Well, after a long time, my 0.02$ to this story.
At first, like so many other readers, I expected that something would somehow change Lois back to the person we all know and love. Yet, that didn't happen.
Despite the sad content, I really enjoyed reading this story. It was well-written, and had more than its fair share wistful, heartwrenching and agonizing moments. (What was the definition for WHAM? Oh, right. Exactly that.) And yet, it was gripping and making us (foolish) FoLCs hope for a happy ending. The fact that we couldn't expect one became abundantly clear in the course of the story, and yet, I couldn't wait to see how it would continue.
Terry, I wouldn't mind if you went on in that vein, after all, just about everybody else writes the happy-ever-after stuff. (Or at least allows for a HEA-ending.) I think we have more than just enough of that, and we can do with a little bit more of the other genres. Lately, I've started perusing the archive again, and just about every story I remember reading before falls in the category, "Well, I enjoyed it last time, but it's just one more of those WAFFy stories".
Don't get me wrong, WAFFy stories are great, and I love many of them. Still, only reading those stories is like a diet consisting only of sugar. In the end, you will get sick of or from it. Besides, getting a good fix of something else does help me to appreciate the next sugary-sweet story more.
