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Oh, yeah, I really need learn how to read number references

(has also failed with *writing* number references as can be observed on own multi-part fic part totals)

Also, oooh, really, 5 extra points for necroing the Archive?

Michael

Quotes:
LOIS: You cooking, me watching.
CLARK: You're never cooking?
LOIS: It's not really something I do.
CLARK: I thought it was just lack of time.
LOIS: Lack of talent.

LOIS: The truth is what you tell me. And what I tell you. Because that's the kind of relationship we have to have.

Details:
Martha and Jonathan are in Metropolis.
Daily Planet has several parking levels (Minute 5:30)
Possibly the first Jimmy Interrupts. Lois kisses Clark just when Jimmy calls.
Top Copy is still around as a news format even after Diana Stride got discredited.
Lois and Clark discuss him not having any more big surprises. Apparently, his being a very patient man isn’t big on Clark’s surprise scale.
Clark tells his parents he has dated when Martha says the idea of him having a child is laughable.
Martha tells Clark he only started to do serious lifting after he got into junior high.
Anonymous is introduced. A terrorist for hire. Master of disguise. Never been identified.
Leigh-Anne Stipanovic steps forward, claiming to have Superman’s love child.
Lois is anxious to discredit the Superman's-Love-Child story. Lois doesn’t like seeing Jesse showing super powers. Leigh-Anne tells Lois that Superman got her Chocolates from Switzerland and Cheese from France (callback to Clark doing that in 3x01) and that he’s a super lover to which Lois spits out her drink.
Dr. Klein expects the DNA test to take four to five months due to the complexity of Kryptonian DNA. Shouldn’t that make a negative test from Jesse’s DNA much easier?
Jesse got the powers because Superman rescued a plane during Season two. Lightning struck and transferred the powers.
Tanzor and Fostonia have been enemies for a century. They are located on opposite coasts of the Black Sea. At least Tanzor is a nuclear power. It is implied that Tanzor is a former Soviet Republic.
Anonymous kidnaps Jesse so the super boy can kidnap the Tanzorian president.
Lois decides to crash the party on her own when Superman is busy.
Lois uses curling iron as a pretend gun and tells Anonymous she knows how to use it.
Lois displays very public affection for Clark in the office. She doesn’t care people are watching her kissing him passionately.

Michael

Please do!

And thanks for all the enthusiasm, guys! I'll try to get the next one up as soon as I can

Well, you don't get 2 points for being respondent #4-9, but you do get 5 for what is technically a first FDK post.

I'll have to check those out.

Hi Mary,

got my monthly tribute in!

Home 4A: A Valentine Vignette

Michael

I'm pretty sure Nan got plenty of FDK on the mailing list or on Zoomway's message boards if they were up already in early 2001 but since our boards only started in 2004 and the search didn't drag something up...

This is an entry for the FDK Scavenger Hunt: June 2024


Archived Vignette

Looking back almost 25 years, yeah, oh boy, did we get a treat after this one!

Ooooh, does this mean what it usually means? Is Lori hungry, too?







I swear this gets me every time. I read Home, am thinking she’s gonna tell Clark that she’s pregnant and then, this happens. So sad. But Nan, you did a wonderful job

You gotta love Ronnie!

And Lori, too.

And here’s the anniversary reference required by the scavenger hunt. I was looking for their first-year anniversary but this viggy is so much earlier

Oh so sweet. Oh so cute.

And readers, if you haven’t yet, go and read the rest of Nan’s Home Series!

Michael

PS:

15 points for being the first one to report back here with a tagged fic.

10 points for leaving a long FDK post with commentary having more than 3 quotes from the fic.

due to board technicality as ruled by Mary: 5 points for posting the first FDK for a fic (Must abide by the rules above, cannot just be you yelling "FIRST!")

possible: 10 points for finding the oldest fic (final tally June 30)

hopefully not: 5 points for finding the most recent fic (post date of most recent part posted by June 30)

certainly not, right? : 10 points for Most Obscure Source (Mbs and LnC Archive not eligible)

Nan’s most likely not going to show up after all these years 20 points for having the author reply to your comment

I wish…: 5 points for triggering new FDK posts from others on a comment thread whose last reply was older than one year. (these new posts must be also be posted by deadline for this achievement to count).

