I definitely see your point. Sometimes it is a bit bizarre the way it comes up so abruptly and without much meaning, but like you said, to each his own. Creativity is definitely a plus in this department, as it is in all aspects of fandom.... Maybe sometimes it takes some people a while to figure out their own perspective when it comes to a lot of things, including mating. In the meantime, they may choose to fiddle around with what others have done, and whether they decide to put their own spin on it or not is obviously entirely up to them. Yes, it's been done to death, I agree, and nothing is worse than reading something that is so much like five thousand other stories you've read. And I can also imagine that it would be a huge disappointment to see it at the end of a story that you otherwise really enjoyed. Looking forward to the conclusion of an awesome fic, and then... "Oh, damn - not this again! There goes my hard-on!" XD I can understand the frustration on the reader's part.

However, I think most people (hopefully) aren't writing to make other people happy, but themselves. If readers don't like my work and tell me so, I might get my feelings hurt a bit, but it won't change why I do it. I would hope that most people feel the same way, but alas such is not the case. Some people are just WAY too hung up on getting all the reviews they can so they can feel better about themselves, and to this end, they will alter everything they post in the hopes of making people happy. Confidence issues, really.

But I digress....