Reason # 6
Reason I Like (fan)Fiction Better Than Real Life Number six:
I can cheat. And I do, often.
I don't do this for those few authors that I really, really trust. But I? Like a happy ending.
Don't get me wrong. I do love me some angst. If an author can make me cry somewhere on that road to happiness, more power to them, and I'll enjoy the hell out of those tears. It just makes a happy ending that much more satisfying. Of course, I enjoy pure fluff, too. ^_~
A while back, I read a story that I loved (loved, I tell you) right up until the last chapter. Then, in that last chapter, I got to read the aftermath of my dearest couple's life together: They had their ups and downs, but it was filled with love. Then he watched her grow old and die. And he lived on. And on. And on. There wasn't some sweet little they-met-in-the-afterlife-and-were-together-forever. I seriously hated that. It even traumatized me a little, lol. I mentally re-wrote the end, but it didn't work very well. The concept of Spike still loving Buffy although she's old and gray is certainly a romantic one, but... It's not for me.
So... If I'm not familiar with an author's style, or if I know that they sometimes throw in a bit too much angst, I'll only read a story once it's completed. And before I read it? I'll skip to the very end. If it ends with a Spuffy (or LoVe) kiss (or something along those lines), I'll read the rest.
If not, I'll skip up a few lines to figure why. If the why is too angsty, I just... pass over the story, unless I'm feeling up to some serious heartbreak. I've broken this little rule of mine a couple of times, only to find out that part of LoVe had an early death due to cancer, or that part of Spuffy died in a fight while the other lived on, and can I just say, yech! I don't want to read anything that close to real life (uh, if you can disregard the vamp thing, lol). Also, I don't want to get too emotionally involved in a story (because I do, quite easily) only to have it destroy my poor fragile heart.
Do I think I'm lame? Yeah. Do I care? Nope, not a bit.
I can cheat. And I do, often.
I don't do this for those few authors that I really, really trust. But I? Like a happy ending.
Don't get me wrong. I do love me some angst. If an author can make me cry somewhere on that road to happiness, more power to them, and I'll enjoy the hell out of those tears. It just makes a happy ending that much more satisfying. Of course, I enjoy pure fluff, too. ^_~
A while back, I read a story that I loved (loved, I tell you) right up until the last chapter. Then, in that last chapter, I got to read the aftermath of my dearest couple's life together: They had their ups and downs, but it was filled with love. Then he watched her grow old and die. And he lived on. And on. And on. There wasn't some sweet little they-met-in-the-afterlife-and-were-together-forever. I seriously hated that. It even traumatized me a little, lol. I mentally re-wrote the end, but it didn't work very well. The concept of Spike still loving Buffy although she's old and gray is certainly a romantic one, but... It's not for me.
So... If I'm not familiar with an author's style, or if I know that they sometimes throw in a bit too much angst, I'll only read a story once it's completed. And before I read it? I'll skip to the very end. If it ends with a Spuffy (or LoVe) kiss (or something along those lines), I'll read the rest.
If not, I'll skip up a few lines to figure why. If the why is too angsty, I just... pass over the story, unless I'm feeling up to some serious heartbreak. I've broken this little rule of mine a couple of times, only to find out that part of LoVe had an early death due to cancer, or that part of Spuffy died in a fight while the other lived on, and can I just say, yech! I don't want to read anything that close to real life (uh, if you can disregard the vamp thing, lol). Also, I don't want to get too emotionally involved in a story (because I do, quite easily) only to have it destroy my poor fragile heart.
Do I think I'm lame? Yeah. Do I care? Nope, not a bit.