lunabee34

For me, pairings are a characterization issue as much as they are a shipping thing -- there are some pairings I just cannot believably see the characters I know from canon in, no matter how good the writer is. Likewise, there are some characters for whom their relationship with/feelings for Other Character X are a vital part of their characterization. A Spike who doesn't love Drusilla and/or Buffy (depending on where you are in canon) isn't actually Spike, anymore than a Rogue who doesn't love Gambit is actually Rogue (or a Gambit who doesn't love Rogue, or a Starsky & Hutch who aren't codependantly attched to one another, or an Iron Man who isn't in love with Captain America).

When I OTP a pairing, it's because I perceive the characters' feelings for one another to be canon -- any fic that doesn't include them will therefore read as OOC.