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Boards Chief Administrator Pulitzer
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We learn a little more about New Krypton…and Clark’s cracks start to show even more… Chapter 7TOC found here
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Columnist
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I love how we get the history of New Krypton and his father and uncle. You have come up with a fantastic history of New Krypton. Great chapter and how he is still dealing with the aftermath of it all.
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Top Banana
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Last edited by Blueowl; 09/26/22 05:17 PM.
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Pulitzer
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PTSD.
Clark has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
And it's not going get better by itself.
He needs to talk to a qualified therapist and get some help. That would require, of course, that the therapist be given his full background - New Krypton, the revolution, what Clark did, what happened to him, and that he is (or was) Superman. And I'm a little surprised that neither Lois nor either of his parents has suggested it. These false steps, like the one closing this chapter, aren't going to solve Clark's root problem.
You haven't been explicit enough yet for us to know if Clark and Zara were intimate. I suspect not, simply because each has hopes for another lover, but they might have been forced into it by societal pressures. That would contribute to Clark's guilt and put another layer of separation between him and Lois. Even if they never had sex, their marriage is a problem for both Clark and Lois, whether either wants to admit it or not. That means that he and Lois have some issues to hash out that are separate from Clark's PTSD.
Good story. Really. I like it. It's heartrending on multiple levels, and there's Kallie in the middle, the most innocent and most vulnerable of them all. It's guaranteed to tug on our heartstrings. Good work. Keep it up!
Life isn't a support system for writing. It's the other way around.
- Stephen King, from On Writing
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You haven't been explicit enough yet for us to know if Clark and Zara were intimate. I just wanted to pop in quickly and say this was in Chapter 5: “Anything!” She spun around to face him, anguish in her face rather than the anger her words and tone suggested. “Or maybe you could tell me...” Her voice dropped to a ragged whisper. “Tell me you didn’t sleep with her. That you weren’t gone nine whole months so you could produce an heir. That you didn’t leave me alone and pregnant to go have a baby on another planet with another woman.”
Her face crumpled and his walls fell, the full force of her feelings slamming into his chest and rending his heart. He was across the room in an instant, gathering her in his arms as she lost her fight against the tears.
He pulled her close and buried his head in her neck. “No...no no no no no no. Oh, Lois!” he soothed. He'd made it. He'd finally caught her.
She let out a sob and sagged into him, bringing her arms around his waist and burying her head against his chest. But was it in time? He hadn't spared her the pain; he'd caused it.
“Never, Lois,” he whispered. “I’m yours. Always.” Clark’s a one-woman man in my book!  I’ll be back later to respond to ALL thing things (bear with me on the PTSD  ) —meanwhile, thank you so far, everyone!!  Sara
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Pulitzer
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Sara, I did read that, and I did remember it. It's just that it came across to me as Clark reassuring Lois that he loves only her and doesn't want any other woman. It's very close to an absolute denial of intimacy with Zara - just not quite totally and completely.
Lois asked if his purpose on New Krypton was to father an heir. He said it was not. It's right alongside "I never had sex with Zara" but it's not quite an absolute denial. But I accept your assertion that Clark was completely faithful to Lois for the entire duration of his sabbatical on New Krypton. Thanks for clarifying that for us. After all, this is your book, isn't it?
I only hope that his purpose for going - to save lives - ultimately succeeded. He hasn't talked about it yet, hasn't allowed himself to think about it yet. And he'll have to before too much longer.
Life isn't a support system for writing. It's the other way around.
- Stephen King, from On Writing
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I love how we get the history of New Krypton and his father and uncle. You have come up with a fantastic history of New Krypton. Great chapter and how he is still dealing with the aftermath of it all. Thank you! It’s continually amusing and amazing to me that there’s so much NK in this story…because that was one thing I’d been SURE I didn’t want to include. Because… for one, I didn’t think I could do it, and two, it sounded BORING. But it’s been exactly the opposite, and I really leaned into it. So I’m glad you’re liking the NK parts. The Zara parts did rely heavily on the bits and pieces we got from the show (the globe and the ship), but I filled in the gaps.  They do! I know! But… Clark is really struggling with having been in war and on a planet, leading a people who don’t care for feelings…who actively trained him not to feel. You have to imagine that was pretty traumatizing for him…and we don’t know yet all of what he had to do up there! :mercy: PTSD.
Clark has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
And it's not going get better by itself.
He needs to talk to a qualified therapist and get some help. That would require, of course, that the therapist be given his full background - New Krypton, the revolution, what Clark did, what happened to him, and that he is (or was) Superman. And I'm a little surprised that neither Lois nor either of his parents has suggested it. These false steps, like the one closing this chapter, aren't going to solve Clark's root problem. You’re exactly right, Terry! I have aimed with this story to have as much realism as possible. Bear in mind that Clark has only been home for a week. We’ll get there. It’s journey, but we’ll get there. Good story. Really. I like it. It's heartrending on multiple levels, and there's Kallie in the middle, the most innocent and most vulnerable of them all. It's guaranteed to tug on our heartstrings. Good work. Keep it up! Thank you for such kind words! We’re 1/3 of the way through now, and I like to think it only gets better from here! …and to be clear…that’s, um, writing-wise because…there are a few more bumps for our beloved hero…  Thank you all for the feedback!! Next chapter coming up soon! Sara
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Sara, I did read that, and I did remember it. It's just that it came across to me as Clark reassuring Lois that he loves only her and doesn't want any other woman. It's very close to an absolute denial of intimacy with Zara - just not quite totally and completely.
Lois asked if his purpose on New Krypton was to father an heir. He said it was not. It's right alongside "I never had sex with Zara" but it's not quite an absolute denial. But I accept your assertion that Clark was completely faithful to Lois for the entire duration of his sabbatical on New Krypton. Thanks for clarifying that for us. After all, this is your book, isn't it?
I only hope that his purpose for going - to save lives - ultimately succeeded. He hasn't talked about it yet, hasn't allowed himself to think about it yet. And he'll have to before too much longer. That’s fair—I can see that! I saw it as Lois asking more than a few things: “Tell me you didn’t sleep with her. Tell me you didn’t go to produce an heir. Tell me you…” So, that first “question” is there—did you sleep with her? And with his several “no’s”, that was meant to be full and complete reassurance of everything. He may be holding back and trying to deny his emotions right now, but this wasn’t a time or place that he wanted or needed to. Lois needed him, and he was able to be there in that moment; half-truths and side-stepping were never further from his mind. As for whether he succeeded or not…yes, we’ve only gotten a hint of that so far… “that everything is fine and they’ve got a new governing structure.” Was he ultimately successful, though… that remains to be seen! C’mon, Clark! Open up! Sara 
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Oh what a heart-wrenching chapter. I like your description of their connection, how Clark's emotions spill over to Lois. Loving this story.
It's never too dark to be cool. 
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Thank you!! I’m so glad you’re enjoying it!
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