Thank you, Kathy. That's exactly what I meant. I was describing how someone could use even the BoJ premise as long as the story didn't end as a deathfic--as an example of what my comfort zone encompasses.

I just got back from work to read these comments, and I was feeling sick at the thought that Catherine would think I was telling her how she should have written her story. Thank you, Catherine, for letting me know that that wasn't the case.

Now, I'll reiterate the point I made in my original post of the first page of this thread and retire from this discussion: I don't see a way to satisfactorily meet the needs of those who hate deathfic and meet the author's need for creative freedom, so all we can do is leave things the way they are.

Sheila Harper
Hopeless fan of a timeless love story
http://www.sheilaharper.com/