Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic FDK - The Choices of Others (1/1)

This is beautifully written, realistic, and thought-provoking Next Gen story. Always good to see.

I love how well you've done with characterization of Tara. While subtle, you can hear the bitterness in her tone at having had to compete with the world for her father's love and attention over the years. I wonder if this is a subconscious plea for help.

Her choices certainly aren't those of Lois and Clark <<or myself>>. You've definitely presented our Super duo with a dilemma they themselves never thought that they would have to deal with. Sometimes the hardest problem in life is learning to let go and realizing that the ones you love have make their own choices <<for good or bad>> and live their own lives. For control addicts like Lois and Clark, this is a very hard lesson indeed.

I find myself coming back and thinking about Tara's choice and how it will affect the entire Kent family. It's a story that sticks with you with all its possibilities.

Let me be the first to ask for a sequel! I want to know what happens with Tara, if she has any complications, what Justin thinks of this whole situation after dreams become reality, and how Lois and Clark have adjusted to this new change in their family.

Well written! Congratulations on posting your first story! I sense (and hope) we'll be seeing a lot from you in the future.

I liked this one!! thought provoking and realistic!

I liked this story. I too would love to see how Tara and Justin interact. Will Justin be accepting, or will he turn against her. I would guess the later.

On the other hand, maybe Justin suspects even though Tara thinks he has no idea.

“Mom, Dad, I’m pregnant.”

WHAAAT? Was not expecting that!


“Oh, I don’t know, some random high school kid, willing to do what it took to get you pregnant. I’m guessing by your attitude that this really isn’t an accident.” It was more of a statement than a question.

Awww, Clark is being scary


Very interesting take on their later years. I like that you threw a wrench in their lives. People think that this type of thing only happens to other people, that it never happens to you... SURPRISE! It does! Even the best parents get these situations. (Case & point, my sister had a baby at 14)

Keep up the good work! You obviously have some new ideas to bring to the table, and I'm sure we'd all love to read them!

I second the motion. This story demands a sequel.

I keep thinking of what would happen if Justin is anti-Superman and she can't reveal just who she is and who her dad is and they can't get maried as a result.

That would be yet another complication.

Well done for a first effort.

/raises hand/ I third the motion. This one definitely needs a sequel! I love the way you went after this topic, and I think that given the situation, you kept everyone's voice realistic and accurate. Clark would be the crazy overprotective one, and I can definitely see their daughter being so defiant like that. However, I do see that she's overlooked a lot of things. And the part about Justin not knowing she's super is a definite matter that needs to be addressed. So, can there be a sequel? Please?

Hi, chickberry.

This was a very good, very intense story. I liked it even though I found elements of it disturbing. I have a son not too much older than Tara and find myself clearly siding with Clark. With one key exception, I thought he handled this news rather well.

I can't help but be astounded at Tara's lack of judgement in this particular decision. When I look at a problem, I tend to run a calculation for the probability of successful outcomes verses failure outcomes. Any way I look at this, the probability of a less-than-successful outcome would seem to be much greater than the chances of happy outcomes.

Again, speaking as a parent, I think Clark's question about "Do you know who the father is?" was WAY out of line. However surprised he might have been at Tara's news, he should have known to have never asked that particular question. I can understand if he thought it, but he should have known not to voice that question.

Anyway, I would also be curious about a sequel.

And again, well done!
Bob

Feedback I've barely started writing it so it may be awhile.
I'm going to try and have a good outcome for the story but I there will be some bumps along the way.

I know I sometimes made Clark come off a bit over the top but I wanted to turn his world upside down for a bit without it involving any criminals and have him react to a situation he'd never faced. I also wanted it to be an event that can hit any family at any time.

With most next gen stories I've read the kids seem to all come out as great kids who end up following in their parents footsetps. I wanted to change this and tell a story that no matter how well you've raised your kids, they're still going to make their own decisions and some are going to be against everything their parents think they've taught them.

