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Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 569 Likes: 88
Columnist
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Columnist
Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 569 Likes: 88 |
Chapter 5 lives here.And here's the TOC.Enormous thanks to 90stvfangirl who kindly agreed to beta back when this story was much shorter, and pacem for the fast second look!  The adventure has really started in earnest here. These two really have no idea what they're in for!  Also, while I'll post the main historical notes in with the epilogue (because they're super spoilery), I think I need to drop in just a couple as we go, since I'll assume that most of us aren't working experts in the region or the field. This is probably a good time to mention that there is some naturally occurring lead in the bedrock that the tombs have been carved into. There aren't deposits or veins, but there are more than trace amounts. I'm imagining that it looks like static or snow on an old television. I always look forward to any thoughts or comments! 
Looking forward to this summer's Location Challenge! Looks like stories are due around August 1st, and then polls open for voting! And don't forget about the 2026 fundraiser! Head over to the Fundraising page to donate or consider adding a story to the Keepsake Collection fundraising drive!
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Joined: Dec 2024
Posts: 201 Likes: 44
Hack from Nowheresville
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Hack from Nowheresville
Joined: Dec 2024
Posts: 201 Likes: 44 |
"It is our land,” Wahid said with a growl. “We protect it.”
“But you’re excavating it,” Lois pointed out.
“The Americans excavate it,” Wahid grumbled.
“But you’re working for the Americans,” Lois pressed again.
Wahid stood and scraped the little bit left on his plate into the fire.
“The Americans pay,” he said, as if that ended the conversation. And then he walked off, which certainly put an end to it.
A very interesting conversation. I have a few thoughts about it, but I think I'd better not share them for now  “Don’t mind Wahid,” Zaid told them. “He is all worries. They make him heavy.”
Well, I can relate to Wahid a little  So you’d just leave your job? Leave the Planet? Leave m–” she stopped abruptly, then stuttered, “Leave Metropolis?”
The tension between them caught and held.
“I don’t want to,” Clark said. “But they’re my parents. The farm is their home. I need to make sure they’re taken care of.”
I don't see this topic - which is actually a pretty important one - being addressed very often in fanfics. Or is Clark thinking about running away again? I hope they get a chance to explore this issue more deeply. “Just because you do not believe in the curse, Ms. Lane, does not mean the curse does not believe in you,” Zaid intoned in a low voice.
Oooh. “What is it?” Lois asked again. “What are they saying?”
“They’re saying they’ve woken the mummy,” Clark said.
Her head snapped around to him. “You speak Arabic?”
“Just a little,” he dodged.
“Enough to understand ‘they’ve woken the mummy?!’” she asked incredulously.
Sometimes I get so jealous of Clark! "There’s no one there,” Clark said, sounding surprised.
Hmm  "Will you let me go now?” she asked, twisting again, not so much to get away, but to look up at him squarely.
“Do you promise not to run straight into the pitch-black and dangerous, potentially collapsible tomb?” he asked teasingly.
They're so cute, trying to hide the sexual tension. She dumped her second shoe upside down and returned yet more sand to the desert.
Very environmentally friendly 
Stories are written by the victors.
(Hmm, come to think of it, that's not the exact quote...)
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 4,135 Likes: 79
Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 4,135 Likes: 79 |
Another excellent chapter! Honestly, I'm going to start checking my shoes and sandles for sand this story is described so well! “How was your afternoon?” he asked agreeably.
“Interminable,” Lois grumbled.
Lois, get a grip! This ain't Metropolis. Try rolling with the situation and be a little more adaptable. The Hottest Team is Town is there for a reason, give it time, the story will present itself. “I am. I love the farm, but I’m a writer,” Clark said. His voice turned contemplative as he went on, “But my parents are both getting older. I’m not sure what I’ll do when they can’t work the farm anymore.”
“You never said anything about that,” Lois said with surprise, turning to him, and distracted from the tone in Zaid’s voice she’d been trying to pin down.
“I’m a farm kid, Lois,” Clark said. “Most farm kids take over the family business.”
