Consuela, I feel your pain. I write a story about Spike getting his bite back, and the feedback I get is, "Ooo, slash, ick poo." Come on, he's out, he's bad, he's feeding on a neck near you! And there was a guy-on-guy kiss and suggestions of more and that's what caught her. Sigh.

I just got a piece of feedback that... well, it utterly and completely Missed. The. Point.

The only consolation I can find in those moments is knowing that someone, somewhere, did get it.

And I got it. I thought the story was gritty, painful, and... fraught. Like the show can be. Loss. Pain. Choices. Consequences.

Some people are in it for One Big Happy Family escapism, and that's fine. Some of us are in it for the sound of the broken pieces reshuffling themselves in the dark, trying to recreate the whole of before, failing, and forming something different.

Both hope, but not the same kind.

Mwah, Shrift.

I have to admit, I sent her back an email asking if she'd noticed the fact that (spoilers for the story here) Danny was lost, enslaved, and most likely abused horribly.

Part of being a parent is not having that kind of adventures anymore, or making provisions for your family if you insist on having them (Alex Lowe comes to mind). But that's my issue, not everyone has to agree.

Those kinds of feedback are so frustrating.

Part of being a parent is not having that kind of adventures anymore, or making provisions for your family if you insist on having them.

There seems to be a whole sub-genre of fanfic stories in a lot of fandoms where, for example, John and Aeryn or Buffy and Spike fall in love, get married, have kids, and live happily ever after -- all without acknowledging the inherent risk of having children when you're a hero.

It's a type of escapism through domestication of the hero that doesn't exactly appeal to me, but then again, getting married, having kids and living happily ever after in a house with a white picket fence isn't my ideal in reality.

There seems to be a whole sub-genre of fanfic stories in a lot of fandoms where, for example, John and Aeryn or Buffy and Spike fall in love, get married, have kids, and live happily ever after -- all without acknowledging the inherent risk of having children when you're a hero.

*coughNIKITAcough*

Though occasionally that cliche is done well. The first that springs to mind is With Six You Get Eggroll, in due South.

Of course, more often than not it's done horribly, so there's not much tradeoff.

Yeah, but Ray and Fraser aren't covert secret agents or vampire slayers. The possibility of a normal life isn't so remote.

Though occasionally that cliche is done well. The first that springs to mind is With Six You Get Eggroll, in due South.

Part of what makes that story special is that it shows that the "happily ever after" is hella hard work, requires constant adjustment and compromise, and that kids don't always respond to things the way you want. What it also shows, however, is that the "happily ever after" couple find it all worth it, when all is said and done.

ETA: What Dana said also applies. Part of what people who write schmoopy Buffyverse fic tend to forget is that an unhappy ending is pretty much part and parcel of the whole Slayer gig.

Also, Ray and Fraser aren't cops anymore in that story, right? They've relocated to the boonies.