#plus...very much understandable of clarke lol

[ghostly-bat]

A thing that bothers me a lot about the portrayal of JonDami in Fandom is the fact people assume that Clark would think of/see Damian as a bad influence. I know people have different standards for their own kids but it bugs me / feels so disingenuous to me as a Superman fan first who also loves Damian.

Like canonically the two have butt heads and Damian introduces a different Bat dynamic to Superman, but I genuinely think Clark would be sympathetic / amused by Damian and as Damian grows, the two get along pretty well. I just can't see the paragon of empathy seeing a child who been through so much and decidedly reduce him to his worst traits.

Maybe it's because I subscribe to the idea that Lois & Clark enjoy Damian's company, both having vastly different dynamics but serve as parental-adjacent figures (basically they're one of the trusted adults in his life) because the Kents that healthy family that Damian probably subconsciously compares his broken family to. Not because he envies the nuclear family-ness but oh you can talk to your father/mother and it isn't a mine field of insecurity / am i worthy roulette whenever I walk out of it.

😔 maybe it's bc im not a batman fan, so i like exploring Damian's dynamics outside his father lol

!!!!! This 100x this!

May I offer you some panels—

Clark being the person he is would 100% sympathize with Damian and understand why he is the way he is sometimes. And while he can sympathize with Damian it doesn't mean he has to like how Damian treated his own son when they first met. Both Clark and Bruce knew that it was a rough start for both Jon and Damian but I think Clark knew well enough at that point that Jon was capable of handling himself and if Jon didn't like a situation he could easily take himself out of it cus Jon himself as a kid was very vocal about his likes and dislikes so if Damian was treating him in a way he didn't like he was going to let you know and I think Clark knew that very well.

And Clark as a person likes to believe in the good in people and even if Damian's background is questionable for some people I believe that Clark himself was one of the few people that even with the knowledge of Damian's upbringing still believed he was and could do good and he has.

Damian is such a headstrong and opinionated kid that I'm sure Clark definitely found it rather amusing especially because Damian comes off as much more mature for his age (which isn't necessarily a good thing considering how he was raised) but Clark is one of the few people that sees and still treats him like a kid because that's what he is.

I also think he's able to notice the influence that his own son has on Damian and vice versa. Clark can see the benefits and normalcy of having Damian hang out with someone his own age and Jon also benefits from being around Damian especially because Jon himself felt rather odd and out of place when his powers were setting in and I'm sure Damian not being set off by that probably gave Jon a bit of ease even, if he did find Damian annoying and bossy in the beginning. Clark can clearly see how both boys benefit from being in each other's lives. Plus that's his son's first best friend and is his son happy? Yes! Is it unconventional? Of course it is but they both still get that sense of normalcy when it comes with having a best friend and I think Clark can see that and he wouldn't want to take that away from either of them.

I think both Clark and Damian definitely have a mutual respect for each other. Damian acknowledges all that Superman does and all he stands for and what he represents. He also sees how while Clark is Superman he's still a good dad and a good spouse and I think he really admires that.

Clark can see all the change and growth that Damian has done over the years. How much effort and discipline and sacrifice he's given to his friends and family and the people he cares about. He respects the fact that Damian left the only life he knew to be with his dad and learn a new way of life and that takes bravery because to leave something you've only ever known for something new can be really scary and I think that's something Clark can really respect.

Both Lois and Clark definitely love having Damian around I think they both find him rather amusing just because of his little quirks and the way Jon always talks about Damian makes them happy to know that their son has a friend that's always gonna look out and be there for him.

Damian definitely knows that the Kent family is a safe place even if he doesn't open up to all of them right away they still show him respect and patience and are very welcoming to him and I think they're more than happy to give him that vibe of a welcoming and loving family. He definitely appreciates them in his own way.

