Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic fdk:Breaking Up is Hard to Do (27/35ish)

Interesting part. Delightful idea.

Lois is wasting her talents there in Smallville. This can't go on.

I agree with IolantheAlias. This isn't a good situation for Lois at all, and it shouldn't be made permanent. Even cooperation between the Daily Planet and that Smallville newspaper, whatever its name was, isn't going to offer Lois the opportunities and challenges she needs.

I was thinking of this:

The problem is not just that Lois is expected to talk to everyone she meets in Smallville. Another problem is that she doesn't have that much in common with the people who try to strike up conversations with her. They will most likely want to talk about their own children and ask her about hers. But since she doesn't have any, they will probably ask her about her husband, her house, her neighbours, her parents, her garden and maybe her job, which will force her to talk about crop subsidies. If they ask her about her friends here in Smallville, she can't tell them that she really has only one friend, Rachel, or she likes Rachel a lot because Rachel is educated and broad-minded and well-traveled and not like the other people in Smallville. In other words, Lois is required to talk a lot to people that she has nothing in common with, and that she can't be honest with.

The thing is that Lois is unhappy in Smallville, and Chad can't see it. I wonder, did Lois notice that Chad was unhappy in Metropolis long before Chad told her that he wanted to leave the big city? I don't remember. My impression of Chad, however, is that right now he isn't aware that Lois is unhappy in Smallville. He isn't sufficiently attuned to his wife to see that she is unhappy with the life she has chosen for his sake.

Anyway, I'm with IolantheAlias. This can't go on.

Ann

Another great chapter, Nancy.

I think Lois has it in her head, that Chad "suffered" in Metropolis for two years, so she should be willing to do the same. Thus, Lois came to Smallville (you're right, I couldn't see her doing anything else) and is putting up with small town life. The problem is that the issue at heart really hasn't be addressed nor solved. Chad is miserable in Metropolis and Lois is miserable in Smallville. For their relationship to succeed, these feelings need to be brought out in the open.

Glad we saw Clark in this chapter. I find it so totally in character that he can read Lois' inner thoughts. He may not be her husband in your reality, but he still is her best friend. I like that.

One last thing, Lois is incredibly stubborn and really intent on succeeding professionally. I would think that any Lois would want to dive into her work the moment she is having trouble in her personal life. Thus, I could see Lois reaching out to try and find some freelance work, starting a novel, or ask Perry if she could write a column for the DP. She's miserable at the Smallville paper. But, similar to the reasons she came to Smallville in the first place, I can't see Lois going down without a fight. She's sulking now (well to herself). I'd like to see her progress to a more proactive approach dying to want to fix this problem.

If you're on 33 and have no idea where things end up, I guess we should expect a bumpy adventure for the next little while. Will posting be every Saturday from now on then?

I agree with IolantheAlias and Ann...

But also, it really surprised me that they went ahead and bought a house that quick. Yes, the place on the Kent farm was probably too small... but that is a huge commitment to staying in Smallville that I didn't think Lois and Chad were ready for. If they decide to make a go of it somewhere else because Lois truly isn't happy there, what will they do with the house? As Rachel said, there isn't a huge demand for housing in Smallville...

Poor Lois and now Clark is coming to the rescue...

Michael

Thanks for the comments! I meant to respond yesterday, but we had amazing weather here, so I ended up not being online.

Patrick - Thank you! I have to say, it just sort of evolved. I needed something for them to talk about during the dinner party and this led to Clark's complaining and then somehow the story idea was born. It was a convenient way to get Lois and Clark working together again, which I felt was something Lois needed.

We'll obviously see more of their interaction as they work on this series of stories than the stories themselves.

IolantheAlias - I understand the sentiment, but please try to remember this isn't our Lois. Her relationship with Chad, starting as early as it did, irrevocably changed her life.

I like to think of myself as a bright, successful woman and quite frankly the type of job that makes me happy requires me to live in at least a moderate sized city. Additionally, I may be fooling myself, but I also like to think the job I have has some positive impact on the world even if it's not as obvious as Lois' on the show. However, if my husband needed to be in Smallville to be happy, I'd go in an instant. His happiness is much more important to me than my having the ideal job. Do I think he'd ask me to do that if I would be miserable? No, never. We live close to NYC now because I want to - he'd love to move. But if I could be happy, just less than I am now, it would be a much different issue (presuming he had a reason to leave, which he doesn't).

The Smallville Press may not be the best fit for Lois, but this isn't Lois Lane. And Lois Andrews wants to find the best fit for her and her husband - and if that is in Smallville, then she will be happier than if she was at the Planet.