This story is based off some of my experience with my younger sister who got pregnant at 17. She is the reason this ended up in the story:
“Oh, I don’t know, some random high school kid, willing to do what it took to get you pregnant. I’m guessing by your attitude that this really isn’t an accident.” It was more of a statement than a question.
My sister started trying to get pregnant at 16 and didn't limit it to one guy to accomplish this. So in my mind it was something that could happen and became a question that an irrational Clark would ask. Also at the time, I think Clark was probably wondering if he did really know his daughter as well as he thought he did.

I hope you all come back for the sequel which I hope will explain more of Clarks thoughts. Right now is titled A Normal Life.

Thanks again.
-Jessica

No.

No. No. No. No!

You must write the rest of the story. This isn't finished, not by a long shot.

We'll need to know about Justin's reaction, and just how Tara sneaks the information into a conversation. "Hey, Justin, what if I told you I was Superman's daughter?" Maybe she could pull it out at a "Matrix" marathon. It might be the right direction to go if he rejects her at first and then comes back later - maybe before the baby's birth, or maybe a few months after - and proves to her that he wants to be a real husband to her and a real father to his child.

And I agree that no matter how mature Tara thinks she is, she's not. She isn't ready to take care of herself yet, although she's more ready than many her age. She hasn't seen enough real life yet to know how to use her own life to best advantage.

And maybe it's because I've heard that message before, but I wasn't at all surprised. When she started talking about not wanting to tell it twice, that was a big clue.

I agree with Bob that Clark's question about the baby's father was poorly worded, but if she's going to take offense at that she needs to understand that she's just shocked her parents with this news, which outcome she obviously intended. She gets no maturity display points for acting like a teen when she claims she's ready to handle adult responsibilities.

Tara is angry and bitter at both of her parents, and logically or not she blames the Daily Planet and Krypton. She hasn't stopped to consider that if not for the specific genetic admixture her parents gave her, she'd be someone else and not herself.

And I'm a little creeped out by the opening in the story. That's probably Justin and Tara enjoying each others' charms, and it makes me want to take a baseball bat to each of them in turn.

And she plans to just move in with Justin? Without telling him her secret? Bad idea, Major league, all-time stupid idea. When he finds out, he's going to wonder what else she's been keeping from him. If she waits years - stupid girl! - he'll probably wonder if their first child is actually his. If they don't get married, he'll have the opportunity to just get up and walk away from his responsibilities and leave her there with either a tiny baby and no money or a swollen belly and no one to comfort her.

I see no good outcome from her plans, unless Justin is at least as good a man as her father is. And she's so self-centered she can't see just how good a man Clark really is! Grrrrrrr!!!!!!! Seriously, did she expect her parents to be pleased?

Sorry. I'm letting my own experiences leak through into my reaction to this story.

Now the good stuff for the writer. This is well-written and well-presented, Jessica, and you've got some real talent if you can jab me so effectively with one tale. Please, please finish the story! This isn't the end. Nothing's been resolved, not really. We don't know how her brothers will react. They're super and they might be really, really angry.

Justin is still an enigma to us. Is he as nice as Tara thinks he is? He can't have much of a relationship with Clark and Lois if Tara has to identify him as the baby daddy. Is that his decision or has Tara deliberately kept him from her parents?

And does he even want to be a father and a husband (even without the certificate) right now? What will his parents think? Or say? Or do? Will they help or accuse Tara of derailing their wonderful and blameless son from his chosen career path? Will they make friends with the Kents or fight them? Or will they ignore the whole situation and hope it just goes away?

You can tell that I haven't just thought about this.

No kidding. You really, really need to give us the rest of the story. I'm eager to read it!

Terry said it all.

This is a first chapter, not the whole story.

Please post more soon!

BTW: Welcome to the boards! It's great to get a new writer, especially one who opens her career with such a marvelous fic!

Yeah, what they said!