I think Clark's the type to still invite Damian into things even if Damian says no, he knows Damian's a bit closed off but he doesn't want him to feel like they've forgotten about him in anyway. They'd get along in the sense were they both have mutual respect for each other and Clark sees him as part of his own family. Especially if Jon and Damian get together I don't think it would be surprise to either him or Lois. They most likely saw it coming from a mile away. 💚💙

[pussyhoundspock]

it is a little crazy how clark and lex while being so drawn to each other are basically designed to trigger each other's deepest anxieties like on the lex side of course there's the abandonment issues (mother dying and leaving him alone, same with his first take on a gay childhood best friend situationship) and then the trust issues (lionel, as this is a given,) so when clark doesn't tell him his secret right this is obviously a sign that clark doesn't trust him and therefore that he could abandon lex at any time (part of why lex behaves so desperately or dicksick with clark)

whereas for clark obviously he's very driven by his fear of rejection (for most of the time he's alive while him and lex are friends clark doesn't know why his parents abandoned him and likely his early feeling of being rejected by his parents and possibly even entire planet PLUS jonathan literally does make his acceptance of clark conditional on clark's ability to maintain a pretense of normality and american values -- we see how badly clark crashes out in season 2 when this is rescinded and jonathan like "rejects" clark as his son) and also being alone (this, like lionel = trust issue, is just a given) so the people clark loves the MOST he's the most likely to keep secrets from out of these fears.

so what lex is reading as rejection from clark, is actually evidence of how deeply clark loves and values lex. and it's actually the reverse too with lex continually trying to investigate clark right that's because we see how due to his trust issues the more lex cares about someone the more likely it is his father will try to ruin that for him so the more he cares, the more paranoid he gets. but of course clark, who is like basically conditioned to perform normality at all times sees these attempts to prove what a freak he is as rejection (having basically been told his entire life if people know the truth about him they will reject him -- pete literally doing this in s3 not helping LOL -- and hate him and take him away and tie him up and experiment on him). and it's sort of worse because neither of their fears are really unfounded -- lionel will really stop at nothing to interfere with lex forming healthy relationships outside of him and a lot of people will reject and lock clark up if they find out he's an alien. so in lex's investigations and in clark's lies, those are both ways that demonstrate how much they love each other but neither can understand or interpret each other's actions this way and they just make them both feel worse and less able to trust each other. on account of the issues and problems.

[skildpadde03]

I watched supergirl (2026) today!! putting my thoughts under the cut because it will NOT be spoiler free!

I dont dislike this movie at all. I would give it a 6/10 or 3.5/5 (idk if those r equal they just feel right lol) overall. There were some Hella cheesy parts but all superhero movies r like that. its completely true that MOST of the slack this movie is getting is because its a female-led superhero movie in general, but also bc she's taking down a literal sex trafficking ring. like I was expecting to go in with that point in the movie being like...context clue dependant, but i was pleasantly surprised to see that they tackled that issue pretty head on. they even call a group of NOTICABLY YOUNG girls "the brides". it was gut wrenching to see and im glad that it was and it wasn't watered down (side note, I teared up when all the girls escaped the ship and it showed them all running :")""")

milly alcock did an amazing job as kara, especially with what she was given. Idk why people are attacking her so violently besides blatant misogyny because she was brilliant. anything I felt was "cringe" or any other ick-adjacent feeling wasnt because of her acting, it was completely character slash script related (which isn't always a bad thing, let characters be cringe!!!). i definitely dont feel like this was a movie with a perfectly executed and mind opening message (definitely watered down/ base level on most fronts, but again, not a bad thing in this day and age. at least we're getting a message at all!!) but i dont think it was a horrible movie. the more i think on it, the more i get understanding for parts that i didnt like and come to like it more as a whole. I'll need to watch it again once its streaming