Ann - See my comment above on your comment on Lois' challenges. I believe that if it's interesting enough, Lois will be happier with a less challenging job in Smallville than at the Planet either without Chad or with an unhappy Chad.

I'm not sure it's fair to say that Chad can't see she's unhappy. First off, we only know what Lois is thinking, so perhaps Chad does realize she's unhappy, but is waiting for her to say something or settle in more in the hopes that she'll be happy. Or maybe, like Lois was with him, he's so focused on his own happiness and wanting to believe she's happy too, he hasn't noticed it yet.

And to clarify and answer your question - no, Lois was not aware that Chad was unhappy until he told her.

Grinch - I completely agree - Lois and Chad need to talk about these issues. But to be fair, she hasn't been in Smallville long yet. I think she is not only "suffering" in Smallville as she feels she owes it to Chad, but also in the hopes that she'll learn to love it there. I don't think a Lois that didn't try to like living in Smallville for the man she believes to be her soulmate would be Lois. And when you move somewhere expecting not to like it, it takes a long time to get past that.

I was unhappy with the college I ended up going to - I had never wanted to go there and only applied to make my parents happy. I spent most of my first semester being terribly unhappy. Some of that I now see as typical issues with moving to a new place where you don't know anyone. But I also see that it lasted longer than it needed to because I believed I would never be happy there. It took a long time for me to get past that and really see what it was like - and determine it wasn't really all that bad. Now, given the friends I made, and in particular the fact that I met my husband there, I'm glad I ended up not going where I wanted. But back then, I was too busy expecting to be unhappy to really let myself experience it. I see Lois' avoidance of others being the same thing, but I think she has a desire to give it a fair shot.

By the way, Clark didn't read her inner thoughts - he heard her mumbled comment about not having a small-town persona. But I do think he was picking up on other sides anyway as he is her best friend.

I think expecting a bumpy road is probably a good idea.

My hope is to keep posting every Saturday - more often if I can reliably get online more.

Sara - I know it seemed like they bought a house quickly, but Lois is intending to give this a try for a long time, so it makes sense to move someplace permanent. Smallville doesn't have a lot of rental properties and the cottage at the farm is not big enough for a long term place.

What they'll do with the house if Lois isn't happy? No idea... I'll tell you if I figure it out.

Michael - Interesting. I hadn't seen it as Clark coming to the rescue, but you're right. He is.

The feedback for this is almost as interesting as the story. It's funny, but I had assumed they were renting the house. Perhaps that has more to do with my background (or with the amount of interuptions I had while I was reading) than with what you had written.

As for the whole happiness issue, I think circumstances are over-rated when it comes to happiness. Happiness comes from the inside, not from the outside. Yes, certain circumstances may make happiness easier than others, but life is what you make of it. I have a notepad that says, "Happiness must be grown in your own garden." Not bad advice coming from the dollar store.

I think it's interesting that Clark tried to downplay the story he was working on. That's so like him. On the other hand, it doesn't do the friendship any good to be dishonest, however.

BTW, I have to say that even while I'm enjoying your story I'm very put off by the title. It's like waiting for the other shoe to drop. I don't enjoy breaking up stories in general.


Elisabeth

Thanks, Elizabeth. I agree - the discussions on here are really interesting.

I think everyone has a different idea of what Lois needs to be happy. I suspect this is largely because she's not a real person - Lois is almost defined by her location in Metropolis because she's almost always portrayed there. I can't imagine anyone in my life who I feel couldn't relocate if needed. I certainly know lots of people who are happier in a big city than I imagine they would be in a small town, but not to the point of not being able to live anywhere else.

I do also agree with what lots of people are saying here, though - if Lois really can't be happy in Smallville and Chad really can't be happy in Metropolis, then they probably aren't soulmates. I say this precisely because I don't believe location is the major aspect of anyone's happiness. So, if being with your partner doesn't compensate for not living in the ideal location, then there's probably something wrong in the relationship.

I think this is what Lois and Chad are struggling with now. They believe that the most important thing is to be together, but is that true or do they just think that? The truth is that they've never tested their relationship this way before. Personally I think this is the sort of thing that strengthens relationships if it doesn't destroy them. If they decide to stay together, where ever that is, they will have sincerely chosen to sacrifice for each other in a way that makes their commitment to each other that much deeper.

As for the title - I am not at all married to "Breaking Up". Personally, I don't really like it either, but it fits this story in many ways - so far Clark and Rachel have broken up, Lois and Chad have "broken up" in trying to live apart, now Lois has "broken up" with both the Planet and Clark by moving to Smallville, etc. But if you (or anyone else) has a better suggestion, I am completely open to it. I'd love to have a new title for this - I'm just bad at thinking about what it could be.