Wonderful reviews, everyone!
I just had an epiphany for the next chapter, so I'm not going to reply too much here . . . but I had to drop a note before I ran off.
I am very, very glad that everyone liked this chapter!
I was kind of nervous with how it was going to go, because usually I spend the whole last day before I post it just reading through and editing it and all, but for this chapter . . . well, let's just say I literally typed the last sentence about 10 minutes before I posted it. I'm glad it turned out okay!
But Ann, you got me thinking about why Lois cares so much for Superman and not so much for Clark (I love how thoughtful and thought-provoking your reviews are . . . not to mention most gloriously long!
). I figure that it's kind of a vicious circle--Lois loves Superman, respects him, and thinks the world of him. Anything he does is good in her eyes. So as Superman, Clark is much less afraid of everything he does, because no matter what Lois will always be behind him--loving him and supporting him. As Clark, however, Lois doesn't give him the time of day because she sees him as a smalltown pushover. This makes Clark nervous and afraid to put a single toe out of line--which is definitely the wrong approach, because this just confirms what Lois has convinced herself of. So Lois loves Superman because he has the strength that he builds up from her belief in him, but as soon as her belief in him is taken away he is nothing but Clark Kent, farm boy (if all that makes sense . . . ). And I was going to ramble on, but I think the other ideas I was going to start "inking" onto this page are going to seap into the story later on and all . . .
Anyway, I got a lot of "poor Clark,"s and "poor Lois"s from this chapter, but it seems you all realize that it's a compound problem--not just Clark's and not just Lois's problem individually. They definitely need to clear the board space, that's for sure. Some people are seriously going to be kicking themselves by the time this is over. . .
Anyway, the next chapter is calling.
<walks off whistling cheerfully>
SmirkyRaven
