topic started

Okay, I normally have Topic-Starting Phobia, but this is the second time tonight. The ending was just BEAUTIFUL. It was perfect. There aren't any other words for it. (Well okay, I can open up my thesaurus.)

JD

oooh - you posted! *happy dance* kicking myself for not sending comments back to you earlier tonight, though...

Excuse me, please, while I squee... /me loves Angry!Clark as much as /me hates clones! Yay for Angry!Clark!!!

Loved this. That the one place she would thing of going to - even when she's not even thinking about where she's going - is Clark's place. *happy sigh*

This is just so excellent!
I like how she comes to the realization that Clark is who he is, just before that line, too. But that one line... Magnificent!

awww!

Awwww!!!! *waffy sigh* /me transforms into a puddle of goo on the floor.

I have only one thing left to say about this story:

Sue, there sure is a lot of horse sense packed into this little story. You said so much here. I really enjoyed it!

Angry Clark is not my favorite, and the story is a little gruesome for my taste. But I totally agree with Jen's assessment. The ending is - I don't think there is a better word for it - beautiful. The kind of beauty that cuts you open like a knife, but not in a bad way. You are defenseless against it. Imagine - Lois would fight Superman. She would stand up to someone who looked like Superman and was as strong as Superman. She would be hurt and bruised and have her clothes torn by clone-Superman. She would face rape by an inhumanly strong, ruthless, horrible perpetrator with an idealized hero's face and body. Yet she would not fall apart. Never that. Not lose her dignity.

Only when she faces the real Superman, and knows that he is really Clark, and knows that with him she is totally safe and loved, only then can and must she fall apart and dissolve in tears in his arms.

Ann

Oh, but Clark is in your closet!

So was Lois actually raped?


Great story, Sue.

I was beginning to miss this sort of angst on the boards. So imagine my happiness when I saw this fic.

So many threads to weave, what with the attack, the aftermath and the revelation all in one. Once more Sue promises and delivers. I felt that she tackled the attack with tact and sensitivity without losing it's visceral terror and the ensuing consequences. I didn't feel the damsel-in-distress from Lois, but rather a wrenching portrayal of her steps to collect herself. In a one-parter too!

I mentioned this to Sue, but I'll state it here--I particularly enjoyed the twist that she gave the revelation. Since to me finding out that _Clark_ was Superman made things for her much easier (Clark himself points it out when he changes into his ordinary clothes not to frighten her). The space between Clark and Superman I gathered was a bit of a comfort here whereas it usually works in the opposite way.

Just excellent, as always. *happy sigh*

alcyone

I read recently that women can hear little sounds better than men can and their sense of smell is more acute. So the following pullquote is perfect.

A man probably wouldn't have even thought to write about scent. I know I wouldn't have. It made so much sense to me. And if Lois can smell the real Clark, she can trust him, even if he looks like the fake Superman who tried to rape her.

And I'm almost completely certain he didn't finish his act of violence, since he himself wasn't disrobed. But Lois will still have post-trauma reactions to this episode. I feel for her.

Lois comes across as so very child-like and vulnerable here. She's trying to make a joke about it, but they both know that there's nothing funny about what almost happened to her - or about what did happen to her. And Clark's reluctance to invade her personal space because he doesn't know how she'll react is reasonable, but Lois also needs to know that he doesn't blame her or think of her as damaged in any way, shape or form.

And the previous posters are absolutely right.

He finally understands. Clark has seen a side of her that Superman never has, her inner vulnerabilty. She trusts him so much that she's shown him what's really in her heart.

Perfect.

Oh Sue!!! I'm so glad you posted it. I didn't want to have to break out the men with pointy sticks...

Okay, I have no time to quote my favorite parts - though you already know what they are - Hubby surprised me with a spur of the moment trip to visit my family this weekend... we're getting ready to leave...

But...

AWWWWWWWWWWWW! <<<hugs>>> Thank you Sue! What a sweet dedication. <sniffle, sniffle>

Okay, I promise to come back, because I have to quote a few of my favs... but it will be a day or two!

Great job! So glad you posted!

P.S. -- Had to say one more little thing. One of my very favorite parts is that Lois was willing to face the clone Superman herself rather than see Clark get hurt. She kept telling him not to fight him to just go - because she was afraid clone Superman would hurt Clark. And yet, that would have left her at clone Superman's mercy. That was such a beautiful tribute to how much she really loved Clark - even if she hadn't been willing to admit it yet... <waffy sigh>

Fabulous little story. I loved it, specially the end. Simply beautiful.

Such a great story -- one of those I know I'll be rereading many a time to come. And this:

That line is perfect. Technically, it may be wrong on both counts, but it HAS to be that way because it's how Lois is feeling at the moment. It's just beautiful.

I'd love to see this go somewhere, but it's great as is, too.

That was beautiful, Sue. Just like in the first "Proof" story, you skillfully brought out an underlying emotion and suprised the reader (well, me, anyway ) with it. I also like that this particular piece didn't end with smoochies and declarations of love. You concluded it right where it naturally finished.

Very lovely... loved the last sentence

This was beautiful, Sue! And as others have said, the ending was utter perfection. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Caroline

Oh I just loved this. What a great mini story. Beautifully done. Laura

As everyone said, absolutely beautiful. You never fail to astound me.

