I can’t speak for other readers but Tom/Lily wasn’t an issue for me, it was because of Tom becoming a cradle robber. That probably fueled the fire. If I were Azrael I would’ve beaten Tom bloody with a stick.
That’s extremely fair.
I personally would be one of the strong side-eyers of the Tom Riddle/Lily Evans presented in “October” in real life.
That said, and this could just be those who spoke out vs. those who did not, but for the vast majority of readers this did not in fact appear to be the issue. Some mentioned it, though most did as a part of larger grievances. I’d say what most reviewers focused on was the feeling of bait and switch that the Tomarry pairing had been replaced by such a travesty without much notice. Which, as I’ve noted, was a large mistake on my end.
I think a part of this is the cradle robbing aspect is already a huge part of Tomarry. You see fics in which an adult Tom Riddle often gets together with a barely legal, i.e. seventeen and dropped out of Hogwarts, or else an even younger Harry. I’m not saying I approve of this, but I am saying it’s practically a staple of the genre that people are just used to.
After all, the Tomarry portion of the story does actually have a fairly similar aspect to it which Azrael points out. He and Tom have not only a very large age but very large experience gap: it’s just not going to work out at that point in time.
But, to be honest, I really don’t want to overanalyze why everyone hates my story. This started because someone asked me a question, I did my best to answer, and we’ve just kept snowballing from there in a series of asks.
I am well aware that people loathe October, believe me, it’s been made quite clear. They all, you included, have extremely valid reasons to do so. You are more than free to tell me so in asks, posts, reviews, or just the greater internet. I’d prefer if people are polite about it, but I firmly believe everyone is entitled to their opinions regarding anything. Including my weird controversial fanfiction.
However, the story does exist, I have no intentions of taking it down, and I will not apologize for its entire existence. I get the feeling you’re trying to get some action out of me and, forgive me if I’m being dense or needlessly stubborn, but you’re just going to have to come out and say it.
