Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic The Roads They Walked Alone Part 43 - Comments

All comments, good, bad, or ugly, welcome.

Thanks!

Rac

Hi,

Great part.


More ASAP, please.

MAF

Amaziing Part, Rac! You've run the range from the gentle passion of Zara and Ching, the wistful comfort of Clark's dream of Lois, to the emotional starkness of Lois's responsibilities. They're all going through what so many soldiers have gone through, have to find the strength somehow to survive.

Thank-you, especially, for giving us such a wonderful Lois Lane, and also for Clark's dream of her. Clark too - both these characters still seem so much "in character" and yet, in your hands, they've grown too.

And now Lois is off to see Dr. Friskin. She's a character I never quite took to in the show so I'm interested to see how you develop her character.

c

Nice part - I'm reading, as always!

~Liz

I'm keeping up, too. I wonder if Lois will have to reveal her secret identity to Dr. Friskin. After all, psychologists and therapists are supposed to honor the doctor-patient confidentiality guidelines just like medical doctors. Maybe this will do her a world of good. But is she going as Ultra Woman or as Lois Lane? I suspect the doctor will tell her that she would be more able to treat the real person rather than the costumed crusader. I think that's what Friskin was leading up to in the episode where Superman utilized her services, but didn't get there because he discovered the red K.

Mayb she can make a house call in New Krypton. I think, when Clark finally comes back, he won't want to be Superman for quite a while. He might even prefer to be a Mr. Mom for some time, especially since he will have missed so much time with Jon. Besides, he will have to deal with all the death and pain and suffering he witnessed and underwent himself, and that's not something you get over with a good night's sleep.

And I still think Talan has a crucial part to play in this drama. We've not seen the last of this very strong and loyal woman.

I wonder if Ching and Zara's relationship will be used against Clark's rule by Nor and his cronies. They're taking some awful chances, despite having Clark's tacit blessing. They belong together, but in a licit relationship, not an illicit one where they have to lie and cheat and steal precious moments together and hide their love from everyone else. That's no way to live, and it's going to come back and bite them in their hinder parts.

This is still a great read. Rac, you've captured Lois's anguish so perfectly, and I can't imagine how she's been able to keep up the pace for so long. And while Clark's trials are different, they're no less harrowing for him. I'm sure there's a reconciliation coming for these two, but it's not going to be all honey and roses. Even after Clark comes back, there will be major adjustments for all of them, especially for Jon, since he will be meeting his father for the first time.

Boy, just when I think you've about wrapped it up, more opportunities to torture these people crop up. Hey, just keep them coming! Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? Naw, I never liked that saying either.

I'm reading too, Rac, and I'm sorry I don't feel up to quoting from this chapter. But again this part is amazingly well written, poignant, beautiful and harrowing. I was so moved by Ching's and Zarah's love scene. I was even more moved by your description of how Clark meets Lois in his dream or imagination; even though he knows that he is dreaming, the experience is still so real to him, and the delicate beauty of this scene is so wonderful. I feel as if you have managed to distil the idea of human (or Kryptonian) goodness and make it take shape in an imaginary, exquisitely tender love scene.

The description of Lois's emotional suffering is almost unbearable. It doesn't make it any easier that we are not talking about just her own suffering; it was almost more than I could stand to read about Luc and Ingrid's parents in this chapter.

How do you still believe in the goodness of the human heart when you have seen the unspeakable power of evil? How do you keep believing in a happy ending when you have seen the horrors of war? How do you stay sane and functioning when you can't stop yourself from going to the cruelest place on Earth to help, even though you know that what you do will never be enough?

I'm glad Lois is going to see Doctor Friskin. I'm glad you have given us this wonderful portrait of a superpowered, amazingly tenacious, brave and good Lois Lane, hero and mother. And I'm glad to see your tender portrait of a non-superpowered Clark. I wonder if I've ever said it, but the role reversal for Lois and Clark in this story is so moving and fascinating.

Thank you for your story, Rac, where you show us the forces of good and evil and deliver it all in your incomparable, delicate writing style.

Ann

Hi everyone, thanks for your comments!

I know I must have crossed a line in terms of cruelty when you guys question every moderately nice thing I allow to happen to these characters. Maria, it was just a dream - no one is trying to manipulate Clark while he's sleeping.

Carol, thanks for your comments. It's very flattering to hear that you feel these characters have grown and developed over the course of the story. I think that is every writer's hope. I never gave much thought to Dr. Friskin, either, but I feel like she really has a role to play in this story, so I'm hoping I got it right. We'll see.

Thanks for reading and commenting, Liz. I appreciate it.

Hi, Terry. Thanks for always commenting on every section. I agree that Ching and Zara deserve to be able to celebrate their relationship openly instead of having to sneak around. Whether or not their relationship brings them difficulties... I'm not going to say. I agree that the complicated problems these characters face won't be untangled easily, even when families are reunited.

Hi, Ann. Thanks again for reading, even though this was another emotionally difficult section. Your compliments made my day. 'Delicate' is probably the nicest adjective anyone's ever used to describe my writing style. I didn't even realize it until you mentioned it, but that is exactly what I was hoping to achieve, especially with this section.

There will be more soon, folks. I hope you enjoy what's coming up in this story. Thanks again, as always, for reading along and taking the time to comment.