Jessi

When evil wears the face of the beloved, what and who can be trusted? Although it was reassuring Lois sought security with familiar things-Clark's apartment, his bed, his smell-I found it tragic she must break down so completely for Clark to "understand".

Her "breakdown" is the point. Lois always shows a strong face to the world and doesn't break down easily. She held it together during the attack (apologies to Ann - I deliberately faded to black on that one so it wouldn't be "gruesome"). It was only hours later, with *Clark*, that she felt safe enough to reveal her true self to him. She realized that she had done that before. It's been Clark that she has trusted all along. It's Clark that she wants to turn to for comfort. Because Clark has already been keeping her secret. That she now knows about Superman is quid pro quo. Please note: If there was anyone in the world she could fall apart in front of, it would have to be Clark. He had seen her like this before - when Barbara Trevino had tried to kill her - and he had kept her secret safe. She was suddenly glad that she could keep a secret for him now.

In the end, Clark realizes the same thing. That's the understanding that dawns on him. And that's why he makes the same promise to her that she made only minutes earlier to him - "I'll never tell."

No, Nancy, he didn't rape her. That was just too icky to even contemplate. <shudder> I figured just the intent was terrible enough.

This story started in a chat when DJ and I were trying to think of a scenario in which Clark would allow himself to sleep with Lois as Superman before she knew who he really was. We drew a blank. I just couldn't believe that Clark would do that. Somehow or other the idea came up that maybe she could sleep with his clone in Vatman. But that wouldn't work either because she figured out that the clone wasn't really Superman. Heaven only knows how it degraded from that idea into this, but it did.

Thanks to everyone who has replied - sometimes you nervously put a story out there and wonder whether it will work or not. I guess I could more specifically state exactly what they're feeling, but I usually like to let the readers come on the ride with the characters and interpret their words/actions for themselves. Pretty much everyone understood that in this story. I just worry about it when the ambivalence doesn't pay off.

Thanks guys!

Hey, I think one of the best ways to kill the beauity of a creative project is too much self editing. Ambivalence is a good thing. I for one do not like being spoon fed.

I loved it, Sue. Very emotional. She keeps telling herself not to cry, putting on a strong front, until she gets to a place of safety. Clark is her safe harbor, and with him, she's secure enough to fall apart. And they both understand the significance of that. It's a lovely symmetry -- she sees something about him that no-one knows, and he sees something about her that no-one knows. And neither one of them will ever tell. Beautiful.

PJ

Okay, I'm back. Sorry it took me so long. I'm not going to make any direct quotes (because you already know what they are, Sue)... but I did want to come back to say a 'thank you' for Angry!Clark. I know some people don't like him as much as I do. But I just love to see him get all protective over Lois and come to her rescue and be tempted to do something "over the line" to save her.

And you gave me that good.

I also wanted to mention how much I loved the "revelation". I always love it when we can see a revelation where Lois doesn't get mad. And we did here. You portrayed this very correctly because she really had no reason to get mad. She and Clark had no kind of relationship (other than partners - when it suited her <g>). Clark hadn't poured his feelings out to her (like at the end of season 1) only to be dumped over for Superman - so there weren't those hurt feelings on his side. And they weren't dating, so he wasn't pursuing her under false pretenses...keeping something from her.

So I just really enjoyed how simple and uncomplicated this revelation was and yet, how really, if you took a harder look at it... it was complicated, in it's own way. And I loved how she looked at him as "how did Superman become Clark Kent" and then realized it was actually the other way around.

All of that was just so wonderful!

And of course the ending was precious - with them both getting to keep a secret for each other.

Loved it Sue! Thanks!

-- DJ

Sue, I pretty much want to echo everything DJ just said. She said just about everything I've been thinking since I read this the other day. And I too love AngryClark.

But this is my absolute favorite line:
I don't know what it is about that line, but it's beautiful. I love when you throw these short stories at us. They are always fantastic!

~Kristen

LOVE IT!

I read this a few days ago and naturally got distracted by one of the many domestic emergencies that seem to be completely expected around here :rolleyes: So now I'll leave the feedback -- a little late but better than never.

Excellent story. You got Lois's reactions down perfectly, and Clark's as well. And, as has been said before, I can't see Lois breaking down in front of anyone except Clark. Swearing in front of someone else, hitting something, losing her temper maybe, but not breaking down. That would be something she would resist except in the presence of someone she truly trusted.

Nan

And if Nan thinks she was late...Well, I have a reason. Our shared laptop crashed and died a gruesome death. Getting it all back together, getting all the programs installed, and answering e-mails has been a long and tedious process, and in the meantime, I've missed out on two months worth of fanfic!

So, Sue, thank you. This was a great story, and you, as always, walked that fine line and came out beautifully at the end, with a clear look at Lois' character, Clark's character, and even Superman's character, and then you neatly tied it all together in a beautiful ending.

You are the Queen.

mmouse

Waaahhhhh!!!!!

This was awesome. *sigh*

The Little Tornado.

Sweet Lord I really have been out of it.

So sorry I missed this one the first time around. Thanks for sharing it with us.