March 3rd, 2016 was a day like any other — unless you were a fan of The CW's The 100.
In that evening's episode, titled "13," Commander Lexa (Alycia Debnam-Carey) was shot by a stray bullet, intended for her love interest Clarke (Eliza Taylor).
Spoiler alert: This is something that has happened before.
Before the shocking episode, The 100 had received a great deal of praise for its LGBT representation.
And then, when Lexa was killed during Episode 7 of Season 3 — well, the internet exploded.
Showrunner Jason Rothenberg's Twitter follower count plummeted and countless hashtags (#LGBTFansDeservedBetter, #WeDeservedBetter, #LexaDeservedBetter) began trending worldwide.
In the days that followed, fans expressed their anger, disbelief, and grief over the outcome of the episode.
The rallying cry "Lexa Deserved Better" popped up (and continues to be seen) in countries all over the world.
Some accused the writing staff of deliberately leading fans on, killing Lexa off for shock value, and perpetuating the Bury Your Gays trope that has become all too familiar for many queer viewers.
Upset fans also channeled their response into action, raising over $160,000 for The Trevor Project, a nonprofit organization supporting LGBTQ youth.
Seemingly overnight, Commander Lexa and her death became the go-to example used to illustrate a year in television that saw so many queer characters killed off.
Now, over a year since the controversial episode aired, the Clexa fandom refuses to let the world forget about that moment in television history and their insistence that they, well, deserved better.
Little Reminder: Lexa Deserved Better #Lexa #LexaDeservedBetter #AlyciaDebnamCarey
Ever since the character's death, any tweets mentioning The 100 will almost always be immediately followed by a reply from a member of the fandom.
Since fans recently succeeded in supporting a campaign to resurrect Netflix's Sense8, it's easy to understand why others would try to do the same for their favorite characters or shows.
#Sense8 Shocker: Netflix just announced a NEW two-hour special will air next year!!!! ❤️💛💚💙💜… https://t.co/lpXg8Wo7Lg
BuzzFeed News spoke with one Clexa fan group that has been hard at work attempting to get a spinoff story up and running. "The Grounders" would be a project that focused on Lexa's origin story and rekindle the character's legacy on screen.
"Episode 307 slapped me right back to reality, where LGBT people are killed for their sexuality, bullied, disowned by their parents," another anonymous member of The Grounders project told BuzzFeed News. "It reminded me of the Orlando Shooting, it reminded me of death. Death that I, a queer lady, deserve."
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"It's ironic because Lexa taught us that life should be about more than just surviving, and the writers taught us life isn't even worth surviving."
The group — which is composed of fans, artists, and writers — has written a general synopsis for the plot of the spinoff and even created some promotional materials. They also have one caveat for the spin-off series — showrunner Jason Rothenberg would not be involved in any way.
The group recognizes that many shows, including The 100, are violent and many characters are killed off – it's pretty much a guarantee, actually. The difference, for them, is the storylines characters are given before their death.
"We need LGBT characters to have a chance, to have a happy ending, or at least survive."
For many grieving fans, the consensus seemed to be that they didn't just lose a fictional character on a television show — it was so much more than that.
Mourning for fictional characters certainly isn't a new phenomenon, but it is a process that is now amplified — and done in the company of other fans — thanks to the internet and social media.
The first event took place on March 3rd of this year, on the one-year anniversary of Lexa’s death on The 100. What started as a simple idea among friends — to bond over a character they loved and lost — quickly morphed into something much bigger.
"We are currently expecting thousands of attendees along with celebrity guests, panelists, content creators, journalists, media personalities, vendors, and artists," Winebarger said. The program will also serve as a platform for upcoming queer filmmakers to showcase their work.
"This event is for the LGBT person sitting in their small town feeling completely alone and alienated. This is for those of us that have felt like we were less than the rest of society, just because of our sexuality."
“It wasn’t just a gathering of people because of a ship, it was a family reunion among friendships built over the last year," wrote one Clex Con attendee of her experience.
"After Lexa's death, it felt like a tipping point for fans where a groundswell of people felt empowered enough to stand up and say, 'enough is enough,'" Winebarger explained. "We are powerful and we are important — It’s time our community felt that."
With this year's Emmys celebrating several queer storylines, actors, and series, fans like those from Clexa Con and The Grounders groups are — cautiously — optimistic that their voices are being heard.
But that doesn't mean they'll forget the character that, in a not-so-small way, lit the flame.
This post is part of a series of stories about stans and super fans.
