wonder if Superman didn't have something to do with the dead men.

Ooh! Martha's suggesting that Clark tell Lois The Secret! And Jonathan seems to agree! Also very interesting. Will Clark's eyesight ever return? If not, will he get a canine guide and name it Krypto? If Clark doesn't spill the beans, when will Lois figure it out? Will Clark get a disability pension?

I wonder if Clark's heat vision still works. He obviously can't use his other vision powers, but the heat? Maybe that's how he'll regain his sight. Crazier things have happened!

Neat story! Next chapter is when?

You raise a pretty good point, Terry. Perry is the prototype of all workaholics, so he could have gotten in at 7 AM or so. That would mean that by the time Lois gets there, it's been anywhere between five and six hours since he called them.

Could they have finished all they needed to do in five hours? If they'd found themselves on the receiving end of a White-style yelling contest a few times, would they have worked a little faster just so they could get out of there ASAP?

I don't know. Maybe I should throw in a reference somewhere to at least part of the newsroom being surrounded by police tape.

Yeah, think I'll run with that.

Thanks for your thoughts!

Next chapter should be up Friday at the latest. Could be sooner, but I'm not making any promises on that.

Awesome installment!

I agree with the minor point about police tape - easily fixed.

Also, I usually don't like stories written from the first person point of view, but you make this work.

Looking forward to part 3.


Irene

Hi Pedendang

Hey HappyGirl!

I wish I could take credit for the idea of having Lois and Clark be each other's Audience of One, but it's actually not mine -- it's the show's.

Lois and Clark are supposed to be soulmates. The idea is that they end up together in any universe, and deep down, they've always known they should. This is my take on that.

For Lois, at this point in her life, it is of course Superman and not Clark, but that's just because she doesn't yet realize they are one and the same.

I think writing the story this way adds a certain intimacy to it that I like; it's also a not-so-subtle kind of foreshadowing, but then I've rarely (if ever) seen a Lois & Clark story where the two do NOT eventually become soulmates in every way -- so I don't think I'm really spoiling anything by doing this (or telling you about why I'm doing this).

What's true about so many things in life, including life itself, is also true for this story, and for pretty much every LnC story out there: it's not the destination that counts. It's the journey. As LnC fans, we all know where the journey leads, and yet we keep coming up with new ways of getting there.

There are certain constraints to writing in this fandom, BECAUSE we all know what the outcome will be. But I've found that constraints like that can actually be a great stimulus to get creative -- and I hope the journey I come up with will be a fun trip for all of you.

That was quite the cliffhanger all right! Definitely a twist that caught me by surprise.

Of course, assuming it is the bad guys who were found in the newsroom, it does take care of the problem of there being witnesses to Superman's blindness. In fact, if Lois has kept Superman's blindness a secret thus far, even from the police, and the two guys that did it are dead ... what's stopping Clark from becoming blind as *Clark*, and having Superman just disappear for reasons unknown? Hmm ...

As for Clark's learning to deal with his blindness, he's very lucky to have his parents there, and I'm sure they're going to be a big help to him as he has to learn how to navigate this. The only thing I wasn't quite sure about was how many things he kept knocking down in his apartment. Granted, there are certain things that he either can't do or hasn't learned to do yet -- shaving (can't) and eating with silverware (will have to practice). But given that he's lived in his apartment for a year, I would have expected him to be able to navigate fairly well in the dark, at least as far as finding his way to the bathroom, finding the on/off switch on his clock radio, knowing where the major furniture is, etc. After all, these are things that most of us have to deal with occasionally while sleepy in the middle of the night, so I would expect Clark to at least have a little bit of experience with it, even if he has to slow down a bit as he walks.

Unless, I suppose, you're going with the idea that with his excellent eyesight, he's never had to learn to navigate in a completely dark apartment and thus is at a larger disadvantage than a normal human would be as a result ... Hmm, again!

Lots to think about here. Looking forward to part 3!

Hey, Kathy.

Thanks for reading, and for commenting .

Concerning the difficulties Clark has finding his way in his own apartment... Well, there are a couple of reasons I decided to go with this 'knocking things over' idea.

First, we saw Clark accidentally knocking a car into the next zip code on the show, when he stumbled on the street in front of Lois' apartment. We also saw him inside Lois' apartment, breaking something (I think it was a lamp, or a vase, or something like it) by putting too tight a grip on it.

