Ponderings On The Joys Of Fanfic

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

Pardon the spam - apparently I have a lot of RD thoughts right now.  This was prompted by a RD fan whom I follow on Twitter expressing frustation with aspects of the writing in later series, specifically the proliferation of "rape jokes" (ugh) and the writing of Kochanski.

I don't know this person very well but I'm about 95% sure that they're not into fanfic and are therefore probably unaware of the regular discussions we have about issues like that and the existence of "fix-it" fics.  It just made me so glad that I do enjoy fic and made me realise how cathartic it can be to read or write a fic which "fixes" a problem in canon and / or fills in background details on minor or poorly written characters.  Yes, the problem still exists in canon, but at least it's been acknowledged.

It also makes me sympathise more with some G&T and TOS posters.  If you're the type of fan who loves to analyse something you love (I certainly am) and for whatever reason you're not into fanfic, it must be really frustrating when the honeymoon period fades and you start noticing the flaws in the thing you love.  You're basically stuck with them without the compensation of someone finding imaginative ways around them.

This honestly isn't intended as a "Ha ha, we're so much better than them" type of post.  If it's intended as anything, I suppose it's a thank you to all the friendly and talented people on here, AO3 and Tumblr who've contributed so much fic, art, meta and just general discussion over the years.  You've enriched this show immeasurably for me.