Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related Deathfic Debate- love 'em, loathe 'em, and everywhere in between...

It's been a while since I was in this thread, and what a path it has taken!

Rather than do real work, I wanted to add some comments to the thought provoking points I've read.

I happen to be in firm agreement with you regarding societal attitudes for women, Ann. However, I do feel the need to add that not only is Lois easier to kill in a story (no need for Kryptonite and so forth), but, having SEEN Clark die on TOGOM, I tend to think more in terms of Lois dying than Clark because his death was played out in front of my eyes. The effect of that one visual takes many written stories of Lois's death to counter.

Also, I guess I'm a little confused about the idea that the death of a female character (from any story) is somehow a trivialisation of her being. Romeo and Juliet weren't trivialised by the fact that they died. Their deaths made a huge statement, and while I'm sure the persons themselves, were they real, wouldn't have wished to die like that, as a reader, if I choose to identify myself with a character, I can't blame the author for doing something I might not appreciate having happen to me as a real live person myself.

All of us affect those around us so I don't know if it's fair to say that people who kill Lois are implying that Clark's grief is all that matters. I think they are saying that Lois DOES matter. She matters so much that her loss profoundly affects Clark. Now, not wanting to read that loss is one thing, but painting all deathfic writers with the same brush is another. And to imply that someone who writes a deathfic wherein Lois dies is somehow contributing to society's disregard for women as a whole seems rather broad and somewhat unjust.

Also at issue here is, indeed, the fact that many of us are female. Isn't it possible that they would write reactions by Clark to Lois's death because these female writers feel the man of THEIR dreams would be that devastated at their loss? Or, could it be that they find it harder to imagine how they, as females, would react to the death of someone they loved that much because it hits too close to home?

While it's interesting to delve into the nuances of the stories, and however ironic it may be that I am the one writing this, in the end, we can't lose sight of the fact that these ARE still stories. They should not always be read as a treatise. Killing Clark or killing Lois does not necessarily mean that an author does not respect that character. It depends on the manner in which it is done, and the intent.

The most important thing is that everyone has a viewpoint and has a right to it (and a right to be spoken to respectfully about it). I don't like nextgen stories very much, but I certainly don't wish to prohibit others from writing them. And I most definitely would never say nextgen stories were "lousy", because many of them are very well written.

As with almost everything else in this world, taste in reading is subjective. And there are bound to be people who don't like the same things we do. I respect Nan and Sheila as authors very much, and I respect their dislike of deathfics. I also respect those who do like deathfics. And those who like nextgens