Loved how you described Clear being so torn. I'm glad he chose not to lie about his absence. But it's about time he comes clean.

Oh, this is so heartbreaking. Poor Clark. He's gone through a lot at such a young age. It might take a while for him to trust Jonathan and Martha enough to open up to them.

Hello again, FoLCS!

It's June, and the fandom newsletter is celebrating its first anniversary! So...what better theme for this months scavenger hunt?

Rules are as follows:

Scoring has changed up a little bit this month.

SCORING:

If anyone has any questions, feel free to post here or hit me up on the Discord. Good luck, and Happy Hunting.

Another fantastic addition to the MagiKal series. Even as the analytic part of my brain realized that you wouldn't let anything really bad happen -- or, at least, nothing permanently bad, the rest of me was feeling just as nervous as Clark, Lois, and Houdini. And that is definitely a credit to your skills as a writer.

You've provided more than sufficient motivations for him making the choice he made, so what follows is more a comment on me than either on Clark or on your writing: Even with those stakes, I doubt I would have risked it. I'm not sure whether that makes Clark braver or more foolhardy than I; perhaps a bit of both.

It looks like Clark and Houdini aren't the only ones taking risks and making themselves vulnerable today.

Oh, boy. The red-K is having the same effect as it did in canon.

Good for you, Houdini, to play chaperone to prevent Clark from doing something he would later regret.

Definitely the former. If it had been the latter, then once Houdini had separated the two of them, he would have stayed between them and tried to get Lois, not Clark, to move back. (At least that's how the dog I had had growing up would behave.)

Poor Clark. Your description of his agony is so vivid.

Awww...

Well, the positive side of Clark being powerless is that now, at last, he can spend some time in the farmhouse. (Unless, of course, he is afraid that his powers will come back suddenly and uncontrollably.)

Is it tomorrow yet?

Joy,
Lynn

#37 A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman who stopped them by Timothy Egan


Not an easy read. I didn't realize the full reach of the Ku Klux Klan. Very disturbing.

This is Mary, Queen of the Capes' "Welcome to the Tundra" Series (... unless she wants to name the series something else)

Here are the stories included in the series, in the order they were posted:

The Gift of Language

The Name of the Wolf

An Icy Reception

Welcome to the Tundra

scifiJoan, this is actually a sequel to Mary's An Icy Reception which is a crossover with her Mad-Wolf ficlets (The Name of the Wolf and The Gift of Language)

Michael

Oh, I've been waiting for you to reach this part of the story.

Intriguing start.

Complete Ficlet and FDK

Complete Ficlet
Comments

Complete Ficlet and FDK

Part of Mary's Welcome to the Tundra Series!

Complete Ficlet
Comments

Complete Ficlet
Comments

<Happy sigh> I’ve always loved Matha and Lois’s interactions on the show, and your story did canon justice.

Now Lois just needs to meet Jonathan…

Joy,
Lynn

Nice chapter. More fun and pre-romantic LC interactions. Also we get quite some background info bits about Lois. So she apparently lost her job at the Planet AND her husband...hmm...the story of Lex broke down? Hmm.. Also curious what's going on with Martha. I'm mostly sure her appointment in Smallville is related to Jonathan. Is he sick and in a hospital or something? Imprisoned by the military or someone else shady and that's her visiting him there? Dead and an anniversary where she goes to the grave? Whatever is is, it seems to take a lot of her nerves. Poor Martha.
Well obv. Lois and cooking...do not match well. Takeout is it, then. Not something Clark's used to.
That was another good one, rife with little alusions along the way.
Nick

Located here. I'm well ahead of the editing now so hoping to post more soon!