now. as for her orgin...I was originally very pissed off about the changing of Kara's orgin, but upon further investigation, its apparently her pre-crisis orgin. that orgin being, of course, that she's actually younger than clark and was sent to earth way after him. I feel like for the central theme or message of this movie tho, this orgin doesn't really add any depth. I think her more well known orgin (being older than clark, sent at a similar or the same time as him, and getting stuck in space, etc.) worked perfectly fine, and probably even better. my original thought for them doing this was to have a parallel to ruthye with their parents specifically being taken from them and having to continue living (whether they like it or not), but i feel like thats not a good enough reason tbh. it could also be said that maybe they did it to drive the message home that kryptonians as a whole aren't evil and clarks parents r just weird for wanting him to take over earth with his powers, but i didnt like that decision in superman either so I feel that that also isn't a completely great reason. I feel like, as per usual with James gunn's DCU so far, he just wanted it to be niche so he went with the lesser known or less popular orgin for her. I genuinly dont think it has any deeper meaning other than that. maybe going forward its to add something to clark's story but...that in itself rubs me the wrong way if true lol

I feel that, again, with this film being about her going thru her grief and helping another young girl thru her grief, keeping her more well known orgin of watching her entire PLANET/ race die at once and then mourning what was supposed to be her baby cousin's entire life up until his adulthood, would have given so much more depth to her grief and her journey through it. plus..its just more interesting overall!! to me at least. like, im personally the oldest out of ALL of my first cousins, and thinking of myself in kara's place makes me tear up immediately EVERY. TIME. those kids r my babies 100%. if I was told to protect one of my cousins when they were a baby and then I turn around and its a grown ass adult, id 100% spiral and grieve what I wasnt able to do. both in my cousins upbringing, and in what I missed in their life. I feel that that whiplash could have benefited the film so so much, and also just the superman mythos in the DCU going forward as a whole. because of this decision im really unsure of where theyre going after this and im not sure if im excited for it anymore lol I just really hope their mindset going forward isn't "lets be as niche and off center as possible", not because i want 1:1 adaptations, just because....certain stories and orgins are popular for a reason. i was so excited to see kara grieve her baby cousin on the big screen, and that grief doesn't even exist. girl still has a lot of grief, but for me personally, this orgin falls short and isn't unique or outstanding in any way.

overall, id 100% suggest people go see supergirl if its still in theaters around you (at my theater today was the last day to see it). its truly a decent movie. nothing ground breaking but not nearly as bad as critics are making it seem. im going into the rest of the DCU with hesitation but not hatred or anything. I think im definitely a comic person, but this was a pretty good movie :)

oh yea I also would have loved to see some of kara's civilian identity and stuff but mostly bc ive been reading up on supergirl comics and I think hers is very interesting, but i also wasnt expecting it bc of how supergirl has been hyped up leading up to the movie. I forgot to add that before but dont wanna make room somewhere else above for it bc holy shit I talked so much

tl;dr- GO WATCH SUPERGIRL!!!!

[viktor-frankenstein]

In Stewart Clarke’s defense, I’ve seen and heard other versions of Javerts at least hundreds of times now and had plenty of time to digest and absorb it, whereas I have only seen him once, and this one time happened to have some unforeseen interruptions to the performance, so the game is already a bit rigged against him.

But ☝️ listening to some recordings a few more times, I do think I like it.

The musical version seems to be consistently faster than the movie version (understandably for time reasons), but this also means that, for me, sometimes the heavy moments don’t get enough time to linger. Hardly his fault, just an observation.

For Javert’s suicide, which I consider more important in evaluating a Javert’s performance, I definitely think Clarke handled it well. Even against my own personal tastes and interpretations, he completely sold to me the image of a Javert whose the world is crumbling around him.

It starts with the act of mercy, seeing mountains you worshipped on the horizon split open in a loud, unnatural crack. It must be mocking you. Instead of striking you down, it strikes down your god — and you realize it always could have, but chose not to. You would imagine it laughing cruelly at your folly, if you did not know for a fact that it refuses to do such a thing. Before you can fully process or mourn the loss of such a constant in your life, you hear the rumble get louder and louder — the earth is splitting open, and it is heading towards you. Do you run, or do you stand and accept your fate? Would you run away from the God whom you ferociously served for all these years? Even now, a small part of you rails against such disloyalty. If it could take down a mountain, what use is running on your human feet? And clearly, it was no God, for it just crumbled in front of your very eyes; you are already guilty of worshipping a false Idol. Better damned as a sinner than live as a coward, you think. As the dirt and silt beneath your feet gives way, you fall — just like Lucifer fell. It seems you could not rise above what you so much despised, after all.

