Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK: You Need to Have Dinner

Read the story here.

I would really like to know your opinion. For example, what did you think of the advice from Jonathan, Martha, Jimmy, Cat, Perry, and Lois? Jimmy and Cat think along the same line of reasoning, while Perry and Lois share another line. And it might seem like Perry and Lois's line follows a capitalist production logic, but those are the advice that works best for Clark precisely because they don't try to make him change his feelings, but rather help him keep acting despite them. Of course, this doesn't change the fact that every opinion shown here is valid.

Many of the situations I described in the third paragraph were based on real cases. While researching to write this fanfic, I also came across the photograph that won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize, which depicted hunger in Sudan. That photo has a very dark history, with many layers of human suffering. All of this brings enormous sadness and discouragement, but I try to console myself by believing that my work is also important, that one day I'll be able to do more and, above all, that there is someone capable taking care of every single person on this planet. Nobody is alone. Drawing on something C. S. Lewis once said, if there is a hunger for justice, it means that justice exists. If there is a thirst for mercy, it means that mercy exists. If there is a desire for a better world, it means that it exists, and that we were made to live in that world.

Thank you for reading and for your patience in following my reasoning.

I received a very interesting comment on AO3 about Adam and Eve and Krypton and how that might possibly fit into the L&C universe. So I need to mention The Space Trilogy, also by C. S. Lewis, a story in which there are other peoples besides earthlings and each one has a different "spiritual trajectory" with God. I haven't read these books yet, but they're on my list. Also, Clark isn't necessarily Christian here, he's just someone who knows biblical stories, believes in God and wants something from Him. That's how I imagined him in this specific fanfic. I know many people who share these characteristics and still don't follow a religion.

These are very interesting thoughts. I can see Clark drowning in all the problems of the world he's trying to heave on his shoulders. It seems so much easier for one person to change the world for worse, but almost impossible that a single person, even a Superman could change the world for the better. Sinking into depression however isn't going to help anyone or skipping dinner for that matter.

What a serious and in-depth piece! I suspect the problem you raise here is part of the reason I'm not comfortable with Clark Kent being written as such an extreme altruist. A person needs a certain amount of selfishness to stay alive and retain their sanity. But the L&C writers didn't give this character nearly enough.


This is another issue you bring up that the series never addressed. To protect Lois Lane's innocence, the L&C writers created an idyllic world with no rapists. In the ugly reality, a female reporter with that kind of recklessly aggressive style would have been sexually assaulted multiple times already. Real criminals rape female prisoners before murdering them—they don't grant them a dignified death. That's why whenever I saw Lois get caught by villains, I was strongly reminded that I was watching a lovely fairy tale, a blissful escape from the rotten real world.


There's one theory worth considering. It's called "the law of conservation of misery." The central idea is that misery, like energy, is never destroyed—it just changes form or moves from one being to another. Trying to reduce suffering for one person or in one place only increases it elsewhere, where you can't see or don't realize it. For example: feeding a hungry person chicken and potatoes makes both the feeder and the hungry person happy. But the misery doesn't disappear; it's merely passed on to the chicken and the potatoes. Anyone who keeps a chicken as a pet will tell you that chickens are highly intelligent animals capable of deep emotions. And scientists have already discovered that plants not only feel pain but can also recognize the specific person who harmed them, which means plants likely possess intelligence—or even souls—that we humans can't yet perceive.
So if the Almighty ensures every human is happy on Earth, it wouldn't be fair to other living beings, because energy and resources are limited on this planet.
Of course, I'm not saying we should just lay back and let things be. But theories like this do help if the suffering in the world affects one's emotions too much. They also remind us that instead of trying to solve all the problems on Earth, it's more important to try not to pile extra misery on others. For example, if chicken is enough to satisfy our needs, don't go for Chianina steak. It's much less environmentally friendly.



I think it's simply because we were shown a version of a parallel universe in which Lois Lane was particularly lucky. In other universes, other Lois Lanes must have died in all sorts of gruesome ways at different points before her wedding.
And who knows—maybe every one of us suffers our own share of misery in at least one version of a parallel universe. So it's all fair in the end.



I agree with your second point—the Lois Lane in this story feels more like the Lois Lane from early Season 2, soon after Clark "robbed" her of her Kerth Award, when L&C were briefly warm, platonic friends before they started dating.