Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic The Roads They Walked Alone Part 53 - Comments

Any and all comments welcome.

Thanks,

Rac

Hi,

Great part!

Oh no, please don't go there. That's like having Lois fall for Jimmy....

More soon.

~Lois Lane Wanna Be

I could see this coming. Clark's temptation will be Talan (as he is also hers). But this isn't like Lois falling for Jimmy, although I can see how some might feel that way. Lois's relationship with Jimmy is more of a "big sister to little brother" type of thing, whereas Kal-El's relationship with Talan is one between equals, whether Talan thinks so or not. As I've asserted before, Talan and Lois are completely different people, but they share some important chracteristics, chief among them being that they are both strong women who have a powerful moral and ethical center.

But, ulitimately, I believe Clark will remain faithful to his wife. I would expect Talan herself to point to the ring around Clark's neck and tell him that this is the woman for him.

Of course, I've been wrong before.

And Lois is making great progress on the diplomatic front, even though she doesn't see all of it. That's her big temptation, to use her powers to administer justice outside the accepted legal avenues, to trade all the good she could do in the future to relieve the righteous anger she feels towards the evil dictator now.

And will Alon be able to get the information about Talan and Clark's location to Rae Et in time to affect the outcome of the coming battle? Will this be the piece of evidence the First Lord needs to put him in prison? Will Talan herself survive, or will she have that dreaded opportunity to take personal revenge on Nor?

That was an evil cliffhanger, Rac, but an effective one. I'm looking forward to the next chapter. I've stopped looking forward to the resolution, though. This story will never end!

Not that that's a bad thing, mind you.

I love how these lines from the previous part, posted at the top of page containing the new part, parallel the beginning of chapter 53:

Two very good men speak to young children. But Lok Sim is like a father figure to the orphaned little Thia, and he is saying good-bye to her. Jimmy is like Jon's uncle, and he is saying hello.

I loved this little bit of light-heartedness:

Thanksgiving. Turkey. For me personally these things mean very little, since we don't have a real Thanksgiving tradition in Sweden, and turkey is not very popular as a holiday food compared with ham. But Thanksgiving and turkey mean something to Lois and Jimmy. Those things are part of the holidays and festivals that any culture, society or civilization must have at their centers, to give its members or its people little bonfires of happiness, joy and a feeling of community to reach out and warm and brighten up the dreary treadmill circle of life. More than that, these traditional celebrations give to almost everyone a reason to exist, no less: yes, because you know your family will want you to come home for Christmas, or Thanksgiving. I have not read all of your story, Rac, far from it. But until now, I've seen nothing like Thanksgiving or Christmas on Krypton. I remember that perhaps two parts ago, Talan's brother asked her what she wanted to live for. As far as I can remember, she couldn't really answer. Because you may die for your ideals, but you may live for celebrating your family and community and all the good things in life on Thanksgiving.

Celebrating Thanksgiving is a bit hard for Lois, since Clark is not there to celebrate it with her. But you made her give thanks in a way I found very moving:

She thanks Jimmy for being there for her in Kinwara, and for taking that picture which won him a Kerth and which won her fight for the people of Kinwara the sympathy of the world, but which cost him so much sorrow.

And I'm not going to quote anything from the conversation between Lok Sim and Talan, but it was beautifully written, and it reflected so well the admirable character of these two people.

And Talan assigned Faral, "her grizzled sergeant", to protect Lok Sim. I wonder if Faral is going to give his life for Lok Sim.

I found it so moving that Lois persuaded Perry that he had to run an editorial that criticized Ultrawoman for endorsing a very flawed peace agreement in Kinwara. Lois herself felt bad about what she had given her support to, but she really had had no choice:

This is so strongly and powerfully put.

Actually, Rac, that is precisely the question I asked myself when the TV series made Clark leave Lois and the Earth to go and fight a war on Krypton. On the Earth, Clark had all his loved ones and everything and everyone he knew, plus his superpowers which allowed him to be fantastic force for good on his adopted home world. On Krypton, Clark knew no one, did not understand the society, should not have been able to speak the language, and had no special physical powers there at all. I'm sure you explained, earlier in your story, why Clark decided to go to Krypton, and I'm sure that in your story, it was the right thing to do, too. Probably Clark's compassion serves as an inspiration and a guiding light to the Kryptonians that simply can't be replaced. Even so I must admit that Clark's decision to go to Krypton and lead the planet at war baffles me.

There can be no doubt that Clark was motivated by the noblest of causes.

That's the problem. If George Bush was driven by lofty ideals when he pushed for an invasion of Iraq, he wasn't good enough to bring about the peace and prosperity he might have dreamed of.

I'm most certainly not comparing Clark with George Bush, but the question remains: What makes you think you will do more good than harm when you go to war?

I'm thinking about almost 3,000 young Americans who have died in Iraq. Was it worth it? Clark is thinking about the guards who gave their lives to protect him on the day he was captured. Even though they had died for him, he had still been taken prisoner by the horrible Lord Nor. Was the sacrifice of the guards worth it?

Maria has already quoted this, which is incredibly painful and strong. Clark's sense of homelessness touches me so deeply. I can understand him: he has been away from the Earth, from his parents, from Metropolis, from the Daily Planet, from Jimmy and Perry and from Lois for so long. How can he be a part of all of that once more, when he hasn't shared their Earthly reality with them for several years, and when he may forever be haunted by horrible memories from Krypton?