I use this metaphor because the impression I get from many Javerts is that the song is a conflict of Javert vs Reality forcibly crashing down on him, but I personally prefer Javert (past) vs Javert (present). Having everything externally close in on him doesn’t feel as satisfying as seeing him coming to his own realization that, with everything he has done and lived for, there is nothing else he can do, not realizing that the externality is something of his own making, but also something he could have broken out of — I believe such is the center of his tragedy.

Again — for the more external interpretation, Clarke did wonderfully. I wouldn’t have written a whole paragraph if he didn’t give me something to work with. The almost feral yells, occasional gasps and pants definitely added to the desperation and anguish he feels, good work.

More show related notes:

Im like 70% sure I saw Stewart Clarke come out of the side door but he looked like he was in a hurry (with a hat and headphones, plus the show was interrupted and delayed earlier) so I didn’t stop him for a photo.

Because of the interruption unfortunately we all had to see him get up after the Confrontation, instead of him leaving when the stage turns dark. A bit sad, but a bit funny.

It’s kinda funny seeing Jordan Simon-Pollard as the foreman and later Fantine’s first customer. What r u doing there Javert.

Artistic rendering of what I meant with the external and internal thing (Insert loss joke lol)

[ghostgirl-22]

Rules/Info:

— This blog is generally 18+. Theres a handful of SFW items but it’s easier to assume the opposite. I don’t have the time or energy to police minors or review every blogger for their age. Just know I take no responsibility should you choose to consume content that is labeled as 18+ and NSFW.

—Additionally I warn people where I can but I can’t anticipate every trigger so please use common sense. My writing generally comes from prompts or kinks. If aspects of those things usually bother or offend you don’t read.

— I love all of your asks, legitimately… but I also have a ton of irl responsibilities and I choose to do this during my limited free time because it’s fun. Thank you all for being so respectful and patient with me for that.

— Again, I love your asks and will definitely do my best to answer them all. Even if it takes some time. That said while I’m open to writing most things there are a few things that are hard nos particularly for the challengers trio. Absolutely no hate to anyone who enjoys these things you will just have to find it elsewhere.

Won’t write: rape/non-con, violence/assault, major character death, underage sex ( it’s not always explicitly stated but you can assume all characters I write engaging in nsfw activities are 18+ even in high school), puppy play (not because I don’t enjoy reading it I just can’t write it), gross and blue writing like scat, vomit, blood (piss doesn’t count I was corrupted at a young age so you can send your piss!kink though I won’t promise anything lol). I love to deviate from canon but a full on AU just doesn’t interest me ( i.e. the trio never met, gender-swap, creature fics a la vampires, they play a different sport or have different jobs as in they never played tennis, Lily’s never born, etc). Woah i fuckin lied I will write all the AU.

—FYI I’m a throuple endgame truther and very rarely write x reader particularly when it excludes Tashi (plus I’m not very good at 2nd person). That said I’m not completely closed to the x reader concept and will attempt those prompts if I can.

— Finally, I’m a black girl. Challengers was made with a black girl as the lead and central character. I won’t write anything to disparage her or downplay her role in the story. She’s not too good for them on some exceptional badass black girl narrative. And they’re not too good for her (idc if she’s mean, just like idc if Art is a snake or if Patrick’s a dick). They made their choices, they’re all messy losers that hate and love each other and I believe they deserve each other.

—obviously, I won’t condone racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or any other phobia or ism on this blog.

