so im watching superman (1978) (slowly lol it’s a long-ass film and i have a short attention span) and I’m not 100% into the traditional ‘lois is only into superman’ dynamic im thinking. thoughts about it.
like Lois meets Superman and is Instantly Smitten but also aware very quickly that the idea of ever having an actual relationship with him is just a fantasy. Like he’s an alien and he’s basically a god. it’s obvious he liked her but he keeps her at arms length and she’s pretty sure he’s basically Above the whole idea of dating. so she’s made her peace w it but part of her is still like ‘but what if someday’.
& meanwhile there’s Clark who’s her awkward co-worker and the embodiment of Just Some Guy and very Friend Shaped. and they get closer & closer and more wrapped up in each other’s lives as time goes on. and suddenly she’s like, hm, this guy has a key to my apartment, i know all his favourite take-out orders and he has my hyper-specific starbucks order memorised and i know the name of both his childhood dogs and he’s met my parents and even my grandparents cause we’ve been each other’s dates to weddings and things (platonically!! ofc) for years now and I guess he’s like, my best friend? he’s like. the human embodiment of a comfy sweater u just want to wear every night.
then one day they’re hanging out and she has the slow-burn ‘…..oh.’ moment
and now she’s like, ok I’m in love w my friend Clark, i’ve probably been in love with him for years, and I don’t even know if he feels the same way (he definitely had a crush early on but he backed off as soon as it was clear she wasn’t interested so for all she knows he’s fully over her by now) so I guess I’ve got to. tell him.
and also like!! she thought she was in love with Superman but now it’s like ohhh ok. that really was only ever a fantasy. like, this, this is real, this is a relationship I could maybe actually have and I want it more? i want this more.
but she feels Involved enough with Superman (and like she’s pretty sure he knows how she feels about him) so she’s like i guess i should tell him that there’s someone else. i feel like he has a right to know.
so next time she sees Superman she tells him she’s fallen for someone else and Clark’s just like. dying inside bcos he figured years ago that Lois didn’t (would never) like him back so it never crosses his mind that she might be talking about him. but outwardly he has to be like ‘that’s great!! tell me about him, what’s his name?
‘he’s my co-worker, his name is Clark’
‘Superman? Are you okay?’
*screaming internally* ‘yeah i’m. i’m just fine.’