A hurt she couldn’t explain stabbed at her chest. She’d thought he was a farm kid that had gotten out of that life. A man who was once a farm kid but was now her partner. A partnership that he evidently thought had an expiration date. And that was news to her.
Yes indeed, what will Clark do when his parents are too old to take care of the farm? He is an only child, the entire weight of that future responsibility falls on him entirely. Its lonely and more than a little scary. Will he give up his life in Metropolis--with its lattes and bad guys for the quiet of a Kansas homestead? That is a question that must be faced. Hmmm, in some ways that's a more frightening situation than facing a three thousand year old mummy. Onto the next part.
Morgana
A writer's job is to think of new plots and create characters who stay with you long after the final page has been read. If that mission is accomplished than we have done what we set out to do, which is to entertain and hopefully educate.
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Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,016 Likes: 98
Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 3,016 Likes: 98 |
Ah, there's a mystery right there. Can't help but think of Agatha Christie's Hercules Poirot here. Very lovely written.
It's never too dark to be cool. 
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Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 569 Likes: 88
Columnist
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Columnist
Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 569 Likes: 88 |
Peixinho, thanks so much for your detailed comments! I definitely appreciate your saying that you find Wahid's situation relatable! I think we get a lot of fic where the Kents are all young enough that thinking about Clark's parents' next stage of life just isn't a high priority, but it felt like the right choice to bring up here. The environmentally friendly comment made me crack up!  Morgana, that's so nice of you to say! I wanted to make sure to really push the descriptions of how their surrounding affected them for the location challenge, so I'm glad it worked here! And yes, they definitely have an uncertain future ahead of them here! Bakasi, thank you so much. That's a very high compliment to even get a reference to Poirot! Thanks to everyone who is reading this one!
Looking forward to this summer's Location Challenge! Looks like stories are due around August 1st, and then polls open for voting! And don't forget about the 2026 fundraiser! Head over to the Fundraising page to donate or consider adding a story to the Keepsake Collection fundraising drive!
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,882 Likes: 12
Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,882 Likes: 12 |
Koshary sounds like my kind of food - a bit too much trouble to make for one person, though! Will have to keep it in mind for when I have the time to spare 👀👀 Why are Zaid and Wahid alone and hushy-hushy? 👀👀 Oooh, Clark thinking about the farm and going back!! That fits his character, really! And Lois taking it personally!! Wouldn't you know it 👀👀 I overheard Gamal telling Bashir that there was a mummy in the tombs. His tent is adjacent to mine. It seemed like rather obvious news, but he sounded so panicked I thought I should check.
Gamal may, uh, left out a crucial detail about the mummy 😂😂😂 But Carnahan's sudden appearance is a bit suspicious, I thought so too! Hoping to catch up with more of this delicious story soon!! ❤❤❤
What we've got here is failure to communicate...
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Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 568 Likes: 77
Columnist
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Columnist
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 568 Likes: 77 |
Oh wow, what a slew sideways to be suddenly bringing up the possibility of Clark going back to he farm. Lois was definitely taken off guard, and I love her internal snarkiness later about the real reporter pursuing the story instead of the temporary one.
Come hang out in the Discord server! Just make a Discord account and click this https://discord.gg/fv2bAVVUBQ to join. Discord can be a little intimidating, but we keep our server simple and are always happy to help people learn their way around!
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Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 569 Likes: 88
Columnist
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Columnist
Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 569 Likes: 88 |
Anna, koshary is AWESOME. Highly recommend. Is there any way for Lois to take thing EXCEPT personally? Thanks so much for the kind words! Verity, yeah, I feel like every farm kid has to at least consider it (whether they're dreading it or planning a second career), since so often this basically become generational, essentially ancestral land. And I think Clark puts a lot of stake in his found home. But absolutely is Lois going to have BIG OPINIONS about that! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!
Looking forward to this summer's Location Challenge! Looks like stories are due around August 1st, and then polls open for voting! And don't forget about the 2026 fundraiser! Head over to the Fundraising page to donate or consider adding a story to the Keepsake Collection fundraising drive!
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