Thank all of y’all for understanding. Challengers fandom is teeny tiny but the vibes are truly immaculate. And coming from lurking in Supernatural and Interview with the Vampire and writing bad marvel fanfic before that, it means so much to chill in such a relaxed fandom with y’all <3

-other characters/pairings i would consider writing for: Clark Kent, Superbat, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Sam and Dean Winchester

[blorb-el]

hullo! I read your chapter of your au with the Very Horrible Lex and the Very Baby Kon and the Very Sad Clark and i love it sosososo much! The GOOD ANGST my dood.

I want you to know i’ve been daydreaming abt it. Heck, i was daydreaming WHILE reading it- i mean that’s actually normal for me when i’m invested in smthn, but fr i kept getting distracted by So Many Thoughts and Feelings tm. Took me longer to read than it should’ve but rest assured that’s a positive thing!

i read the fic you based it on, and it was great! But so far im liking yours better >v>

I wanna see the rescue and the recovery! I wanna see it get worse first! I wanna see Clark attempt to raise Kon the best he can in the worst of circumstances! The love and human connection thriving even in the midst of a hurricane of cruelty— it’s so good bestie!

uhh anyway! The point of this ask: I wanna know, how did you come up with the title? “We shall be free; we shall find peace”? oVo?

Thank you!! That's basically how it came about, daydreaming about the fic that inspired it!

So I really love the fanfic tradition of using lowercase AestheticTM song lyrics as titles. Fic is already inherently intertextual, and I think it's fun to add another layer of intertextuality onto that; I named one of my other fics with a lyric mostly because 1. the lyric fits their relationship! and 2. the juxtaposition between Wholesome Radio Pop Lyric and soft d/s xeno tentacle pwp still makes me laugh.

At first the draft was just called 'horrible lex au,' and then I thought about using two other quotes before settling on the title. That's the tl;dr of it all, the rest of this is under a cut for plot spoilers for the overall arc of the entire fic, and also so, so much rambling:

The first title I was thinking about was be sure your heart is brave from Aeschylus' Agamemnon, but that quote is the chorus speaking to Cassandra right before she's about to be killed; her bravery is a heavy burden reaction to the monstrous injustices that have brought her to that point, like Clark and Kon... but then she's brutally murdered. Plus the power dynamic situation is... let's say, very different. It's an extraordinary, immortal line but the narrative arc I've got planned strays too far from the original arc, and in the end I decided I didn't want the shadow of a way better tragedy hanging over my little fanfic.

Chorus: Woman, be sure your heart is brave; you can take much. Cassandra: None but the unhappy ever hear such praise.

The next line I was thinking about went too far in the other direction, taste a morning out there, which is from one of the best 'I Want' songs, Out There from the Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame. Quasimodo's story of being thought monstrous and being imprisoned and gaslit by a socially powerful manipulator parallels Clark and Kon better than Cassandra's, but in the end the literal line itself doesn't fit right with either Clark or Kon. Clark, at the beginning of the fic, has atrophied to the point where he can only conceive wanting for such things through wanting them for Kon, and Kon, as we'll see soonish, isn't locked up underground the way Clark is. Plus, the fic is... lighter than the Orestia for sure but a hell of a lot grimmer than Disney, lol. I do have it on my writing playlist though.

So in the end I went back to one of my absolute favorite pieces of media ever, Fidelio. We shall be free; we shall find peace is a line from the Prisoner's Chorus in that opera. The solo prisoner that sings the line invites the rest of the prisoners to begin hoping, and from there, despite the sobering reminders of the dangers they face, that they're being watched, the music swells into a yearning for freedom so powerful it's difficult to understand how it passed the censors in 1805.

First solo: Hope whispers softly to me: We shall be free, we shall find peace. Chorus: Oh Heavens! Salvation! What happiness! Oh freedom, freedom, will you return? Second solo: Speak softly! Be on your guard! [The jailer's] eyes and ears are on us.

And then - the head jailer returns, and the prisoners are brought back to reality, forced back into their dark cells at the end of the act. The temporary respite is over.

Farewell, warm sunshine - how quickly you fly from us. Night is fallen upon us, from which no day shall break.

