Hi Dandello, and welcome to the boards Always nice to see a new author here.

I have a question, though. Ad Astra Per Aspera, sad though it is, is a favourite fic of mine. I know Becky insists the way she wrote it is the way she intended it to turn out: sometimes things don't work out the way we want and we have to make a different life for ourselves. And she wanted to show that Lois could still have a good and fulfilling life, even if Clark never came back.

So, my question: you did get Becky's permission to write this sequel? You don't mention it in your story header, so I can't help wondering. Nice though it is to see Lois and Clark reunited!


Wendy

I didn't get her permission, but I can certainly change it to remove the names of her characters. If I'd been able to find a BR, this would have come up, I'm sure.

Ah, that's what I was concerned about. I don't know what your experience is in other fandoms, but the etiquette in this fandom is that we don't write sequels to other authors' stories without permission. Perhaps the original author has plans her/himself for a sequel, or perhaps they just like the way the story ends and don't want anything to change that.

Sometimes authors will say yes, though, when asked. Having said that, I said yes myself once and wished I hadn't in the end, because the other author's vision of the characters and the story was so far from mine. Ah well - live and learn.

As for BRs, did you try advertising in the fanfic-related forum, or asking any of the board members who've posted in the BR thread over there offering their services? Good luck finding a BR for your next story - you really shouldn't have much problem.


Wendy

I've gone ahead and removed references to Becky's characters and plot-lines.
I'm on a couple boards and lists and no BR yet. And the people in the 'BRs Looking for work' thread don't seem to like deathfic.

I read your story this morning and although I did enjoy it, your revisions made it much better for me. The problem that I had with the first one (aside from the concern with "continuing" another author's universe, as Wendy mentioned), was that in AAPA I had grown quite attached to Tom Warren. And so had Lois. Her love for Tom might not have held the same passion and intensity as she had shared with Clark, but it was a very real, deep and genuine love. She had obviously never forgotten Clark, and part of her probably longed to see him again, but I didn't have the impression that she was broken by the experience and just "making do". So when I got the implication from your story that she had been longing for Clark every single day - that even though she had been living a good life it not only wasn't the one she had originally wanted, it still wasn't the one she wanted - it seemed to minimize Tom's role in her life and heart.

But with Tom no longer there, this isn't a problem. You've explained that she married Richard, and that even though he was a good man, she never felt anything close to what she felt for Clark. I can easily believe that, and I never saw any interaction between her and Richard to make me doubt it.

Of course this fits in very nice with the whole soul mates concept - that the two of them couldn't be truly happy as long as they were apart. They each made the best of their lives, but continued to long for each other until the end.

I look forward to reading more from you.

Kathy

(Oh, and thanks for the new word - I hadn't heard "sigil" before...)

Hi,

Great story.


Congratulation!

Nicely written, but I felt dread and trepidation as I read that you intended it as closure to Ad Astra Per Aspera. Becky's story was extremely well written, but I thought it was the saddest fanfic that I've ever read. I keep telling myself I'm going to try to re-read it and see if I have the same reaction. And yes, Becky very much intended to story to be as she wrote it. But even though I felt dread and trepidation, I was seemingly morbidly drawn to your story.

That said, it was interesting that Clark and Lois became Jer-El (don't think much of that name) and Loia. Lois of the House of Us. Cute.

And as I said, it was nicely written, but I wonder if you shouldn't remove all references to Becky's story. I know you changed the names, but you still note that you wrote the story as closure to Becky's fic. In that story, Lois was very much in love with the man she married.

In the final version, all reference to Ms. Bain's work has been removed. Let's simply say I was inspired by 'Ad Astra'.

Yeah, I must say your disclaimer confused me slightly. Make sure you remove it before submitting it to the Archive.

In any case - nicely done! I liked seeing their souls reunited, and then going back to New Krypton for a new circle

See ya,
AnnaBtG.

I'd like to echo everyone else's sentiments. It's easy to see from your story that they truly could not be happy until they were together. Also, that's a very interesting ending with them choosing which world to live in next. I never would have thought of the soul mates idea like that.

I only have one suggestion. For the reader's sake, I'd suggest dividing the sections between Lois' story and Clark's. It was a little confusing reading it without section breaks.

~Kristen

It sounds a little morbid to say that I really enjoyed this, but I did. Lately I have been really been reading a lot of star-crossed lovers fic, and this certainly qualifies. I love the discussion about which world they will be on next, and the ending was just perfect.

I can certainly understand the reason you were inspired by Becky's AAPA. It is one of my absolute favorites.