I think you hit it right on the head about the light-hearted nature of LnC one of it endearing qualities to me. I joined here from reading the archives after being a LnC series fan. Of course the series is over 20 years old and Zoom's board and the archives began just after the ending series. This means many of the early writers/fans were older than most of the writers these days. My opinion most of the early archive stories are much much less dark than many (most) of the current stories posted here. This is probably due to the darkening of the entertainment (?) world we see today. I mean what is the chance of a "Sleepless in Seattle" being made today in the fashion it was made then? Not very likely I would think. All of this adds up to me often wondering why I am still here...
I've noticed over the last several years that people often post heavier stories at the end/beginning of the year (Northern hemisphere winter months). It's why I suggested two years ago for a comedy challenge because I was being dragged down by the heavy, dark, although good stories, which were posting at that time. Take your Vitamin D, Mike, and know that this dark cycle will too pass and the sunshine return. (crosses fingers)
Do you recall that "Sleepless in Seattle" itself is a form of deathfic? Tom Hanks character moves from Chicago to Seattle AFTER the death of his wife from cancer. Hmmmmm. What if Clark had married Lana and she died from cancer and he moved to Metropolis (or Seattle) with his son...
