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.

I sometimes enjoy the happily ever after with white picket fence cliche, but I think I'm discerning enough to not see it when it's not the author's intent.

Fraser's still a Mountie, but they're definitely in the boonies. Which is another thing, really. Fraser was always set up as that kind of guy, who could easily walk away from the whole "hero" thing. Michael/Nikita, Buffy/Spike, John/Aeryn, not so much.

The Iolokus series in X-Files deals in a nice (grim, gritty, deadly, painful) way with kids and the heroic lifestyle.