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Jun. 30th, 2023 09:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kradeelav"So I was just asked if there was any point to finishing a fanfic story set in a franchise canon where all hope seems lost. My answer was (by request), private, but this part is universal enough to share:
In private, I will tell you that the hope is the whole point of fanfiction, and that our love shows us these paths to joy for the people we care about. It lets us guide them to a soft place where they can rest. You have the power to help your loved ones rest. I would finish, for that alone.
... and that's not just me being facile. I mean it. Fanfic is the art of looking at a canon and saying "no, thank you," and then taking these toys you love so much-- the ones that are like the skin horse, just a little bit real to you-- and giving them a different story. It may not be a better story to anyone but you, but the power is yours, and it deserves to be used.
Give them their soft places to rest. Or hell, put them through the wringer. But fanfic is where we play with them because we love them, and putting more love into the world is never bad."
- Seanan McGuire, via x
In private, I will tell you that the hope is the whole point of fanfiction, and that our love shows us these paths to joy for the people we care about. It lets us guide them to a soft place where they can rest. You have the power to help your loved ones rest. I would finish, for that alone.
... and that's not just me being facile. I mean it. Fanfic is the art of looking at a canon and saying "no, thank you," and then taking these toys you love so much-- the ones that are like the skin horse, just a little bit real to you-- and giving them a different story. It may not be a better story to anyone but you, but the power is yours, and it deserves to be used.
Give them their soft places to rest. Or hell, put them through the wringer. But fanfic is where we play with them because we love them, and putting more love into the world is never bad."
- Seanan McGuire, via x