The simple act of hoping is like a breath of fresh air, temporarily alleviating their suffering, but it doesn't materially change their circumstances; it takes a number of outside forces to do that, which will be paralleled in the fic. Love and hope is all they have, and it's not enough, but it does make the torment bearable until Bruce/Leonora uncovers the extent of The Horrors and Diana/Don Fernando can deus ex machina everyone into the sunlight.

All in all, the line is a very succinct summary of the plot. Clark and Kon will be free, and they will find peace, but they have to find out what both of those mean, reclaiming their agency in the process.

oooor at least that's the plan. chapter 2 is about 90% edited and can probably be ready this weekend, I hit a little plot snag in chapter 3-5 so chunks of that are undergoing rewrites, but the good news there is that the rewrites are SO much better than the original draft and there will be some bats showing up earlier than there otherwise would have been. I did uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh kind of lose my job a few days after posting the first part, so updates will be slower than I'd like, especially since I'll have to move to a different state if I get the positions I'm currently applying to 😓

[muzzable]

Luke Triton for the character thing?

Oh boy, my boy! (I have many boys)

First impression: I think I found him annoying lol. First PL game I played was Curious Village and I was presumably younger than Luke at the time, but similarly to him at the stage where you want to act mature and I probably thought he was too immature.

Impression now: I love this character a lot. Eventually I started identifying with him somewhat because I also like blue, have a similar hair color that can get messy in similar ways, and found his character arc about keeping a calm head to think things through relatable (which iirc is more prevalent in the novels, though I know most haven't read them). Also I wish I had his power to talk to animals.

Favorite moment: That's a hard one, but I think I'd have to say the scene with the statue in Unwound Future. He's a very emotive character, so the solemn quietness of the scene really stands out, and I like how tender the moment between him and the Professor is with the reminder that yes, things do change and people might leave your life, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're gone forever, and you'll still have those memories.

Idea for a story: I'd definitely like to see more of his time in America, especially with the information we learned about it during the anime. We know he learned karate, fell in love, got married, and solved mysteries with his wife, so there's a lot to explore there. Imagine a spinoff series focused on the mysteries he and Marina solved while also showing them going from friends to newlyweds.

Unpopular opinion: Maybe this isn't as unpopular as I think, but I like his design as an adult. I think keeping the primary color as blue but making it darker conveys his maturity well, you can see some influence from Layton and Clark in his fashion choices, and it looks gentlemanly. I see it and think "Look at him, he's all grown up, he's no longer a gentleman-in-training!" Plus I admire that they actually went and made it noticeably different from the Future Luke design in Unwound Future. I will concede the fedora is too small though, and the anime's inconsistent animation didn't help it, though that part's understandable given the amount of animation they had to do. (But seriously like, did he buy one of those costumes for dogs and take the hat from it or something?)

Favorite relationship: I'm gonna go generic and say his relationship with the Professor. I like how he encourages Luke to better himself, and is always patient and gentle with him, and their conversations flow really naturally. Over the course of the series it feels like they both grow into better/healthier people overall because of it; at the beginning of Last Specter Luke's closed himself off from the world intentionally, but Layton's also somewhat of a loner as well, and after knowing each other they both learn to open up to people more. I'm also partial to his and Emmy's sibling-like teasing and how in Unwound Future he's all "Ugh Flora can't you take this seriously? 🙄" but you can tell they actually have a lot of fun together and he's just being 13.

Favorite headcanon: I like how it feels like pretty much all of the fandom agrees Luke and Marina met in school and/or due to a mystery he was trying to solve. The first feels very real and would be a good way to show he's adapting well to life in America, while the second is very in-character because if there's a mystery we all know he can't leave well enough alone (wonder who he got that from lol).

[jonroxton]

Clois in the ep. Infamous (sm) , do you understand cloùs conversation in the barn?

it’s the climax of the episode where everything comes to a head. it’s glorious, very fast and very complex (by sv standards, maintext and subtext working over time in all these lines). and we have (literally) no time to digest any of it. not you, or me, and definitely not lois or clark. there was supposed to be a kiss, but! things! are! happening! so!

lois is about to get arrested (as she do) and she says: "without my lawyer, you're not gonna hear me so much as hiccup."

