I can only speak for myself and my own opinions, but here's my two cents.
Before I met my husband I absolutely adored and loved another man. We're still good friends to this day, even though, for several reasons, things just didn't work out between us.
Then I met and married Mark. We had eight wonderful years together before he died in an accident. For at least three years afterwards I was a walking mess. As I came out of the haze and horror of that time I became friends with and then fell in love with someone else. Does that cheapen the love I had for Mark? I hate to think that it does. What I feel for this new man is completely different from the love I had and still have for Mark. They're different people (although there are some striking similarities between them).
That's reality, though. One of the things that drew me to this show and this site, was that it was about Lois and Clark and their relationship. I love the idea that they're soul mates who are destined to find each other (though I loathe that episode on so many levels - ugh).
The difference between what could happen in reality and what happens in a fic in the
LNC:TNAOS universe, I think, is the point that Carol is making. I have avoided and mostly likely will continue to avoid stories where they have other loves in their lives.
In reality I would cut both characters miles and miles of slack - but this is
fiction. It's wish fulfillment. It's a fantasy where everything turns out perfect - like I wish real life would.
Real life doesn't come with guarantees. But the fic I read darn well better. Does that mean that people should only write stories that are solely Lois and Clark? No! It just means that I, personally, won't be very interested in reading them. I'm only one person and there are all sorts of people who love that kind of story. That's the beauty of having so many voices in the community.
