Thanks so much to everyone who read through this long entry! And thanks, too, to all the other authors who joined in to write, so that my summer had a delightful influx of new fic to enjoy! Verity, these are such a highlight of my experience on the boards - thanks for running this!
Also, I feel like this was one of the fics with the most correctly guessed author. How did you all know? It's making me self-conscious, lol.
JellyS2, thanks so much for sticking with this one! I know starting with a wham isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I really try to balance it out to make it worth the angst. Thanks so much for reading, and for the kind words. I'm glad that the ending was worth the read!
CalliopeWayne, I'm so glad you liked the little DC expansion that happened here. I had never written Batman or Zatanna before -- and admittedly don't know them terribly well -- so I'm very glad that this turned out well enough to be enjoyable! Because it felt like a big risk as I was writing! But fan girl squealing is a huge compliment!
bakasi, thanks so much for reading! I really appreciate your taking the time to comment. And I appreciate that you thought it was intense - I always try so hard to nail suspense correctly (and its so hard!). You'd guessed correctly on so many of these stories! Can I ask you how you guessed this one was mine?
lovetvfan, thaaaank you! I really appreciate you being kind enough to point out the whammy angst in the beginning - I find it tricky to balance whether it's too maudlin, or whether I'm taking it to far. So its gratifying to hear the end product wasn't too far off. 'TOGOM is reverse' is an awesome comparison! I never write this early in the series, so an intentionally callous Lois was a TON of fun to use.
And thank you for guessing that this could be Sara - I love her writing, so that was a nice compliment, too!
Idon'tknowwhatthatmeans5678, thank you so much! I'm so glad Lois worked for you here! I definitely owe Toomi a big thank you here - bleeding through Lois' bandage was something she'd thrown into the plot bunny sanctuary and I gave it a home here. Thanks for reading!
90stvfangirl, great guessing! How did you know? Thank you so much for the kind comments about the balance. I was also super concerned at the begining, lol, and I tried to make the rest of it fluffy enough to earn the early angst. I think I'm more likely to write Zatanna again before Batman, but you never know! It actually never occurred to me to drug Lois (somehow, even with so much of the story being a little dark, my brain thought that would be going too far!), but now that you said it, I sort of wish I'd done it! What a good idea! I'm so glad you liked Lois' progression, too.
And I really appreciate the commentary! It's so much fun to see what makes an impact!
I’m concerned, but I have faith the author will fix this……….right?
I can't seem to not put the toys back where I found them. I desperately tried to leave Clark at loose ends in a story this spring and failed miserably.
This fic is really heart breaking!
Aw, thank you!
I love how he just jumps right in.
I figured the farm boy could patch a wall pretty easily, especially after we saw his redo his apartment. Plus, he's not going to just leave Lois there, so whatever needed to be done, I figured he'd be right on it!
WHAT! I actually feel betrayed by her.
Good! Thank you! She was not behaving well here!
Yes. Maybe this wasn't clear in the writing. I don't know much about Batman, but I know he has a utility belt, so I just made a lighter connection here, assuming everyone would guess. I'll take a look to see if I can say it outright.
Yay!
My thoughts exacltly, lol!
AmandaK, thank you SO much for being so vocal about how much you liked this one. <3 I always think my writing is sort of mid, so I'm super stoked that this worked for you. In the beginning, I was trying to figure out how to write... romanticized pain? pain from an unrequited perspective? something like that?... which is why that exercise of him seeing her in the victims went on so long. But I'm glad it worked, and it sounds like it had the added benefit of creating some tension about whether Lois had actually died, which is also probably good for the story. I was SO worried about using Bats and Zee, so I'm so happy that it seemed to work, too! And thank you for the kindest words about the kiss. Tbh, I always think that's the weakest part of my writing, so I guess I'm learning.
Was Batman in the club as Bruce? That's probably much more clever than I was, really. But no, I don't think so. There are a lot of comic panels out there where Superman just... inexplicably... doesn't... see Batman? Because he's... mysterious? Because he is the night? Because he figured out how to use science and gadgets to hide from a yellow-sun-infused Kryptonian eye? I dunno. But it's enough of a popular and widely accepted trope that I figured a Batman who thinks he knows who Superman is would be able to test this skill with a young Superman who hasn't seen this particular trick before. So Batman is in the club, he just isn't seen. He's probably high up, in the shadows, impersonating the night. But if it helps, an old theatrical space like that would certainly have a couple of coats of old, cheap paint on the interior walls, set pieces and props (even on parts of the dang piano), which means lead paint.
I'm not flat out opposed to a sequel, but I don't know if I have anything interesting to say about GGGOH that wouldn't be just an episode re-write, and I like to venture farther away from the original script than that. (Plus I doubt I could get Bats and Zee to Smallville.) I was really just thinking of this as a standalone piece. But that's what I said about Undercover Reporter, and that sequel doubled the length of the original, so anything is possible?
PuffyTiger aw, thank you so, so much. I had a loooot of fun using a 'don't want' as a major story point, so thank you for calling that out! It was a lot of fun to write a particularly callous Lois, since I usually don't write early season 1. I had a good time with it, so I may have to find another early season 1 story to play with! I didn't even realize that his focus on her being alright over everything else cracked her shell, but you're right - that's exactly what happened there. Well articulated! And thank you, again, for beta-ing this one and working with my imploding timeline!
I'm not sure if I'd actually write a sequel to this, because I don't know if I have anything interesting to say about GGGOH that wouldn't just be an episode re-write... Well, I guess I do have one idea about a power transfer, which would mess with Trask's ability to identify Superman... but the story between L&C in that episode is satisfying enough that I don't feel like I can add much to it. The travel episode would be kind of a mess, too, with Lois injured so severely (though now that I think about it, a little brush with her own Kryptonian powers would surely resolve that... maybe they dig up some red K at Irig's along with the green). ...hmm. Well, now I guess I'm thinking about it. But I've got a few other things in the queue (and they're all so unbelievably long - send help!), so I'm not sure if this will ever see the light of day, lol. But... maybe.
Queen of the Capes, thank you so much! I have to say that I love your writing, so getting your prompts was Very Intimidating. I thought I'd remembered you mentioning Zatanna at one point, so I thought you might enjoy seeing her show up here (and hopefully this met the surprise you were hoping for!), and Bats just made sense as a combo platter. Plus, Clark mentions Gotham a couple of times in the series, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm still in TNAOS canon, lol. Do you have any idea if I managed to get Zee's voice anywhere near right? The comic panels I used for research were all over the place. And since we were in the illusion-only-zone, no backwards speaking allowed!
But I do feel rather successful in general after seeing you associate the word 'gleeful' with the kitchen scene, so thank you for that! Thanks for great prompts!
BlindPassenger, great guess! Am I the author that's known to kill Lois?
Enjoy your vacation!
Darth Michael, as you know, I intentionally changed the formatting on quite a bit of this, just for your confusion. Mary was the prompter, so I did try to add in a few things I thought she'd like - Bats and Zee and the zany, farcical kitchen antics - so you were close?
I look forward to trying to stump you again next year!
blg1987, this was a good guess! Batman and Zatanna were definitely red herrings here!
Thanks, again, everyone!