"In other words…

I. Love. You."

No, no no. No. They were so close. He's almost tortured by the decision, certain he is risking all he's ever wanted to save two hundred some-odd lives in a hijacked plane over the Atlantic. He could almost taste how close they were to something thrillingly new, and terrifyingly not pretend. And he knows that now he's blown it, and without a doubt, she's going to hate him when he returns.

He turns a few contemplative barrel rolls as he powers toward the sea, mulling how he is going to explain this longer absence to her. A hijacking can be delicate, and usually takes at least a half an hour to get under control once the plane is on the ground. First he has to land the plane. Then he has to check on the passengers inside, apprehend the hijackers and wait for the police to take over. He heard over the radio at the hotel bar that the plane was bound for Munich, but he decides to take them to Charles de Gaulle in Paris, the closest International airport equipped to handle the situation. He calculates how fast he can fly with the plane and still keep the passengers comfortable. Faster than the plane can fly itself, but it would still be another hour at least. Plus the time on the ground, one and a half hours. The party would be winding down by then, if she was even still there. Oh Lois.

He locates the plane, flying erratically but still cruising at the right altitude. He knocks on the window and waves to let the terrorists know he's here. This part is always a bit nerve-wracking because he can't enter the plane until it's on the ground, and because the doors have to remain shut to keep the plane pressurized, he's helpless to protect the passengers inside. He x-rays the scene and can see they don't have guns. Good. The terrorists' eyes grow wide and Superman proceeds to stabilize the plane and guide it gently into the runway, his mind on Lois, only Lois, and the betrayed, abandoned look that darkened her eyes when he left her behind.

He's never seen her look so hurt. Even the night he'd gently rejected her advances as Superman, she seemed to understand. This was something different. They were becoming something different, right there on that dance floor. And then he'd left her there, confused and alone.

He begins concocting his excuse. Stomach trouble? Violent, horrific, stomach trouble? Embarrassing, and besides, it's not like this is an isolated occurrence. On the way back from the bathroom he got a message at the front desk from the Planet - a source needed to meet him urgently? He couldn't tell her because she would want to come, and he knew it was dangerous? No, she'll hate him more for trying to protect her like that, and feel betrayed that he's been hiding his non-existent story from her. A man was having chest pains in the bathroom, so he took him to the emergency room? Not bad. But she would never believe it. She knew there was some other reason he was leaving. But how else could he explain this? He was supposed to be here with her. There was nowhere plausible for him to escape to in a hotel.

The terrorists are apprehended, and all passengers are safe and unharmed, save for one pilot who sustained a concussion and a cut in the struggle. Superman is free to go. He sighs. As much as he had been itching to get back to the party, now he's dreading it. He looks at the clock. 4:30 am. It is 10:30 pm in Metropolis.

The party is dwindling a bit but still lively, and the guests are significantly more lubricated than when he left. Lois and Jeanne are tucked into a sofa talking when she spots him from across the party. Her face looks...not angry, exactly...but raw, vulnerable. Stung. He squats down at her feet at the sofa, covers her hand with his and looks her in the eyes, pleading her forgiveness. "Lois, I'm so sorry I had to leave you. Can I talk to you?"

This is the only acceptable approach as her "boyfriend", but he still has no idea what he's about to say. He decides not to give her a reason and let her be angry. It's better than lying. It's better than cheese of the month. He winces at that one. God, this has gotten so bad. He feels certain she needs to know. Not here, not now, but soon. The all too conveniently vague…soon. His heart is pounding at super speed. He notes that hers is calm, steady, cold as ice.

Jeanne gets up from the sofa. "I'm turning into a pumpkin anyway. I'll leave you two to it. Lois, I'm looking forward to the ethics symposium tomorrow," she winks. Lois blushes and he knows her complicated relationship with Superman was explored in their conversation. "Leave it to you to have two gorgeous men falling at your feet," she whispers in her ear, squeezing her hand. "Go easy on him. He adores you." It was meant for her ears only, but Clark hears it, and winces again. She deserves better than two halves of him.

Lois gives her a half-hearted smile and waves her off. Lois turns back to Clark and looks at him under an arched brow. Well?

