This is the 2nd time I've gotten to write a story for Classicalla in a ficathon. I was happy to have a chance to do it again.

Oh, I hope the fact that Lex gets mentioned, but doesn't appear, still meets the spirit of the request.

Comments?
Bob

This was great! Really loved it! I believe you left a few loose ends that require a sequel here.

Ditto!

Ditto the ditto!

Bravo!

Joy,
Lynn

Ooh! Great little fic! Though I could've sworn you were building up to a reveal in the end... I think I might also have to say there should be a sequel! Well done!

Hi MM,

Actually, there was a reveal. Re-read the very last sentence:

Joy,
Lynn

p.s., I was thinking a bit more about the story. Thank goodness Perry sent Jimmy and not Ralph!

Quick drop by: Not so much a reveal as a discovery. In either case, at the end Lois knows that Clark is Superman. Do I need to make that more clear?

Also, I renamed the story. The Seminar was only intended to be a working title. I discussed the name with TFB and she agreed Taste was better.

Sorry for the confusion.
Bob

This was really great! I so enjoyed the whole story (and I wouldn't say no to a sequel either .

Glad you worked the reveal in there!

OK. Fair enough. Either way, it brings new meaning to the phrase, "kiss and tell."

Joy,
Lynn

Fun story! It figures that Lex would lie. Love Lois' 'discovery'. I was thinking if she saw Superman in Clark's bed wearing Clark's clothes that that in itself might be a give away. But I love how you choose to do it.

Joan

oh loved it!! A very very unique reveal!!

Thank you for sharing this story with us!

Well, I ditto the "ditto the ditto". :p It's a truly unique set-up to have the four DP reporters in that seminar. (And I can't help but wonder, how much of the stuff from that seminar is true, and how much is purely made up?) And what about people whose taste changes from to over time? (Asking from personal experience here...)

Anyway, let me send you this guy and his friends to get you to write a sequel:

And I ditto the ditto the ditto!

A rose is a rose is a rose. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet! A Clark by any other name - say, Superman - would taste as sweet, or as tastelessly clean! Really kiss-inducing!

As for giving someone mouth to mouth, isn't that called giving someone the kiss of life? Well, I love the fact that Lois was able to bring Clark back like this, in almost the same way as Prince Charming kissed life back into Snow White (or was that Cinderella?).

Lovely fic! Thank you so much, Bob!

Ann

Well, I decided to kiss my husband, all in the name of science of course! And at first I tasted a trace of his mint toothpaste, but after a few seconds, I actually didn't taste anything, and it really did seem like he just tasted like, well like himself.

I also am wondering if this concept comes from some kind of theory from elsewhere

Bobbart, you have outdone yourself once again. Bravo.

Hi Bob:
Great little story. I liked that Lois learned early that Lex was lying to her since he said 'chocolate.' Interesting premise on the whole taste thing. Is it true? I must admit I haven't kissed many people that hadn't drunk coffee!
As to this -
It was pretty subtle. I had to read it twice. If you talked about it a little longer - Lois' flummoxed reaction maybe - it would give it more punch.
regards
Artemis

I both agree and disagree with Artemis. I agree that it was subtle, but I liked it like that. Frankly, I think this is a situation where less is more. For me, at least, its very subtlety gave it a strong impact. Any elaboration would just lessen that impact. I thought it was perfect as it was.

I don't know whether that helps at all, but FWIW, there's my two cents.

Joy,
Lynn

That was lovely! I enjoyed the idea and it was very well-developed

Keep up the good work!

AnnaBtG.

I agree with Lynn, I thought that the subtle reveal was perfect.

Ann

me too

Cute, clever, enjoyable, and just plain fun. Another great effort, Bob.

In fact, this reminds me of reading stories back in the early days of the fandom when stories didn't have to do anything but just be fun to read. No heavy plots, no need to be realistic in the real world ... just be a joy to read.

So kudos to you for leaving me with a big smile on my face.

(Oh, and I definitely got the revelation at the end. )

Kathy

Hi everyone,

I’m happy that this idea seemed to have worked so well. This story came to me essentially fully formed within minutes of reading Classicalla’s requests. I spent a few days trying to think of alternatives but once this idea had taken hold there was no shaking it. If I hadn’t been focused on finishing “And The Truth…” I would have posted this only a few days after I received the request.

So, where did this idea come from? Well, there are really two sources.

The first is personal. A LONG time ago, before I met TFB, there was a girl that I liked very much. We dated for about a year but there was always a problem. She didn’t taste right. When we kissed, there was always this very subtle taste that, to me, reminded me of tobacco. She didn’t smoke and I have a negative reaction to cigarette smoke that borders on an allergic response. That’s where Clark’s reaction to Cat came from.

There is also a 2nd element of personal history. When I was young, I remember a few times when I would get sick (like a bad cold or whatever) and for the time I was sick I had trouble eating because everything tasted like soap. I remember it happening two or three times and it was awful. That hasn’t happened since I was 10 or 11, but I still remember it clearly.

The other part of my inspiration was a few scenes from various TV shows by Bryan Fuller. In the Wonderfalls episode “Safety Canary” and the Pushing Daisies episode “Bitches” the characters talk about “compatible saliva” and kissing. That reference brought back my own personal history so that when the request was for multiple kisses between different people, this idea popped into my mind and the form of the story was in place.