I found the discussion between Zara and Ching regarding Clark and Talan interesting. I'm glad they understand the attraction between Talan and Clark. But, like Zara and Ching seem to do, I hope these two people will not have an affair. Like Terry, I think that Talan herself will remind Clark of his duty to Lois, if he ever seriously thinks of making love to the Kryptonian Commander. However, I think she desires him more than he desires her, at least if we talk about physical desire.

I was glad to see Lois make an important arrest in Kinwara. Yes, she did the right thing, when she endorsed that flawed peace agreement.

Clark's nightmare about Nor is truly, truly horrible.

In Africa, Lois feels as down and bad about her own efforts at making peace as Jimmy felt about taking the iconical picture of Lois carrying the little dying baby boy. I love what Dalton told Lois, though, when she wouldn't have a drink with him:

I love Talan's musings about herself, Clark and Lois:

And Clark is coming out to where Talan is, close to Nor's forces. And Alon is about to send information about Clark's itinerary to Rae Et. Well, the possibilities that open up here are the sort of which I don't much like to think of.

Ann

Hi Rac,

Wonderful how you use these child-centered moments to contrast with the horrors and duties of war. Really like, too, how you've portrayed Jimmy - he's no longer the kid who tagged after Lois, he's her peer. Lois's loneliness is heartbreakingly apparent in this scene with Jimmy as she's tries to convince herself that having her child and the Kents is enough.

heh heh. or that she and Jimmy.... ? (seriously though, hope not!)

Talan is so professional!

Clark is well and truly depressed. Talan has, in a way, been his Dr. Friskin, but now she's at the front, he's having to recover his inner strength. But so many self-doubts.

I'm a bit disappointed in Zara's reaction to Talan and Clark. Or is Zara simplpy projecting her own values onto the situation - were Ching gone for that long she'd be having an affair to relieve her "loneliness"?

loved this:
and for entirely different reasons, this:
And this too - Does this mean Clark is going to act to try to break through the military stalemate?
Ann wrote:
But I don't think they do - they've misinterpreted what the reader knows actually did go on, as well as Clark's inner thoughts. He hasn't shown any sign that his feelings for Talan are other than that of friendship. After all, most of us have had close opposite-sex friendships that were not about sex.

&
Were Talan to have to "remind Clark of his duty to Lois" then he's already betrayed Lois (what a cold word is "duty"). Whether Talan puts on the breaks is irrelevant because it would be *she* who is making the decision. I do hope your story doesn't go there.

Talan's situation is a different matter. She's clearly in love with Clark. Is that a part of her "nervous breakdown", I wonder? She's projecting all her repressed emotions onto this "decent man", as she thinks of him, precisely because he is the antithesis of the horror she sees around her?

not going anywhere near the Clark Kent/George Bush thing.

Hi Rac,

I'm so sorry I'm not commenting on every part, or that I have time to give detailed fdk.

But I am still reading and still digesting all your complex situations and even more interesting characterizations. I love your new characters and your fresh insights into the established characters problem solving.

I'm hoping you don't go any further with the Talan/Clark relationship. I can see why she would fall for him, because he has carried her outside her comfort zone and made her review her life. While Talan, in turn, has comforted Kal by lending him her strength... in part, mirroring Lois' role in his life.

Yet, I do hope that both Talan and Kal recognize that their feelings for each other are best left as a deep and lasting friendship.

I rely on you to tell your story and I promise I will try to leave fdk as often as I can.

Yours Jenni

Hi everyone, Thanks for your comments.

Maria, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed this section. I'll post more soon.

Hi LLWB, I don't think it's quite the same as Lois falling for Jimmy because, as Terry mentioned, Lois is like Jimmy's older sister. Nonetheless, I know that no one wants to see anything happen between Clark and Talan.

Terry, I promise the story will end, even if is going to be a while. As you pointed out, Alon and Nor are still a threat and both Clark and Lois still have challenges to face.

Hi Ann. You're right that holidays and rituals are an important part of any culture and they're an especially difficult time when you have to be separated from your family. As for why Clark went to New Krypton, I ret-conned the story a bit. Here, Jor El is not only the scientist who discovers Krypton is doomed, he and Lara are the ones who orchestrate the exodus of Krypton's survivors. Clark is driven not just by a desire to help those in need, but to finish the task his parents started. He also knew that New Krypton was going to war if he didn't go. Granted, the situation descended into war anyway, but it was a sure bet without his presence.

Thanks for commenting, Carol. I don't think Zara's thoughts are her projecting her values. I don't think she's ever done anything to suggest she would ever be unfaithful to Ching. Heck, she and Ching were separated for nearly a decade and she still waited for him. Zara's thoughts instead stem from the fact that she's beyond the point where she thinks she can judge Clark. She knows that she has no idea what he's been through or how he's dealing with it. As you said, Zara and Ching don't know what's going on in Talan and Clark's heads and they haven't seen what the reader has. Their thinking is limited by their experiences. Also, Zara didn't rush to vocalize the thought, she only admitted it once Ching asked her if that was what she was thinking.

Hi Jenni. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. I appreciate it very much. As you can tell, you're in good company in hoping that Clark not cross certain lines.

Thanks again for reading and providing feedback, everyone!

I'd forgotten about the 10 year wait.

That does tell us something about the depth of Zara and Ching's love and their values

c.

No need for the bashful face, Carol. This has been an extremely long story and most of those discussions happened hundreds of pages ago. Sometimes I'm surprised that *I* remember them.