"I'm sorry, Lois. I had an emergency. It's personal, so personal that I can't really talk about it, but I promise I had a good reason," he cradles her soft, delicate hand between his, "and I wouldn't have left you for anything but a very good reason."

She looks at him flatly. "That's it?"

He stares back for a moment, then nods, knowing it isn't enough.

She clears her throat and takes back her hand. "Well, I have a big day tomorrow, and need to be clear-headed for the symposium. So, I'm going to turn in," she says briskly. "Sorry to cut our evening off."

"No, of course, I was actually going to suggest that you get some sleep…"

She's standing up, then briskly striding toward the door, and he's trailing behind her. They journey to the room in silence, not feeling the need to put on the ruse of a happy couple.

When they get up to the room, he promptly goes to the bathroom and turns on the tub, pouring the bath gel in to create a frothy foam of bubbles.

She peeks in at him from the bedroom, has already slipped off her shoes and pantyhose. "Didn't peg you for a bubble bath guy."

"I'm not. But I thought you'd want one. You always take a bath to relax."

"How did you know that?"

"Well…" his mind scrambles for an explanation, "you've called me from the tub before, for starters," he says, he hopes not too suggestively, "And a few times when I've left after a late night doing heavy research you've been drawing a bath. I've always known this about you," he says with a half-smile.

And only two weeks ago, he dive-bombed into her living room unannounced, without thinking or knocking, just as she was stepping out of the bath, just as she was wrapping her robe around her slender frame. She didn't mind at all, which made it even more of a problem than he'd intended, standing before her, him in the completely wrong suit, her in a completely alluring silk kimono.

He realized in that moment that his frequent super appearances could almost be considered violating, and certainly the closer she and Clark had gotten the more these Superman drop-ins were confusing her…him…them. He gently, painfully rejected her advances, and his heart dared to hope as she admitted that saving his life, Clark's life, was as natural to her as breathing, because there wasn't anything she wouldn't do for him. For Clark.

He mightily fought against the magnetic pull he felt, always feels, toward her when her guard is down and she slips into that rare, vulnerable space with him, with Superman. The pull that has him longing to touch her, cup her face, slide his fingers through her hair, pull her close against him, cover her in kisses…and some nights, he can't help himself. Even though he is well aware he's in the wrong suit, sabotaging a dream that was beginning to feel like it had wings, a future that was beginning to feel like it had roots. So he gives in, and takes the rose, pulls her into a dance, floats her around her living room. He is invulnerable, he can push asteroids out of the earth's orbit, he repels bullets and lasers and is immune to every virus known to man. But he is not immune to her. Her adoring gaze is as life-giving to him as the sun. When he feels weak, when his defenses are down, when he feels particularly alone and singularly powerless against all the brokenness he sees in the world, he basks in her glow, and she makes him feel like a man worthy of his purpose in life.

As Superman, a man the world sees as an aloof, heroic, untouchable alien, she is the only one who makes him feel seen and wonderfully human, in a way he always feared no one who knew the truth about his powers ever could. But as Clark, he feels a connection he can't describe, like his soul has always been tethered to hers. The ways she has softened her edges, let down her guard for only him makes him hopeful that one day she will let him all the way in, and he will tell her who he really is, and they will be okay. Yet it's his greatest fear, that her knowing will be the end of them. And it's the most vulnerable he's ever felt, knowing that the deception could cause him to lose her heart – as both men – forever.

In that moment, when he stilled her confused and roaming hands, he vowed that would be the last time he appeared at her window as Superman without knocking, and a very good reason.

Lois eyes the tub, now full of fluffy, sensuous bubbles. "I think I will take a soak, actually. I need to clear my head about this ethics symposium," she says, making a face. "Will you - uh, well – help me with my dress? It's not nearly as painful to unzip as it was to zip up, but the buttons might remain a challenge," she says with a half-smile.

He nods, grateful for any small opening she's giving him, and she turns around, lifting up her hair so he can access her buttons. "How are you feeling about your speech? And the symposium? Did Jeanne help you think it through?" he ventures carefully. He then works at the clasp of the necklace, allowing his fingertips to grace her neck ever so slightly, aching to touch her, wishing he could reinstate their closeness from before.

