Catherine, when I brought up those 200 million women, I didn't mean that 200 million women and 200 million men have died. I meant, instead, that an excess of 200 million women have died, and that people are either unaware of the fact, or else they just don't care.

This has nothing to do with your story. And, indeed, I have said a few things here that have been unfair to you.

But, I have to tell you that you said one thing about Lois's death over on the thread commenting specifically about your Betrayal of Justice story, a thing that has stuck with me and has fuelled my own anger:
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It wasn't just the death of Lois I wanted to tell, and to me that was only secondary, instead it was a betrayal towards Clark himself.
To me, your comment meant that you would indeed kill Lois just to tell a story about Clark. You even called your own killing of Lois secondary. That very choice of words made me furious. And it did very strongly suggest to me that you were, indeed, only using and belittling Lois in order to tell a story about Clark. In turn, this suggested to me that you see Lois as an appendage to Clark, who you regard as the main character here.

Catherine, like I said, nothing - and I mean nothing - upsets me more than seeing an excess of women being killed and people being totally indifferent to it. As for those 200 million women, that figure has been described as a Holocaust killing only women, one such Holocaust every two to four years. And people couldn't care less. As if women's lives don't matter. So I'm hyper-sensitive to stories which appear to kill women in an insensitive or thoughtless way.

So, then. Didn't you tell a worthy story? As I've said before, I haven't really read it, because I know I absolutely won't be able to stand it. But so many FoLCs have read it, and the only ones who have been complaining are people like me and Nan, who can't stand the subject matter. Everyone who felt the subject matter was acceptable at all has been raving about it. How can I possibly doubt that your story is well written? That it brings up the specific subject that you wanted to describe, in a worthy way? I can't. I know your story is great.

I haven't been exactly fair to you, Catherine. I have been incredibly emotional. I hope you can understand where some of my emotions come from.

Even so, let me end by saying this. I would appreciate it if you wrote a story where you made us really feel for and identify with Lois. I don't think you have written anything like that so far. You have made us laugh at Lois, and possibly even laugh with Lois, and you have made us cry for Clark. But you haven't yet written a story which makes me feel that you can look at things from Lois's point of view. I guess the closest you've come is your crossdressing story, but I'd like to identify with Lois on other occasions too, and not just when she is being Lewis to Clark's Clara.

Specifically, Catherine, I do want to ask you not to kill Lois again in such a way that Lois's death is just a secondary thing in the story.

Ann