(i HAVE to start with this line bc it leads perfectly into the barn scene also. this? line???? i love it. if you get arrested, don't talk, kids! lois comes off as badass and extremely competent here and I LIKE THE LITTLE THINGS OK)

clark saves her, swooping in after her. this episode is very old school clois, with a great external threat upending their lives. their dialogue runs quickly, adding urgency. we get a lot of gems in this back and forth that first All Plot, beginning right away, but like all great scenes, it becomes about their struggle within it. how they cope with it, how they interact against such forces. scenes like these reveal character, and that’s lois as a loyal hype man a little in love, and clark as, you know, clark, always worried about destroying everything. against any other character, this scene would’ve gone a different way. but lois is all FIGHT ME COME ON, but that’s a little further down this post. 

SO. they swoosh in, back lit, hella romantic. but, you know, ppl r trying to Get Them.

"Nice interception, but you shouldn't be here. All the bloodhounds in the state will be sniffing you out."

prob the best thing about lois-knows what-if episodes is that she never quite gets over her awe in clark, but she does have a nose for reasoning things out. she compliments him AND warns him at the same time.

2. "It's okay. I know this sounds crazy, but in a few moments this will all be over."

THIS is why you barely have friends, clark. this is not an explanation! its just how he has been conditioned to answer, to protect his secret. but my brother in christ, this is lois lane.

3. "Okay, try me. My shock threshold is pretty high right now."

SEEEEeeeeee.

it’s funny that clark goes to his old ways irt explaining, when in this episode he has dumped it all on her. his kryptonian heritage and his powers and that the ppl closest to her already know. PLUS wanting HER to be the one to tell the world carries its own sub textual meaning (trust in her as a person, trust in her as a journalist, her integrity, her ability). there was a lot going on this episode, and lois is ready for more. or rather, she’s unfazed by the continuing madness.

4. “ lois, i have a ring that allows me to go to any moment in time.”

ngl, i’m proud of clark right here. it comes from two places, the old school clark, who knows he won’t have to face the consequences of actually telling the truth about all the weird shit constantly happening, and this clark that totally trusts lois and knows she can handle it. again, things are fast, and clark more easily leans into the absurdity of the truth bc lois has proven all episode she has a knack for it.

5. “i’m gonna go back to when linda lake ever wrote that article”

this little moment within the moment is truly glorious. because clark has walked away from her here, to get the ring, leaving lois speechless. which is rare and a sure sign of the apocalypse. but we get this moment of lois drinking in the new information and adjusting her understanding to just... keep going. to deduce what that actually means and why clark would do it at all. because she quickly understands and WANTS to do something about it. you can seeeeee it in her face even before she opens her arms to start a fight right then and there lol.

6. “the world isn’t ready to accept someone like me.”

man, clark has like no esteem. he has no high self-esteem, no low esteem. just like no esteem at all.

7. (ARMS WIDE) lois responds “then stay and fight back.”

bc BC even with the out of reversing time and fixing it all, lois’s first instinct is to challenge the challengers. it’s glorious GLORIOUS. even her attitude spikes.

8. “give people a chance to see who you really are.”

BC SHE KNOWS HIM AND KNOWS THAT PPL WOULD LOVE THAT PERSON SHE KNOWS. BC SHE LOVES HIM TOO. 

9. “lois, my whole life i’ve seemed different...”

here’s where the dialogue goes into overdrive, where no one is saying exactly what they want to say, but enough is conveyed to warrant a goddamn kiss, *ERICA DAMN YOU! it turns this great climactic moment into something very intimate. it’s confessionals without knowing you’re making a confession. and there’s no time at all to go through any of it!

10. “some people spend their entire lives looking for a way to stand out. to be a person that anybody would call special. when you first told me who you were, my thought was, ‘anyone but clark.’ and not because of the alien thing. i’ve known enough guys to know that you can be born on terra firma and be light years from normal.”

