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I'm a pairing slut. I like to see characters paired when I write or read. I like to see multiple pairings in fic, even to the point of utter ridiculous. I like stories about how characters get together, and if I can have multiple relationship arcs that help break up an overarching plot, I'll do it. I'll even commit the sin of making everyone gay if I think certain characters would be fun to write with one another (except Pete. Pete's straight).
This does not mean that I think everyone in real life needs to be with a partner. I'm well aware that people are not socks; not everyone has a match (I stole that from some movie). Dude, I haven't had a date in exactly a year, and I'm fine with that. I would never ask a person why they're single or when they plan to get married, because I know how annoying and offensive that question is. Some people are happy in a relationship. Some people are happy being single. It takes all kinds.
But... I like writing relationships. I like reading about them. And romance books (and most modern literature) just don't do it to me, so I write (and read) fanfic where every finds love and lives, if not happily every after, then at least interestingly ever after.
If I write a story where, by the end, everyone has a significant other, I am no more making a statement about 'your' personal life than if I wrote a rape fic. In my original novel, I killed the same character three times in increasingly brutal ways. I don't actually condone killing people. I don't actually believe in vampires, either.
Most people seem to be able to accept that the horrible things people write aren't reflective of their personal beliefs. So, why do they think the happy, silly, and/or romantic stuff written does?
This does not mean that I think everyone in real life needs to be with a partner. I'm well aware that people are not socks; not everyone has a match (I stole that from some movie). Dude, I haven't had a date in exactly a year, and I'm fine with that. I would never ask a person why they're single or when they plan to get married, because I know how annoying and offensive that question is. Some people are happy in a relationship. Some people are happy being single. It takes all kinds.
But... I like writing relationships. I like reading about them. And romance books (and most modern literature) just don't do it to me, so I write (and read) fanfic where every finds love and lives, if not happily every after, then at least interestingly ever after.
If I write a story where, by the end, everyone has a significant other, I am no more making a statement about 'your' personal life than if I wrote a rape fic. In my original novel, I killed the same character three times in increasingly brutal ways. I don't actually condone killing people. I don't actually believe in vampires, either.
Most people seem to be able to accept that the horrible things people write aren't reflective of their personal beliefs. So, why do they think the happy, silly, and/or romantic stuff written does?