Those two things have led me to believe that when he doesn't have his vision intact, Clark has trouble controlling his strength. This could be because, without a visual clue of what exactly it is that he's dealing with, he doesn't know how much force will be required/appropriate to get the job done. I compare it with picking up a milk carton you thought was (almost) full, only to find out that it's actually empty. For us 'normal' humans, the only truly noticeable effect is usually that we end up levying the empty milk carton a little higher than intended. But when you're as strong as Superman, I imagine something like that can have much bigger consequences.

I realize that this wouldn't be an issue with the alarm clock, because Clark knows exactly what he's dealing with there (he's seen the thing before, after all). But the idea is not that if he tried to switch on the radio, he would *actually* knock it into his downstairs neigbor's living room. The idea is that he's afraid that he will, and so he doesn't even bother trying. It's just one of the many ways in which this newfound blindness is changing him -- because Clark/Superman has never before had a 'can't-do' attitude about anything, but now he does.

Second: yes, I do think that Clark usually has better night vision than most of us, so he hasn't really had to learn to navigate in the dark until now. Also, have you ever actually tried walking around your apartment with your eyes completely closed? I have, and my experience is that there's a huge difference between walking around in the dark, and not being able to see anything at all. Then again, that could be just me. I tend to be the clumsy sort .

But if most people don't think this is a realistic depiction of what sudden blindness could/would be like, maybe I should remove a couple of references to the extreme clumsiness... I'll think about that. If anyone else wants to weigh in on the issue, feel free!

And once again, Kathy, thanks for your comments!

Hi Pedendang,

Re the blindness = loss of control over superstrength issue:

I think you're in line with what the show portrayed. I do think the show went beyond what one would predict. They did it for comic/dramatic effect. But, since they did, it's now cannon and you're staying true to it in your story. Your explanations for why that might be so sound as good as any. ;-)

Great read
I didn't expect the murder but still sort of felt some foreboding in this direction while I was reading it. I was, however, waiting for Lois to get arrested, even if it's just for killing Officer Jones :p

Michael

The problem I see for telling people that Clark is blind is that at least three people know that Superman was blinded. Mayson, Dr. Bannergee, and Lois' contact at STAR labs. This is assuming that the two people killed were Dr. Leit and his assistant.....

The two people from STAR labs might not have much contact with Clark, but Mayson does. Lois is going to have to think of a great cover story so that Mayson doesn't find out Clark's secret. (See Clark, this is why Lois needs to know! )

Ooo, Mayson ... forgot about her. Yup, you're right. Clark's just plain screwed. *g*

I like this story very much. I did not find Clark's clumsyness over the top at all. I found it perfectly understandable. Plus, as already pointed out, this story is an extension of an actual episode which set the canon. (I'm not sure if I'm using the right phrase here - "set the canon" - , but you know what I mean.)

One thing I did notice is that Clark mentions several times that things are "dark" or "black". I have actually heard that blind people do not see black such as seeing persons do when we close our eyes. It was described to me in the following way: Stand in front of a slightly open door and put your hand into the other room. Close the door as much as possible. Stand in such as way that you are not looking through the slight opening in the door where your arm is. What you should see is just the back of the door. Now, try to "see" the adjoining room with your hand. What's in the room? Obviously, you don't know. Your hand can't see! Is it dark? Is it black? No. Your hand doesn't see black. Your hand doesn't see darkness. Your hand simply does not see ANYTHING.

Anyway, that is the way it was described to me.

But it's a minor point, and I can't even swear I'm right, having never been blind. It certainly doesn't distract from the story, which is totally enjoyable.

When will we get Part 3?

How many parts do you anticipate altogether?

Hi Vicki,

First of all: thank you for reading, and for commenting of course .

Obviously, I've never been blind myself, either. I've known a few people who were born blind, but for obvious reasons, they were unable to describe what blindness is like as compared to the experience of someone who can see.

On the off chance that there's someone reading these boards who has lost their vision at some point in their lives, I would of course appreciate any input they might have. Failing that, I'll take Vicki up on her suggestion. After all, I suppose *some* sort of visual ability is required even to do something as simple as distinguish 'blackness' or 'darkness' from anything else. Maybe 'emptiness' is a better word?

This is going to be a story in at least twelve parts, and the next chapter should be up some time tomorrow. I've been re-writing parts of it, however -- I'm the kind of person who writes something in an hour, and then spends two days revising it to death -- and I haven't had the guts yet to send it to my lovely BR as-is. So what I'm saying is: when the next chapter is up will depend on her schedule, too.

This is why it helps me to put myself on some kind of 'publishing deadline', by the way: at least now, I know I'm going to have to be done with it at *some* point. Otherwise, anything I churn out just gets rewritten into oblivion, and then dies a silent death in an unfrequently visited corner of my hard drive.