SHE DOESN’T EVEN CONSIDER AT ALL THAT HE’S AN ALIEN. SHE DOESN’T CARE. it’s not a factor into her vision of him. it’s not what informs her decisions about him. like! CLARK’S GREATEST FEAR! completely done away with. not a factor here! so what’s special is not what makes one different, or alien, or superpowered, but what binds one person to another. what makes one person special to another.

11. “lois, you don’t have to explain. i get it.”

DO YOU CLARK? DO YOuuuuu? it’s around right here that clark realizes what he’s losing in a lois that knows.

12. “no, you don’t. how can someone with x-ray vision be so blind? “

BC SHE’S NOT TALKING ABOUT WHAT HE IS. WHERE HE’S FROM. BUT WHAT HE DOES. HIS ACTIONS. WHO HE IS. that’s what she’s talking about, that’s what she loves about him. and it’s reflective of her type lol and those types have tells. BUT Buuuuuuuuuut something is different here.

13. “i’ve been down the hero road before. and every time i made a giant u-turn. but this. this was different.”

tell me you love clark kent without telling me you’re in love with clark kent.

14. “and this time it will be different, lois. when i do this no one’s going to remember who i am.”

 and then everyone will be safe. i want to remind everyone that every single time clark has told someone his secret they’ve either died or been severely hurt and brutalized. he has a legitimate fear. lois was about to be arrested for it. he’s protecting her and protecting the world and all that good stuff, but it’s at the expense of this stunning trust he has with lois that’s just beginning, that’s JUST started to morph into something. BUT THERE’S NO TIME. there’s just no way to explain to lois (and he wouldn’t anyway lol) how everything that’s happening is his greatest fear, how he’s dreaded this, how it’s coming true, how he can lose HER if it keeps going.

15. “and when you hit your reset button, you’re not gonna tell me your secret are you?”

“i’m sorry.”

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT MOMENT HERE BC CLARK HAS HAD THIS SCENE PLAY OUT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER A MILLION TIMES BEFORE. A MILLION TIMES HE HAS APOLOGIZED TO HIS FRIENDS WITHOUT EVER FULLY EXPLAINING, COMING OFF AS UNTHINKING AND UNCARING AND EVEN CALLOUS. BUT HE REALLY IS TRYING TO PROTECT HER AND HIS FRIENDS AND HE TRULY IS SORRY. 

and something miraculous happens. something beautiful.

16. “it’s okay. why should i think i’m special? clark. i understand.”

lois is hurt, but she’s also empathetic to clark. and she lets him know. this has been lois’s way since always, she’s always been able to wave off clark weirdness. but this time she has background, this time she has a stake in it, this time she has fully experienced being on the other side of it, part of this other clark’s life. and she GETS IT. he’s hurting her by doing this, it’s hurting her visibly, but she fully gets why clark is doing this and she doesn’t try to stop him or demand more of him.

this is why clark is a little shook here. he can’t explain bc RUNNNNING OUTTT OFFF TIME, but he tries to. 

17. “lois, you don’t understand. it’s because you are special. i have to go.”

HE JUST WANTS TO PROTECT HER AND BE IN A WORLD WHERE U KNOW PEOPLE WITH GUNS WON’T COME AFTER HER JUST BECAUSE SHE’S HIS FRIEND. 

*so per some interview somewhere with an executive producer, they revealed there was a kiss in this scene, but when it came time to shoot it erica thought the kiss was unnecessary because of lois’s resilience and trust in herself and her connection with clark. and she was right. 

a kiss would’ve just made the romance of it all concrete, made all the subtext maintext secure. but what we got made the scene all the more complex on both sides. you get to chew a lot on what the characters mean with what little words and time they get, and that subtext is that they WANT to stay together, they WANT to be able to live in this world where they both know and she’s his confidante and things are good and they COULD FIGHT. it does make it a stronger scene.