Why do I feel like Chad is moving Lois right into Clark's arms? Great story!

~Sheila

Sweet part, but it made me feel uneasy. I just don't think it is the right decision for Lois to move away from Metropolis to live in Smallville. I suddenly dislike Chad a bit. Earlier, he just prevented Lois from being with Clark, but I was all right with that, because Chad was so great himself. But now Chad is preventing Lois from being in Metropolis, and he is preventing her from working for the Daily Planet and spending time with Perry and Jimmy on a daily basis. The way things are now, Chad is just taking too much away from Lois: Clark, Metropolis, the Daily Planet, Perry, Jimmy.

Of course Chad isn't forcing Lois to do any of this. But I suddenly feel that Chad is the wrong husband for Lois, not because he isn't a sweet a loving husband, but because he makes her move away from the place where I think she belongs.

Ann

I agree with Ann, it feels wrong to have Lois leave Metropolis and the Planet... but I wonder how this reality's Lois will adapt to a small town.

Because, as with any AU, the characters may not fit our preconceived templates from canon.

This part seemed like an awful lot of peace and quiet. Are they in the eye of the storm right now?

Something else I just figured: What about Utopia? Even if LnC aren't together and have kids, at least with them working for the DP, their ideals would get through to the public. Now it's just Clark and Superman. Tempus must be overjoyed

Michael

Wow. Not what I was expecting!

It seemed a bit weird to me that Lois emptied out her whole apartment. I would think she'd keep it for now (as she's not paying rent in Smallville) until she knows that Smallville is for her. Instead of quitting, it would make more sense, at least to me, that she take a leave of absence. I'm viewing this as a trial basis, but her actions in this chapter seemed very much permanent.

Also, I think it was in the previous chapter, Lois argued that Chad lived in Metropolis for a couple of years, and therefore, she could try to live in Smallville for a couple of years. It can't be good for a new start to have a countdown already in her head.

I get the feeling that Lois is doing this for all the right reasons, but it still won't be enough. She belongs in Metropolis at the DP.

I hope to write more at the next installment.

Thanks for the comments! I hope I do them justice, but I'm falling asleep for some reason. Still, given how little time I've had online during the week recently, I didn't want to wait to respond.

Sheila - Hmmm... Not sure what to say or where Lois is going...

Ann - I think this is at the heart of what I'm trying to explore in this story. If Lois meets a man who is a great husband to her, but doesn't fit her life as well as Clark did in canon, what does this mean for Lois? Given that she meets him so much earlier, this is a different Lois than we're used to. She's committed to Chad in the same way we'd expect her to be committed to Clark if this story was set after the end of LnC.

At least in my mind, there's no doubt that Lois of the end of LnC would move to Smallville for Clark. Of course, Clark would never ask her to, but then he doesn't want to live there.

So, what does Lois do when she is forced to make a decision? How much of Lois is really defined by her job and location? Is Lois Andrews almost by definition different than Lois Lane and Lois Lane-Kent?

Sara - I agree with what you said and it is what I'm struggling with as I near the end of this. I don't seem to understand yet just how much this Lois is different or the same as canon Lois. In some ways I can identify with her better - this Lois is much more like me than canon Lois. But in other ways, she's not the Lois I'm used to and it's hard to decide exactly how she'll act and respond to things.

Michael - You know, I never thought about the Utopia thing. Although, I don't know that it can't exist in this world even with Lois in Smallvile and Clark in Metropolis. As you'll see, they continue to be friends and feed off each other in some ways moving forward and maybe that would be all that is needed for Utopia.

I'm never really sure the kids thing is necessary. I see it more like the book/movie "Pay It Forward" - that world became somewhat utopian because people started acting in a more charitable way towards each other. Clark sets an example for people as Superman and the important thing is that Lois shows that you don't have to be a super-powered alien to act in a similar way. If this gets others to change their behavior, over time, this would lead to Utopia whether or not Lois was married to Clark.

grinch - It never occurred to me that Lois would keep the place in Metropolis. She's committed (right or wrong) to making things work in Smallville with Chad, so why keep paying rent? She does see this as a permanent move. In some ways, she's hesitant about it and perhaps some small part of her worries that she and Chad will need to find some other solution.

However, she also sees that Chad was never as happy in Metropolis as she was and so she's committed to not coming back to someplace where he was unhappy. In her mind, her life in Metropolis is over.

This is true about Lois. And exactly my point. Right now, Lois is headed for a non-public existence in Smallville. So she isn't able to make an impact.

So, is this Chad:


Michael

My exam is now officially over. So, Nancy, feel free to post! Multiple chapters at once works great too.

Sorry, Michael. That's not quite Chad. Chad really is a nice guy. Sorry!

Grinch - next post soon, although only one part. I hope your exam went well, but I'm glad it's over either way.