"I'm…well, I'm feeling a little nervous about it. Not my speech as much, I wrote that weeks ago. But I talked through my, uh, Superman relationship with Jeanne, which was really helpful, since she sort of specializes in well, crafting a narrative." He works at the tiny buttons as she babbles on, "Not that I need to craft a narrative, everything with Superman is above board, that's all true, I just need to be careful about what I say and how I say it so that people don't get the wrong idea, since they always seem to. And I want to be the right ally for Superman. It's really his image that I want to be sure I'm protecting." Clark lets his hand glide down her back as he unzips her, then takes her shoulders gently, turning her to face him. She seems affected as she says breathily, "I just need to…think it through a bit more."

He's enchanted. There are few things he enjoys more than watching her ramble adorably into a corner, but his heart tugs a little more at the way she's become his protector. He realizes his adoration is written on his face when her mouth starts to twitch at him. He coughs, in that lame breaking-the-awkwardness way that anyone over the age of five would have known wasn't a real cough. He groans inwardly.

"I completely understand. The tub is ready. I brought a book with me. I'll be reading for awhile out here, if you want to talk it through when you get out."

She gives him a weak, forgiving smile. "Thanks, Clark."

She turns in the doorframe. "Hey, by the way. When you left earlier, you know who swooped in at the bar?"

"Thomas Howson IV?" he grins, waggling his sleepy eyebrows.

She chuckles and shakes her head slowly, maybe a little seductively, she hopes. "Senator Charlie Carson," she says with a playful swagger.

"Oh really," he says, a little surprised. And more than a little bit concerned.

"Mmm hmm. At first I thought maybe I could weasel some election information out of him, so I let him flirt for a little bit."

"Loisss…you know his reputation. That could be dangerous. He could turn that around on you too," Clark admonishes. He trusts Senator Carson about as much as he ever trusted Lex Luthor. And, much to his chagrin, he's well aware she's never above using her beauty to her advantage for an exclusive.

"Oh Clark. I handle men like him every day. You of all people know that," her tone turns playful and coquettish.

He responds with a defeatist glare. "That I do," he says.

"Anyway, apparently he's joining me on the ethics symposium panel tomorrow," she says with an eyeroll. "And something's fishy about his connection to Intergang. He was sniffing around about our Intergang investigations the minute we started talking. Such a weasel. He was also asking me a lot of nosy questions about Superman."

Clark's eyebrows raise. "Oh really. The usual kind of questions, or more personal?" He and Lois were both used to answering curious questions from strangers about Superman - "Does he eat?" "Does he have a family?" "Where does he live?"

"The usual kind; he was trying to play it breezy, but there was an undercurrent of suspicion. Not surprisingly, he's one of those conservatives who thinks Superman could pose a threat."

Clark threw his head back. "Ah yes, I know the type. 'The United States must be able to protect itself against every potential security risk," he says, affecting the tone of a grumpy old man. Lois chuckles. "I'm a little surprised though, I hadn't noticed he was very vocal about Superman in the state Senate."

"Well, buckle up for tomorrow. And he's apt to be interesting this campaign season. But don't hold your breath for his affections winning us any exclusives, partner," Lois says wryly.

"Lois. I'm more than okay with not having the in with Senator Carson," Clark says.

"That's good. Because, tonight between the Superman bashing and the repeat advances I had enough, so I gave him an earful and may have said something I shouldn't have," she says.

"Which was?"

"I told him I can handle myself, I'm a black belt in taekwondo. But as he had just said himself, Superman always seems to appear when I'm in trouble. And if his hand drifted down my skirt one more time the only person Superman might be a threat to…was him."

Clark erupts with laughter. "Well, never let it be said that Lois Lane is a shrinking violet," he teases.

Lois pads into the bathroom, then turns around sliding her face between the frame and the nearly-shut door. "Please, Clark. No one's ever said that."