I guess there are really two issues that I need to speak to:
1. Lois’s realization/The reveal: It wasn’t just the taste, but that was obviously a big clue. From the moment Lois revived him, Clark was much more Clark-like than Superman-like in his behavior. It was a combination of all the elements coming together. His look, the smiles, the way he looked in Clark’s clothes and bed and finally the kiss brought it all into focus.

As for the reveal itself, it was supposed to be very low-key. However, I don’t want it to be so soft as to be missed. I’m going to stare at that end and consider modifying it to make the reveal slightly more clear. It won’t change much, very likely not at all, but I will take another look.

2. What happens next? Both Corrina and TFB pointed out that this ending simply begs for a follow on. I would love to say that I’m working on a sequel, but I don’t know where to go from here. If an idea shows up, I’ll jump on it in a second, but for now nothing has come to mind.

Lets, see…

Lynn said: Yes, in some cases the kiss is the tell.


Joan said: As I said above, that was a contributing element.


Ann said: That’s right! Somehow, that connection never occurred to me.


EvelynC said: Well, for the sake of full disclosure, I will say that what I taste when I kiss TFB is in here. (and she knows it)


Kathy said: Thank you!

Thank you all so much and I have to thank Classicalla for the idea. I should get her to generate requests for all my stories.

Bob

Oooh, that great

Really enjoyed it, Bob. Thanks for sharing. Love seeing Lois in action taking care of business or in the this case Superman. Nice ending.

Oh, my, I'm just now seeing this and I absolutely must go to bed. But I'll read it tomorrow and thank you, Bob!

That was a nice little fic, Bob, and the subtle reveal was very subtle, I almost missed it, but it was sweet too. I also think that this story could do with a sequel, if you manage to think of one.

Hi Michael:
You said: I figured that neither Lex nor Mrs. Cox build up that K-cage themselves. So, if it was built in a Lex Labs facility, what would happen if there happened to be an unrelated industrial accident while the cage was being constructed? So, in my vision, the cage itself didn’t blow up. Something in the room next door did.

Also, for the record, this question triggered some ideas that might be strong enough to use as the basis of a sequel. It won’t be soon, but I have jotted down some notes.


EmilyC:
I like “take charge” Lois. I fear that I spend too much time writing “soft and fuzzy” Lois. It’s fun to write the more “classic” Lois once in a while.


Classicalla:
I’m glad you found it. I hope you enjoy it. It was a good list. (I can never come up with good ficathon requests. I’m glad that others come up with such good ideas.)


Alisha:
I still think I’m going to leave it as is. As I said earlier, I felt a soft reveal fit this story. As for a sequel, like I said to Michael, I have some ideas.


Bob

I also really liked the subtlety of your reveal in this. It was great! It reminds one to read carefully or you might miss something big!!!

Thank you! This is the 2nd ficathon story you have written for me!


Ah-oh. Those team-building seminars are usually boring.


Lois needed that, huh? :rolleyes:


Clark is ever focused on safety which is a good thing! Jimmy, the photographer, must have had a bad day to not get better pics.


Oh, my. Me hears Lois grumbling....


Lois must think he’s Superman or something...


I think it would have been very interesting if Cat had stayed on the show.


Did you make this up?


Very Cat-like. Smoke and salt and tar and spiciness and bleach... soap. Okay, from now on I may have to think of Jimmy as “Bubbles”.


Chocolate would have been so much more fun.


And that is not a bad thing, Lois.


Since you made him taste like a skunk, I’ll forgive his presence. (And he was really only mentioned.)


Just a little one, Lois?


Yep, there sure is, but it is still instinctual to do so.


It’s actually way easier on a person than those stupid dummies. (But the compressions are pretty much the same and very tiring.)


I sense a revelation coming.


Sounds like a sequel to me.


Martyr complex.




A great way to end the story.




Well, since he is only mentioned.... Yes.





I’m glad she agreed, because I like the title better, too.


Well, I agree, especially since I already said so.


I got it on my first read that Lois had figured out that Clark=Superman. (But it was still subtle.)


I’m sure I can come up with a few!


Sorry I took so long to get back to you! (I’ve had a horrible week.) I loved the story!



P.S: I've had stuff taste like soap when I'm sick, too.

EvelynC:
You said: Thank you. I'm glad it worked.


Classicalla:
I'm glad you were finally able to read this. Don't worry about the delay. This past year has been a lesson to me in how RL can take all of your time.
I agree. Her character had a lot of potential. I would have liked to have seen that she was a mix of true professional journalist with the heart of a party girl. Too much of S1 focused of the "party" elements. I would have loved to see later seasons explore the her as a journalist. Too bad we'll never know.

I took some liberties. However, as I said in that one note above, I did have a girlfriend that never tasted quite right. So, who knows?

Thanks. I actually wrote a draft of this with no mention of Lex but it wasn't as strong. Then I tried to develop a story that was in a different time frame... again the story wasn't as strong. So, I ended up going with this and asking for tolerance of the references to L-man.

Yeah. Both Bev and I used to be CPR certified. But even if Lois had remembered, I think she would have pulled out that Kryptonite bar. I mean really - it was glowing green! Also, I believe the rules for CPR back in 1994 were 15/2 instead of 30/2. However, they are 30/2 now so that's what I went with. Jimmy and Lois went to a very advanced (temporally) CPR class.

And finally, I have collected a few notes for a possible sequel, but I can't guarantee anything. Between this and "And The Truth..." I feel somewhat burned out for the region around BaP and HoL. I need some time somewhere else.

Bob